The first thing you notice about the Cardinals' first-round draft pick is his size.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is listed at 6-foot-2. And he looks at least that tall.
And that's great for the Cardinals; cornerbacks often are 4 inches or so shorter.
Cards draft cornerback Rodgers-Cromartie
"That's the advantage of being tall," Rodgers-Cromartie said at his introductory news conference on Thursday. "It makes it hard for the quarterback to throw it over my head."
That's the idea, of course. And that's a big reason the Cardinals - who ranked No. 28 against the pass last season - picked him at No. 16 overall.
Another thing you notice about Rodgers-Cromartie is that he addresses others with "sir."
"He's a tremendous athlete, and he's a good person," general manager Rod Graves says.
"He's a bit soft-spoken but don't let that demeanor fool you.
"He's very competitive."
His Cardinals' debut caps a stunning rise in fortunes.
He attended four high schools in part because of family issues. At 150 pounds, he wasn't even recruited out of high school to play football.
His father, though, was a friend of one of the coaches at Tennessee State, so he went there.
"It's been a tough road," Rodgers-Cromartie says.
"Never did I think of the first round coming from where I came from."
His stock rose at the Senior Bowl and then again at the pro draft combine.
Along the way, he met the Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green through his church. He ended up attending Green's camp before his senior year and adopted some of Green's techniques.
There never seemed much question about his athletic ability, though.
He was a track star who - especially for somebody who exudes humility - is more matter of fact about his confidence in this area.
If he concentrated on track instead of football, "I could win the Olympics if I wanted to: the long jump, I think, the high jump and the 100 (meters)."
Rodgers-Cromartie says he's thinking of savoring the moment when the Cardinals start their three-day minicamp today at their Tempe training complex.
"I was going to sit in the locker room for a few minutes with the helmet on my head ... look back over all the things I've been through and say, 'I'm finally here,' and then go to work."
EXTRA POINTS: Rodgers-Cromartie was pleasantly surprised the Cardinals figured out a way to put his full name on the back of his jersey.
"I thought I'd have to pick one," he said, explaining his mother's name is Rodgers while his father's last name is Cromartie.
