Kasper's Rookie Training Camp Diary

Kevin Kasper's Rookie Diary - Looking to Contribute

July 27, 2001

I think Day 1 of training camp went real well for me. I was out there giving it 110 percent. This is my life; this is what I've been waiting for since I can remember. I've wanted to get into camp, show up and do something good to get noticed and I think I did that today.

I arrived yesterday, got settled in and am ready to go. Last night we started with meetings. I'm used to them now from the minicamps. They're long, but there is so much to learn and you really have to be prepared mentally to learn every single aspect of the game whether it is running, blocking or helping someone else on a route. You really have to pay attention in meetings because that's when you learn everything. We got right into Day 1 plays last night and Day 1 plays are a lot of plays.

To get ready for training camp, I studied quite a bit over the summer. I didn't slack off at all. I have some great people in Ed (McCaffrey) and Rod (Smith) to help me really get a grasp of the plays. If I ask them a question they've been kind enough and friendly enough to take time out of their own schedules to extend a helping hand to me and I appreciate that.

Coach Dorrell has worked with me a lot and he's helped me out a great deal. I'm a rookie and for the first two minicamps and I thought he was going to throw me to the side and let me learn on my own. He took his time to help me watch film one-on-one with him and he helped me to better understand the offense.

I also spent a lot of time in the weight room working out with Coach Tuten and I had a 107 percent attendance rate. I was here every single day and then some because I wanted to get better. I figured 100 percent isn't good enough so I wanted to overachieve and try to get better than everybody else. That was the goal in my mind and I wanted to get in the best shape of my life, mentally and physically.

The April and June camps we had previously weren't physically challenging. I'm in very good physical shape, but mentally they were very challenging. The easiest play now, I didn't know back then. So it was really tough to get a hold of the offense and it's a lot different from college as far as how the plays are called, so it's been a big transition.

The first thing that makes the transition difficult is the calling of the plays. The letter Z may mean something in college and then it's something totally different here. It's that kind of transition when mentally you're thinking of what that meant in college and then you have to change it to whatever it means here in the NFL. I had to take it day-by-day and now I'm really getting the hang of it.

I'm working to utilize my strengths every day. I have speed, quickness, agility and I love to block. I can go out there and bang heads with anybody because that's an aspect of the game I truly love to do. Blocking is something that I take pride in.

Off the field I have two brothers, one older and one younger. Ed is 27 and Mike is 21. I talk to them on the phone a great deal. I'm a family guy; I talk to my mom and dad or my brothers every single day. I love any kind of sport and now that I'm in Colorado I can do some different sports. Last weekend my girlfriend and I went hiking in Glenwood Springs and that was a great time. I really like outdoor activities so hopefully I can do more as the years go by. I also love to watch movies. Legends of the Fall and Braveheart are my two favorites; I can watch them day after day.

A new season is here and I'm looking forward to it. I want to make an impact any way I can whether it is on special teams or playing receiver. I'll write you again after I have a full week of training camp under my belt.

Kevin Kasper's Rookie Diary - A Week of Reflections

Aug. 3, 2001

After a full week of training camp, I think it's going very well. I'm just going out there and doing the best I can. I definitely think I'm picking up the offense. I'm a rookie so I'm not expected to know it as well as some other guys at this point, but I feel like I'm getting a really good grasp.

I've been studying a lot. I'm not taking naps during the day and I'm not going to bed real early at night because I'm staying up studying each aspect of the game.

I'm working to catch the ball a lot, that's my job. I'm a wide receiver so I'm not expected to drop the ball, I'm expected to make the tough catch and make the easy catch and I like when people say I have glue on my hands, that's a compliment. I have very high expectations of myself and when the ball is in the air it's my ball, and nobody else's. It's Kasper's ball, it has my name on it and I'm going to get it and try to make things happen.

In order to have a good practice, I have to be prepared before I go on the field. We have the scripts, so I make sure that I know every single play that's going to take place at practice because I don't want any mental mistakes. I want to go out there and know what I'm doing because if I do that my routes are going to be good. My plan is to prepare for each and every practice and take one at a time. I'm not worried about how many practices we have left I'm just worried about the practice and the play I'm involved with at the moment.

We've had double sessions every day so far and it's hard, but it's fun. It feels like I've been doing two-a-days since I was a little kid, but this is definitely the most challenging because of the mental aspect of the game and trying to pick up everything at such a quick pace. As for the physical aspect, I've never run so much but fortunately I've taken care of my body and I feel good.

I thought double sessions were going to be horrible, but I'm enjoying it because I love the game of football and if you love it as much as I do you get up and you're excited. I'm excited for that first practice and right now I'm excited for the next practice. If you really love the game you try to take advantage of them and utilize the practices to get better.

As any NFL training camp, there is been plenty of media coverage. The media has been great and I enjoy talking to them. Getting in the public eye is just an aspect of life in the NFL. There has been a lot of media attention and I'm just soaking it in loving every minute of it.

There have also been a lot of fans here and I've signed a few autographs for them. Signing autographs is something I like to do. I did it at Iowa because the Iowa fans were great and if I see a little kid and he has something to sign, I'm going to do it. I can always take some time out for them. I know when I was a little kid I wanted some of the pro athletes' autographs so I'm just returning the favor back to them. I love the fans and if they love me than I have to love them back.

Thanks for reading my diary and I'll write again next week as we prepare for our first preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 11.

Kevin Kasper's Rookie Diary -- Ready to Take the Field

Aug. 10, 2001

After 13 days of training camp, it's time to play a real game and go up against different people. I am really excited for our game against Dallas tomorrow night. I can't even explain the feelings I have right now. I can't wait to get out there and actually play against somebody else besides our own team.

I'm sure I'll have a little bit of nervous tension before the game, but as soon as I get out there and take my first snap or catch my first kickoff or punt return, I think all those nervous tensions will be out of my system.

We've spent a lot of time the last couple days game-planning. We have watched a lot of Dallas film and have done a lot of work in the classroom in addition to the on-field practices to prepare for the Cowboys.

I hope to go out there and make a name for myself by making some big plays wherever it may be, at special teams or receiver. I want to get out there and do the best I can and show people I can play and make some big plays happen.

I'm excited, but I realize that more than likely in this first game I won't be playing that much, but as the preseason games go on I'll be playing more and more. Usually in the first game the starters play the most and by the time the fourth game comes around I'll be playing more. I know I'll be playing quite a bit of special teams and for me that's where the main contributions have to come from because that's how I'm going to make the team.

Part of that special teams play will come as a punt returner or kick returner. I didn't return kicks in college, but I did it in high school. In college I would practice it quite a bit before practice began and I did it a little bit in the all-star games I played in. For me it's natural, you just catch the ball, which is my job as a receiver, and then run like hell down the field.

I didn't know what to expect when I got to Denver, but on day one I remember Coach Bush, who coaches special teams, came to me and said he wanted to see me run back kicks like Timmy Dwight. I said, "Sure," and ever since then I've been practicing the whole summer and I'm continuing it here in camp.

I think I'll be doing both punts and kicks and I'm really looking forward to it. I really don't have a preference, but kickoff returns are a little easier because you have a bit more time to catch the ball and then run with it. With punt return the main thing is to just get the ball and then depending on how much time you have you can make a move, but I like them both.

Thanks for reading my diary each week and I hope to return to Greeley with a victory over Dallas.