Des Moines Register
02/02/06
Keeler: Berryman didn't put thinking cap on
By SEAN KEELER
REGISTER COLUMNIST
On one hand, the punishment did not fit the quote-unquote crime. On the other,
why give yourself the chance to get whistled for a ticky-tack foul when you know
you're playing with four already?
Jason Berryman turns 21 Feb. 18. If the former Iowa State defensive end had
simply waited to go clubbing a month from now instead of last weekend, we're
not having this conversation.
Even with inflation, $4 will buy you a pretty nice little desk calendar.
Berryman was kicked off the team Tuesday by coach Dan McCarney after his
latest transgression - a citation for being underage at an Ames nightclub.
Despite the paper trail of car-trashing and first-degree theft and assault causing
injury, I'm not convinced that Berryman is truly a bad kid or a menace to society.
But I'm fairly certain the young man is an idiot.
Everybody makes mistakes. Fools practice them.
The Houston native could have left town seven months ago after serving 258
days in the Story County pokey. A new life. A new environment. A fresh start.
Berryman chose to stay and stick it out, knowing he was walking under a
microscope at every turn.
Then again, making wise choices have never been Jason's forte.
Don't pity Berryman. Pity the next coach who's assigned to baby-sit him.
Don't pity Dan McCarney. The Cyclone football coach should see a good
chiropractor after the way he stuck his neck out.
Vandalism and probation? A warning. Felonious theft, misdemeanor assault and
jail time? A sterner warning.
A ticket for being caught underage at a nightclub? Don't let the door hit your
backside on the way out, son!
It was a funny time for McCarney to suddenly find religion. I'm through trying to
guess the man's strike zone. Not only is it different for every hitter, the thing
changes every half-inning.
Then again, Tuesday's decision might say something about the influence of new
athletic director Jamie Pollard, who apparently doesn't want to get mistaken for a
softie during his first six months on the job.
Or the mysterious behavioral contract that Berryman agreed to when he rejoined
the program last summer. It's a lot tougher to sue Iowa State once you've put the
terms of your third strike in writing.
Or maybe enough was simply enough. No more will McCarney or defensive line
coach Mike Nelson have to justify to reporters or explain to grandmothers and kid
sisters why a convicted felon was raising Cain for the Iowa State football team.
Assuming he finds the right environment and a firm curfew, Berryman will be fine.
His next step should be a solid Division I-AA program to transfer to - I hear Terry
Allen is looking for a few good men at Missouri State - while polishing up his
game and his degree.
"I don't think you can come in and play in (the NFL) after just one year out (of
jail)," says longtime NFL draftnik Jerry Jones, publisher of the quarterly Drugstore
List. "I would say his chances of being drafted are practically zero.
"The (league) has gotten a lot more careful about the character thing. How many
more players can the Raiders take?"
Teams keep wanting to sign Terrell Owens. Teams kept trying to find the good in
Lawrence Phillips.
"There is one other option," Jones chuckled. "Does he speak Canadian?"
It's hard to sneak up on anybody in the NFL anymore. The guys with the
stopwatches will find you in Springfield. Or Cedar Falls, a stop that worked well
for former Iowa cornerback Benny Sapp - and not so well for troubled Iowa City
native Hakim Hill.
"I think that's something we'd have to talk pretty carefully about," said Northern
Iowa athletic director Rick Hartzell, who, as of late Wednesday afternoon, had yet
to hear from anyone in the Berryman camp.
"My posture is always the same: Kids deserve a second chance."
But not a third. Or a fourth. It was long past time for Berryman and Ames to make
a clean break. The Cyclones have Shawn Moorehead. Berryman has the rest of
his life. Here's hoping, for his sake, it's nowhere near as eventful as the past
three years.