Ricardo Lockette anxious to get back on the field

ALBANY — Nearly two months removed from the disappointing finish of Super Bowl XLI, Monroe High School graduate and current Seattle Seahawk Ricardo Lockette made his way home to host Ricardo Lockette Day at the Henderson Community Center in south Albany on Saturday.

In conjunction with the Peach State Health Plan, the event intended to raise awareness of nutrition and family fitness. Joined by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the former Division II 200-meter dash champion stopped by the Winfred Benson/L.C. Smith Relays at Hugh Mills Stadium before taking questions from a couple dozen youth.

With less than a month before OTAs begin, Lockette and the Seahawks are justifiably antsy for the season to begin. After trading for Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, the offense has added another dimension.

“It’s a new year,” he said. “We’re just trying to put all the missing pieces together. Whatever it was that caused us to fall short last year, we’re trying to plug those holes.”

Initially signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Lockette attributes his success to his strict coaching at Monroe and Fort Valley State. Conversely, his current head coach, Pete Carroll, has earned the reputation of one of the most laid-back coaches in the game.

“They taught me about consistency and discipline,” Lockette said of his previous coaches. “Those two words took me to where I am now. If you’re disciplined enough to be consistent, you can do anything you want to do. [Playing under Carroll] makes players more relaxed, you can be yourself. It’s not like ‘oh, I’m gonna get cut’ or anything like that. It’s more of a relaxed family environment.”

As a longtime starter at Fort Valley State, Lockette entered the NFL at 24, about three years later than the higher-profile players. In his opinion, the experience paid dividends.

“I think I was a lot more mature than the guys I was battling against,” he said. “Being 24 and battling against 21-year olds, I don’t think their mind was as strong as mine at the time.”

Since graduating from Monroe in 2007, Lockette has noticed South Georgia-area prospects becoming more prominent in the recruiting industry. Local prospects are being offered Division 1 scholarships earlier. The MVP Camp, sponsored by national high school recruiting writers, recently brought the yearly combine to Valdosta.

“They’re looking for guys that have that grit,” Lockette said. “Guys from South Georgia have that, they started from the bottom, and they’re not the prima donnas. They’re finding them down here.”

The most obvious example of the grit Lockette spoke of is Randolph-Clay alumnus Thomas Davis. Davis most recently urged his fellow players in a call to community action after winning the NFL Man of the Year award in January.

“He’s a go-getter,” Lockette said of the Carolina Panthers linebacker. “We always have a good time playing against each other. During the games, its ‘229 this, 229 that.’ It’s all love.”

With the draft and offseason workouts just around the corner, Lockette has put the infamous play behind him, with the help of a “small, successful circle” of family and friends. No matter the outcome on the field, return visits home will always keep him grounded.

“It’s more about giving back,” Lockette said, mobbed by a swarm of children and parents. “It’s not about saying ‘oh, I did this and that,’ it’s more about saying ‘you can do it too.’ ”