Team

As Louis Rankin was ripping off the final few darts and dashes in a 224-yard rushing performance, Mike Gibson remembers muttering to himself, “If I never see this guy again, it will be too soon.”

That was in 2007, when Rankin was running for the University of Washington and Gibson was the left tackle for the University of California.

Now, two years later and with each on his second NFL team, who was one of the first guys Gibson saw when he walked into the Seahawks’ locker room last month? You guessed it: Rankin. These former college rivals are not only NFL teammates now; they’re roommates the night before games.

“Louis absolutely killed us my senior year when we played Washington,” Gibson said, rolling his eyes and cracking a smile. “I never wanted to see this guy again, and now we’re roommates. You just never know.”

They have been thrust together because Rankin was signed to the practice squad in late September after being released by the Oakland Raiders, and then elevated to the 53-man roster in late October – a week after Gibson was signed off the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.

“It’s a lot of fun to kind of compete and then talk trash,” Gibson said. “Believe me, that game we played against each other our senior years has come up.”

Rankin laughs when told of Gibson’s oh-no-not-him story.

“I didn’t really know Mike before he got here,” Rankin said. “I knew of him, but I didn’t know him. That definitely has changed.

“You never know who you’re going to run into again. It’s good to have a lot of Pac-10 guys here. We always joke around about who was better and we always bring up the past games. Nine times out of 10, you’re going to run into at least three or four people you played with in college, or against. It’s a really exciting thing, and I think it’s a great opportunity to know one another a lot better.”  

The NFL can – and does – make for some odd locker-room pairings, as former adversaries become allies.

Like tight end John Carlson and defensive end Lawrence Jackson, who had some memorable matchups when Carlson was at Notre Dame and Jackson was playing for USC. Like defensive tackle Brandon Mebane and offensive lineman Max Unger, who had a few run-ins when Mebane was at Cal and Unger was playing at Oregon. Like ex-Cal running back Justin Forsett and Jackson, who also played against each other and then found themselves in the same draft class last year.

“It’s fun, especially when we first got drafted,” Forsett said. “We talked about when we played each other in college and what he was thinking about and what I was thinking about when we were doing it. So it’s kind of fun to exchange stories.”

Not surprisingly, the Seahawks’ locker room is Pac-10 heavy. There are four former Cal players, three from Washington and two from Oregon on the 53-man roster (see chart) – as well as players from Washington State (cornerback Marcus Trufant), Oregon State (wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh) and USC (Jackson). Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who is on injured reserve, also played at USC. There are three Pac-10 alums on the practice squad – wide receiver Mike Hass (Oregon State), wide receiver Mike Jones (Arizona State) and tackle Kyle Williams (USC).

So when USC played Oregon, or Washington played Oregon or USC, there were bragging rights – as well as a few friendly wagers – on the line. It’s the same this week, when Washington and Washington State meet in the Apple Cup on Saturday. It definitively will be a similar scenario next week, when Oregon and Oregon State meet a Civil War game on Thursday night that will decide the conference championship.

“You definitely have a connection,” Rankin said. “You always want to see the guys that you played with, and even the guys you played against, excel. Because I guess it says a lot about where you played football – your school and your conference. So whenever you’ve got a guy you played with or played against excelling, it’s a great thing.”   

It was difficult to get Lawyer Milloy involved in his college vs. college discussion, because as the veteran safety pointed out with a laugh, “College? There aren’t many guys left from my draft class.” That’s because Milloy entered the league out of Washington in 1996.

But in his 14-year NFL career, he has played for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and now the Seahawks. So you never know who might end up being a teammate.

“In the last six, seven years with free agency, you really have to choose your battles carefully,” he said. “Because those guys that you’re smacking around out there one year can be your teammates the next year.

“So I try to make friends with everybody. It’s war when the whistle blows, but afterwards it’s more of a fraternity. I like that part of the game. It is a brotherhood.”