BETTER LATE THAN NEVER : Once Delpino Finally Arrived, He Became the Hit of Rams’ Practice

For rookie Robert Delpino, getting out of Dodge City was tough enough, but it was nothing compared to getting into Anaheim City.

In fact, if the Rams rated players on first impressions, Delpino would have been the first cut.

There are three things out-of-town, fifth-round draft choices should never do:

--Show up late for training camp.

Uh, there seems to have been a mix-up here. Delpino, driving west from Kansas with a friend, stopped off to visit his brother in Phoenix. He was supposed to report to Rams Park Sunday night, July 10. He pulled into town Monday night, July 11.

“I didn’t think I had to be there until Wednesday,” Delpino said.

--Fail to leave a forwarding number.

Had Delpino pulled this one on his mother, he’d have been grounded for a week with no television. The Rams were worried sick when Delpino didn’t show Sunday night. Like all good franchises, the Rams immediately called Delpino’s agent. No luck.

They had nightmares of their fullback lying God-knows-where in the Arizona desert, 100 miles from the nearest gas station. He should have called.

Sorry, Delpino said.

--Arrive in Los Angeles without a map.

Delpino, who had been to Rams Park for a mini-camp in May, figured he’d just drive into town, pull off the first exit and find Anaheim. Details? Ah, he’d remember the rest when he got here.

Wrong. This is Orange County, where in some neighborhoods it’s easier to hit your garage-door opener while driving down the street and pull in the one that opens.

“Everything looks the same,” Delpino said. “I couldn’t tell the difference between Fullerton, Anaheim, Brea.”

A Ram phone number, perhaps? Must have left it in his other pants.

When he finally found where he was going, he made wrong move No. 4: Arriving a good 24 hours late, whom do you think he bumped into in the parking lot?

John Robinson?

“John Robinson,” Delpino said.

It says something for Delpino’s football ability that he overcame his inauspicious beginning and instantly became the talk of training camp. Now there are some people whispering that Delpino was not only the steal of the fifth round, but perhaps of the whole draft.

In Fullerton, Delpino has become the Rams’ summer smash hit. He has the reviews to prove it.

Robinson, football film critic, has called Delpino’s summer performance startling.

How does Delpino react under fire?

“He doesn’t blink,” Robinson said. “There’s something about him that’s really different.”

In Wednesday night’s exhibition against the Denver Broncos, Delpino carried 4 times for 25 yards and caught 2 passes for 16 yards.

He left the game with a sprained left ankle but is expected back at practice Monday.

If Delpino stays healthy, he’s a cinch not only to make the team but to contribute immediately at fullback.

“I know I came in here and probably surprised some people,” he said. “I don’t think I surprised myself any. When I’m healthy, I know I can do some things.”

And what of this lavish praise heaped upon him?

“I think it’s better for a person not to get caught up. It’s better if you just stick to your playbook and make sure you’re doing it on the field. I have guys come up to me and tell me what Robinson is saying about me in the papers. But I haven’t read a paper.

“I’ve never been known to get a big head. It would be a waste for me to get caught up in that.”

If what everyone is saying about Delpino is true, the larger question is how 116 players were taken ahead of him in last April’s draft.

Apparently, it’s tougher to get out of Dodge City, Kan., than one might think. Delpino played high school and junior college football there, causing few ripples.

He was not recruited in high school, where he played wide receiver and on defense.

He stayed at home, enrolled in college and prayed that an occasional outsider would blow through Dodge and catch him in action.

“I always seemed to have a big year when I needed it,” he said.

The first was in 1985 at Dodge City Community College, where he caught 39 passes for 600 yards and 7 touchdowns, good enough numbers to get him named most valuable player of the Kansas Junior College League.

Also good enough to gain a scholarship at the University of Missouri, where he played another season at receiver before being switched to running back in the wishbone offense last season.

Another big break.

“If I would have stayed at wide receiver, I don’t know if I would have been drafted,” he said.

Delpino finished the year with 750 yards rushing and caught Robinson’s eye at the Indianapolis scouting combines.

Robinson then followed up with a trip to Columbia, Mo., where he put Delpino through those dodge-the-trash-can agility drills he has become famous for.

Still, the odds seemed stacked against Delpino. When he arrived at mini-camp, he was so unsure of his future that he lined up behind the tailbacks. It was a long line.

“Here I had all these great backs in front of me,” Delpino remembered. “I knew Gaston (Green) would be in front of me. But then there was Keith (Jones) and Charlie (White). What can a guy do? I didn’t know what my role would be. I just said, ‘Here we go again. It’s the same thing I faced before. All I can do is do my best.’ ”

What Robinson had in mind was taking Delpino’s many talents and using them at fullback. As far as Robinson could see across the field, Delpino was skilled in the big three--blocking, running and receiving.

“We had to block our rears off at Missouri,” Delpino said. “And I had to come out of the backfield to catch passes. Things have worked out so far.”

Delpino has also learned not to venture too far from camp.

“Recently, I drove down to Huntington Beach,” he said. “I found it, all right, but I didn’t get out of the car.”

Ram Notes

Coach John Robinson couldn’t say enough good things about quarterback Jim Everett’s work in the Rams’ 40-31 exhibition loss to the Denver Broncos Wednesday night. “We’re elated over his performance,” Robinson said. “But he’s been doing it consistently in practice. He’s obviously a pretty good quarterback right now.”

The competition for the backup quarterback spot is wide open. Steve Dils took his turn against the Broncos, completing 9 of 13 passes for 75 yards. Hugh Millen awaits his next chance. “It’s competitive and undecided,” Robinson said of the battle. “Hugh gets a major shot his next game.” That’s Aug. 13 against San Diego.

Robinson said he hasn’t decided whether to keep two or three quarterbacks on the 45-man roster. . . . Receiver Willie Anderson, the team’s second-round draft pick, did not have a reception against Denver. “Willie’s number just didn’t come up,” Robinson said. “He was out there running his route, but the ball was thrown to someone else.”