04/07/2025
The NFL draft season ALWAYS ENCOURAGES me because to me it speaks to the SOVEREIGNTY of ALL MIGHTY GOD ! It's the spring of 1988 & I'm grinding in my office around 10 pm ( UNLV running back coach ) and the phone rings l answer it and it's Ickey Woods and he's SOOOO excited, "coach, I'm in Phoenix my agent Bruce Allen of GBA sports world is throwing a big bash tomorrow night and there's a ticket at the airport waiting for you. I'll pick you up. See you later bye and he hung up the phone!!! I got to Phoenix. He picked me up in a stretch limo and we're riding in the back sipping cognac both of us walking on cloud nine Ickey telling me "coach I KNOW I'm in the top 35 I JUST HOPE I'm in the TOP 32 ( UNLV has never had a first round pick) Bruce Allen spared no expense at the pre-draft party it was at The DOUBLE TREE suites and there were some heavy weights in the room Craig Iron Head Heyward and his family Anthony Miller and his family and ESPN's Roy Firestone and one the ALL TIME GREATS in coaching Bruce Allen's father GEORGE ALLEN, MAN I was in tall cotton !!! The next day were all in this BIG banquet ballroom, ESPN had set up a live remote with Roy Firestone reporting as the draft picks are announced. There was a big wood barrel with Don Perignon bottles packed in ice, and as each player was selected, the champagne poured and toast were made. Mock drafts ( towards the end are PRETTY accurate ) and we KNEW who were going to draft a running back and as each one passed over Ickey OUR frustration grew larger ! The last team to pick a running back was the Chicago Bears and has both of us scooted to the edge of our seats the announcement came that they had selected Stanford running back Brad Muster and with THAT my boy could take NO MORE, "BU****IT" he hollered as he jumped from his seat and walked out the room heads turned ( even Roy Firestone ) now my mind's buzzing 'cause I got to find my boy and calm him down ( we're on NATIONAL T V ) I walked out into the hallway, couldn't find him now I'm getting desperate. I walk into the men's room and he slumped down in the floor and as I'm trying to console him and encourage him I feel a hand on my shoulder and it's George Allen and he's telling Ickey, "young man for my money you're one of the best players on the board but don't worry because when I was HFC of The Redskins some of my best players were UNDRAFTED free agents NOW get up and get back in there with your family, I going to call my friend Bill Bidwell (then owner of the Arizona Cardinals )and tell him to draft you ! Now as we're walking back into the banquet hall Roy Firestone is looking around hollering, "where's the Woods kid, The Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock and I'm hearing he's their guy" !!! Ickey looked at me puzzled and said, "The Bengals " his rookie year The Bengals came 47 seconds from winning The Super Bowl ! Proverbs 19:21 reads MANY are the PLANS of man but it's The Lord's PLANS that PREVAIL !!! AMEN ! 
