Players Spotlight:
Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Colts

By John Raffel, NFLHS.com

Bob Sanders has appeared in the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. But the 5-foot-8, 206-pound defensive back for the Indianapolis Colts said none of it would have happened if it wasn't for his high school football coach.

Sanders kisses the trophy after his team won Super Bowl XLI.

Sanders' 2006 season was actually curtailed because of a knee injury. He still wound up with 30 tackles, 20 solo for the season. His best game was 11 tackles, including several solo against the New York Giants. He also had 10 tackles, seven solos and one interception at New England.

In the playoffs, he had 10 tackles and eight solos at Balitmore and six tackles, including five solos against New England in the AFC championship game. He had three tackles and one interception against Chicago in the Super Bowl.

"Everything has been going well besides the few injuries that I've had," Sanders said. "I've been to a Pro Bowl and have won a Super Bowl. I've achieved some team goals and some personal goals. I'm excited about it."

It was in 2005 that Sanders earned a reputation as one of the NFL's top hitters at the free safety position. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time and became the franchise's first defensive back to make it to the Pro Bowl since 1971. That season, he had 118 tackles, 71 solos, four passes defensed and one interception. His career-best game was against San Diego, when he had 20 tackles, including 12 solos.

But his rookie season in 2004 was shortened by foot and knee injuries. But in two postseason games, he had 17 tackles, 11 solos and four special teams tackles. Sanders was an Associated Press NFL All-Pro first team.

Sanders was obtained by Indianapolis from Pittsburgh with the 107th pick overall in 2004.

"I'd like to get back to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl," he said. "I'd like to stay healthy for the whole season. I want to be a leader on the team and maybe be a defensive captain. Those are just some personal things. Obviously, we want to go back to the Super Bowl."

Born in Erie, Penn., Sanders went to Cathedral Prep High School and was first-team all-state as a senior and third-team as a junior. He was a senior team captain. He rushed for 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns as a running back to help his team reach the state finals.

"It's an all-boys school and wasn't very big," he said. "We were 4-8 in my sophomore year. In my junior year, we made it to the Western Pennsylvania regional finals. My senior year, we played in the state championship game with a 10-2 record and lost by one point. We were ranked in the top 10 in the country. We played the No. 5 team in the country. It was great football.

"Western Pennsylvania has a lot of good football. It helped my future success playing in that program."

In high school, Sanders played safety and running back.

"My coach, Joe Moore, a former offensive line coach at Notre Dame, told me what I had to do to prepare myself. He said for me not to worry about being a starter right away and that it would come. He is my main reason for being able to go to college," Sanders said. "People say I was too small and not fast enough. Joe was one of the few guys who convinced me that I could do some good things. He talked to the coaching staff at Iowa.

"The coaches at Iowa offered me a scholarship when no one else wanted me. They trusted what Joe Moore said. I ended up playing there four years."

Sanders was a four-year starter at Iowa and opened 36 of his 45 career games at strong safety. He had 348 career tackles, 235 solo, four sacks, 15.5 tackles for losses, six pressures, 30 passes defensed, seven interceptions and one blocked kick.

Sanders was involved in the 2004 Colts Community Tuesdays program by assisting at Silver Creek Community Park in Sellersburg, Ind. He still visits his old high school when he gets a chance.

"I went back there this past offseason to a football camp. It was two days long," Sanders said. "My old coaches were there and helped me out."

Sanders had his jersey retired last February by the school. He wore jersey No. 20.

"That was an honor," Sanders said, adding that high school players who have a goal of making it to the NFL, "need to have a vision and stick with it. If you want to be a pro player after making it to the college level and keep the vision going, you need to have a good work ethic. In this league, they pick guys with good character. If you have that, you can do whatever you want to do."

Sanders hopes to have a long pro football career.

"I'm the kind of guy who listens to his body," Sanders said. "I love the sport. I'd like to play forever. We all know that's impossible to do. We'll see how things turn out. The dream of the NFL is always something that stuck in the back of my mind. I wanted to be like Barry Sanders and not just because we have the same last name. He was one of the best backs who ever played the game.

"You have to take it slow. Sometimes, guys take it too fast. It will come."

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc.