FLAGSTAFF - The kid who could become the NFL's next great cornerback would like everyone to know that he's going to remain a kid, no matter what.
You might have arrived at that conclusion yourself if you happened to see the go-kart sized car Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie brought to Cardinals training camp, the red one with his number, 29, on it. Or if you saw him walking around the Northern Arizona campus wearing his "Toy Story" backpack.
"Yes, sir, I have a lot of little kiddie backpacks," Rodgers-Cromartie said when asked about the one featuring Woody the Cowboy.
The backpack, complete with telescopic handle, is something you would see on a kindergartner, not a first-round draft pick who started 11 games as a rookie last season and intercepted six passes, including two in the playoffs.
Not that Rodgers-Cromartie cares.
"I'm still a kid," said Rodgers-Cromartie, 23. "I don't care how many years I've played or what profession I'm in. I'm going to be me and that's part of me, just being a kid."
His teammates have teased about the miniature car, the backpacks and the occasional impromptu dance he performs, but mostly they look at him and smile.
"He always keeps everything real light, doesn't take anything too serious," safety Adrian Wilson said. "You always have to have a couple guys like that on the team, so he's good to have."
On the back of the 6-foot-2-inch Rodgers-Cromartie, the backpack fits easily between his shoulder blades, even with the handle extended, as he prefers. The bag doesn't hold much, but, then, it's not asked to.
"Notebook and pencils, that's all I need," Rodgers-Cromartie said.
Back to school
More important, Rodgers-Cromartie is learning what to do with those notebooks and pencils. Last year, veterans chastised him after they saw Rodgers-Cromartie's notebooks were full of doodles and drawings, not pass routes and coverages.
"He's not where he needs to be but he's improving," defensive backs coach Teryl Austin said of Rodgers-Cromartie's study habits. "It's about consistency with him, as it is for a lot of young guys. I think he's got a chance to be a really good player. All that stuff he does that I say I coach (him to do)? I might be lying there. He has some tremendous God-given abilities."
When he started playing on Sundays, Rodgers-Cromartie found out just how important studying was. He was burned early in the season but he learned, and by the end of the season he had become the shut-down corner the team had been seeking for years.
"If he can get to that level where he can do it, day in and day out, the sky is the limit for him," Wilson said.
Rodgers-Cromartie has the physical skills to be a dominant corner. While he looks lighter than the 182 pounds listed, he is tall for his position. His speed allows him to reach passes other corners can't, or to recover from mistakes that would become touchdowns against other players.
"He has something that you can't teach, which is speed," receiver Anquan Boldin said. "If he hones in on his skills, he can be one of the better corners in this league."
Wealth of experts
Rodgers-Cromartie is surrounded by veterans in the secondary, which coach Ken Whisenhunt thinks speeds his learning process. Cornerback Ralph Brown, safety Antrel Rolle and Wilson stayed on Rodgers-Cromartie about his preparation last year. This season, cornerback Bryant McFadden has been added.
Austin doesn't spare criticism, either.
"You have enough guys in that group who are pushing, who understand what he could become," Whisenhunt said. "The good teams I've been around, that's the atmosphere they have."
It helps that the veterans enjoy being around Rodgers-Cromartie, who doesn't mind entertaining. He dances, he teases and he wears kiddie backpacks.
"He's just out there having fun," Boldin said.
Rodgers-Cromartie has more in store, too. He hasn't used his favorite kiddie backup, "Dora the Explorer," since he's been with the Cardinals.
"I used to rock that one in college," he said. "I'm planning on bringing it out during the season."
No one will care, as long as the backpack has notebooks and pencils - and Rodgers-Cromartie is using them.
"As long as I ain't got my coloring book, I'm good," he said. "I can't fit too many things in there."
He has coloring books?
"Oh, yes sir," he said. "I still got it at the house. I still use that, when I'm bored at the house."