Patriots Feel Graced By Presence Of Milloy

If Christian Peter was the draft choice from hell, then Lawyer Milloy must have come straight from heaven to the New England Patriots.

Peter may wind up playing somewhere in the NFL this season, but his well-documented criminal record disqualified him from ever collecting a paycheck signed by Robert F. Kraft.

Milloy, by contrast, has been so successful in overcoming problems that he probably would be welcome to break bread with the Pats’ owner any time.

Indeed, the second-round defensive back’s story is so remarkable it stretches the limits of credibility. Whether or not he succeeds in pro football, Milloy already has stamped himself a winner in life.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound former University of Washington star was among the 20 draft choices and free agents invited to Foxboro Stadium to meet with coach Bill Parcells and his staff for an orientation into pro football.

Most of the just-out-of-college players appeared a little wet behind the ears. Not Milloy, however, especially not when his background came up.

Until his early teens, Milloy was just another happy-go-lucky kid in Tacoma, who spent most of his time sitting in classrooms and playing sports.

He liked them all, especially baseball, which he figured might lead to his career.

Then his father went to jail for dealing drugs, his mother went to the hospital for treatment of a crack cocaine addiction, leaving Milloy and his younger brother, Galvin, as wards of the state.

Galvin, who was 8, wound up going to live with his grandparents in St. Louis. Lawyer was allowed to move down the block into the home of his best friend, Gary O’Connor.

“I wanted to stay around to help my parents,” explained the Pats’ second-round draft pick. “I was lucky to be tight with Gary. He was the catcher on a baseball team I pitched for.”

Milloy didn’t realize what his parents were into because he was so busy doing his homework and playing baseball, but when they were taken away, the pain was real.

“I felt like I had to take responsibility for myself and them,” he said. “I never got involved in anything bad because I was always out on a ball field, but it was a real shock when I lost my mom and dad. Something like that makes you grow up fast.”

With the help of his surrogate parents, his teachers and his coaches, Milloy stayed out of trouble and starred in football, basketball and baseball at Lincoln High School, where he was recruited by 50 colleges and the Cleveland Indians, who drafted him.

It was only because he wanted to help his mother and father get back on their feet that Milloy opted to attend the University of Washington on a football scholarship rather than sign with the Indians.

“Baseball always had been my game,” the pitcher-center fielder said, “but I didn’t feel like I could leave the Seattle area to play while my parents were having their problems.”

Milloy continued to play baseball as well as football at Washington until, shortly before last season, he decided to concentrate on the fall sport.

He opted to declare for the NFL draft, even though he has a season of collegiate eligibility left, not for the money but for the chance to test himself.

“I’m two quarters short of a degree in sociology,” said Milloy, “but I’ll go back to get it. I’m a very determined person.”

Indeed he is, which is why the All-American isn’t worried about whether he will succeed in impressing Bill Parcells enough to win a starting job at strong safety.

“I’m not going to worry about playing time,” he said. “I just want to improve and do the best I can and let the chips fall where they may.”

Although he was forced to sit out Washington’s visit to the Sun Bowl because of a broken left toe, Milloy was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back.

In three seasons of college football, Milloy rang up four interceptions and 249 tackles while building a reputation as a jarring tackler.

“I love to blitz,” he said. “If my number’s called, there better not be an audible because I’ll be coming.”

Milloy never got to cover Washington State receivers while Drew Bledsoe was calling signals in the Pac-10, but he has seen and heard enough to have respect for the Pats’ quarterback.

“All I know about Bledsoe is that he threw 50 against us in my red-shirt (freshman) year and most of them were caught,” reported Milloy. “But he never got to Pasadena. I’ve got a couple of Rose Bowl rings he might like to see.”

When he signs with the Pats, the 22-year-old defensive back says he may buy a house for his mother and father as a reward for their straightening out.

Although he was pleased to be drafted last weekend, Milloy said he was more excited the day his mother looked him squarely in the eyes to tell him she was drug free.

“I don’t think I’m a role model to the public,” he said, “but I’ll be happy if my family can look up to me.”

They already should.