Tucker '01 utilizes versatility, attitude to land spot in the League

"I wake up every morning and go to work in mesh shorts and flipflops," Ross Tucker '01 said, slowly waking up from an after-work nap that lasted from 6 to 9 p.m. "Its absolutely unbelievably awesome. I'm living my dream."

Five months ago, Tucker could have been mistaken for a typical Princeton senior. Balancing time between classes and his eating club, Cottage, he also managed to complete a complex thesis, in which he wrote on Title IX and gender equity. Graduating with the rest of the Politics Department on June 5, Tucker did what a lot of other recent graduates did — he began his job search.

It was at this point when Tucker deviated from the vast majority of his graduating colleagues. While many of his former classmates decided to don suits for their walks down Wall Street or braced themselves for seemingly endless schooling in post-graduate work, Tucker donned pads and cleats and braced himself for grueling days out on the football field.

On April 23, the Washington Redskins of the National Football League offered the six-foot, four-inch, 305-pound offensive tackle a free agent contract and told him to report to their mini-camps that upcoming summer. During the spring, Tucker may have appeared to be the typical senior. However, the chance to play professional football never strayed far from his mind.

"I was constantly concentrating on getting stronger, bigger, and faster," Tucker said. "Every kid in the camp would be looking to get a shot at the League. Since every day at the camps could have been my last, I had to make sure that all I needed was one day to show exactly what I could do."

Although he was still recovering from a December hernia surgery, Tucker spent countless hours working with strength coach Jason Gallucci, oftentimes heading down to the weight room at 6 a.m. and training two times a day.

Tucker couldn't afford to slack off. He knew he had to do everything he could to keep his edge, the same edge that led to him being named Second-Team All-Ivy at the end of his senior campaign.

By the end of the preseason, more than 30 of the players invited to the training camp would be cut as the coaches shaved their roster down to the NFL-mandated 53 players. Tucker had to insure he wasn't one of the players left standing stupid on the sidelines.

Though he was battling extreme nervousness, his spring-training intensity paid off as Tucker walked into the Redskins training facility and made an immediate impact. Offensive line coach Joe Pendry experimented with Tucker at numerous positions, including right and left guard, although he had played only right tackle while at Princeton. Pendry was impressed at the way the two-time District II Academic All-America and winner of Princeton's McPhee Award for team leadership adjusted to the different slots, and eventually solidified his spot as the second-string left tackle.

"Everything was working out, everything was going well," Tucker said. "I was just going out there, trying to kill everybody, and it worked."

Everything seemed to be going perfectly — until the fourth day of training camp. In the middle of a inter-squad scrimmage, Tucker was unintentionally side-swiped by a defensive lineman. The player drilled his right knee, causing a second-degree MCL sprain. Having battled injuries before, including a torn knee ligament his junior year, Tucker knew what he had to do to recover.

"I basically lived in the training room," Tucker said, laughing.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Although he can joke about it now, at the time the situation could not have been less funny. "I rehabbed four or five times a day, icing, compressing, stretching — I was back in 12 days."

Tucker's hard work was rewarded when he played in his first preseason game as a Redskin against the Atlanta Falcons. Receiving encouragement from his teammates, who have nicknamed him "Princeton," Tucker opened his professional career without giving up single sack or hit on the quarterback.

"It hit me that I was finally an NFL player," Tucker said. "Here was a game that I would have paid to see and they were actually paying me to be in it. It was incredible."

Even though Tucker had performed extremely well when he wasn't injured, he still sat anxiously in his bedroom on the day of final cuts. He sat staring at a silent phone for over two hours, waiting for the phone call that might end his life-long dream. When the call finally came, it wasn't a coach — it was his agent, Joe Linta.

"I picked up the phone, and all my agent said was, 'Congraula-tions, you are officially a member of the active roster for the Washington Redskins,'" Tucker recalled, excitement still clear in his voice. "I had to ask him twice if he was sure. I even asked if I should call the coach to see if he was positive."

If Tucker still needs further convincing of his new status as a professional baller, the $12,500 check he receives every Tuesday and his recent endorsement deal with Reebok should suffice.

Last spring, Tucker jokingly commented that he wanted to be invited to an NFL training camp so that when he got cut, he would find out if he got to keep all of the equipment and paraphernalia the team distributes to allparticipating players.

Tucker did eventually discover that released players are allowed to keep their merchandise, but it was only from watching those around him pack up and go home. Thankfully and deservedly, Tucker has already found his home in the NFL, and in the process has become a typical Princeton success story who took a most atypical path.