This Mulerider pulls big load

Jordan Babineaux’s list of college football accomplishments reads like a “Saturday Night Live” skit.

For openers, he played for the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders, a small NCAA Division II school in Magnolia, Ark. The postseason honors bestowed upon him following his senior season included being named a first-team All-America kick returner by Dopke.com, and a second-team All-America cornerback by Daktronics.

He was also selected to play in the Whataburger Cactus Bowl All-Star game in Kingsville, Texas.

“Yeah, I still catch a lot of … I mean, guys still tease me about that – especially the school I came from,” admitted the 23-year-old Babineaux, who has overcome his small-college pedigree to become a big-play defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks. “But it’s all fun and games.”

The ribbing these days is tinged with more respect than it was in fall 2004 when the 6-foot, 200-pound Babineaux showed up at his first NFL training camp after signing with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent.

Back then, he recalled, he was lugging a pretty big chip around on his shoulder while trying to prove he belonged on football’s biggest stage.

“The biggest thing about it is that, a lot of times, smaller-school players are overlooked,” Babineaux said Wednesday morning, following a Seahawks practice at Eastern Washington University. “But we’re football players, too.”

Since being called up from the practice squad 11 games into the 2004 season, Babineaux has established himself as one of the most valuable and versatile performers on the defense, where he has alternated between cornerback and safety while also playing on special teams.

Last year, he started four games and came up with a pair of game-saving plays.

The first came against the Rams, when he forced a late fumble on a punt return and allowed the Seahawks to run out the clock, maintain their 37-31 lead and secure their first victory in St. Louis since 1997.

The second came two weeks later when he picked off a Drew Bledsoe pass and returned it 25 yards with just 5 seconds left in the game to set up the winning field goal in a 13-10 Seahawks victory at Qwest Field.

His contributions did not go unnoticed by Pro Bowl running back and teammate Shaun Alexander, who called Babineaux “probably the most underrated player in the NFL” this week.

“His value to the team is huge,” Alexander said. “He’s one of those guys that could play corner and you wouldn’t have any weak spots in his game at all. He can play safety any time. He can play nickel at any time.”

Still, Babineaux hints that he would like to settle in at a position – preferably cornerback – and try to shed his “underrated” label. Alternating between corner and safety, he said, is a “double-edged sword.”

“On one side of it, I’m playing as a backup to both positions,” he explained. “But on the plus side, I know the defense in and out and I can help some of the rookies and free agents out by giving them pointers on how we do certain things in the defense we play. So, it’s good and bad.”

Babineaux missed the first half or training camp after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery, but was cleared to start practicing again last week.

He did not play in Saturday’s 13-3 preseason loss to Dallas, and his status for Sunday’s second exhibition game against the Colts in Indianapolis remains uncertain.

“It’s still early in the week,” he said. “We’re going to take it one step at a time and make a decision come Saturday. But I’ve been working my way back into practice, and this week I’ve been able to do a little more than I was able to do last week.

“I’m ready to get back, because I really feel that I still have something to prove. I had some success as a player last year and in my two years with the team, but I’m not settling for that. I’ve got more things I need to do to establish myself as a player in this league.”

Notes

Defensive ends Grant Wistrom and Joe Tafoya, and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard made their training camp debuts after rehabbing from off-season injuries. None did much, however, and they won’t be ready to play in Sunday’s exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts. … Former NFL receiver Jerry Rice, who played for the Seahawks in 2004 near the end of his career, was at training camp to co-host a live Sirius Satellite Radio broadcast from just outside the practice fields. One of his first guests was Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. … Prior to doing his interview with Rice, Holmgren addressed earlier reports that another former Seahawk and current Minnesota Vikings receiver Koren Robinson had been arrested near Mankato, Minn., on Tuesday night on suspicion of drunken driving and fleeing arrest by saying he was “saddened” by the news. “I pray for him that he gets his life in order before something really bad happens,” Holmgren said of Robinson, who was suspended by the NFL for four games in 2004 for violating the league’s substance abuse program while still a member of the Seahawks. … Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu missed practices with a groin pull and his status for Sunday is uncertain.