Alabama's Ryans a different breed

He's at the combine determined to take every skills test avaliable.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Some players come to the NFL scouting combine expecting to answer questions about past indiscretions.
DeMeco Ryans' biggest issue will be explaining time management.
From graduating cum laude one semester early at Alabama to helping Hurricane Katrina victims last fall to emerging as one of the top linebackers in this year's draft, Ryans has seemingly done it all -- on and off the field.
"He's a genius, a really smart guy," safety Roman Harper, one of Ryans' college teammates, said Sunday. "He just finds a way to get things done. That's how you live life."
Ryans is a different kind of NFL prospect: There are few questions about his character or talent.
At 6-foot-11/2 and 236 pounds, Ryans plans a rare feat in Indy -- to take all the skills' tests -- and hopes to run 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Most top prospects only endure the grueling medical checks and measurements, then opt out of the drills.
But that wouldn't fit Ryans' personality.
Academic All-American
He considers football a small part of life, preferring instead to take pride in life away from the field. Ryans finished with a 3.5 GPA and academic All-America honors; he wants to become an entrepreneur perhaps in real estate when football ends; he served as a spokesman for a county DARE program in Alabama; and last fall he helped spearhead the Crimson Tide's relief effort.
Among the hurricane victims was Ryans' brother, who moved back to his parents' home after his apartment was destroyed.
Created relief fund
But Ryans wanted to do more than merely provide moral support for others. So at a team meeting, he and several teammates proposed Alabama players donate their $25 per diem to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Coach Mike Shula agreed to match the players' total, bringing the amount to what Ryans estimated at $4,000 to $5,000.
"Nobody had any questions about it," Ryans said.
The fundraising drive was only a start. Ryans quickly arranged for 17 players, including himself, to spend Memorial Day working at the student recreation center where victims were temporarily housed.
For two hours, the players talked to evacuees, played with children and used their muscle-bound bodies for something more productive than punishing opponents.
"We went up there and we helped with anything they needed like moving different things to the trucks," Ryans said. "We served things to the elderly people who couldn't come down and get the food."
As a player, Ryans appears more menace than genius.
His emotion has led to some brash talk, but he's backed it up with strong performances.
Ryans is one of only five Alabama players to ever top 300 tackles, finishing with 307, and his five sacks this season were second on the team. He also set a single-game school record for tackles with 25 against Arkansas against in 2003.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.