BEREA: As the wide receiver sprints downfield after catching a pass, 69-year-old Al Saunders chases the young man, pulls him aside and offers pointers. A high-five, fist bump or pat on the back typically follows.
The scene unfolds countless times during each Browns practice.
“He’s about 70 going on 30,” offensive line coach Hal Hunter said Thursday as mandatory minicamp wrapped up.
The source of the exuberance?
“I just think that is what he is,” coach Hue Jackson, 50, said. “That’s what he’s always been. It’s really funny. I laugh sometimes because when I was a little younger, that’s who I was.”
Saunders is too old school to strap a Fitbit to his wrist, but there’s no doubt the Browns’ senior offensive assistant and wide receivers coach far exceeds 10,000 steps a day. Long before he sets foot on the practice field, the former defensive back and wide receiver at San Jose State and All-America swimmer works out every morning.
“He’s a fun guy to be around,” Hunter said. “He has a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of get-up-and-go.”
Going the distance
Saunders has run more than 20 marathons. In 1996, he was crowned the Road Runners Club of America’s 5K national champion in the men’s master division.
His background as an elite distance runner explains his ability to impersonate the Energizer Bunny during practices. Although his days as a competitive runner are behind him, he’s always on the move in practices because he wants to give players immediate feedback.
“That’s kind of just the way I am,” said Saunders, a native of Hendon, England, who moved to Canada and then California as a young boy. “I love this game, I love being on the field, I love the relationships with the players and I love the energy that the field provides.
Help from McKay
“[Coach] John McKay, when I was a graduate assistant at the University of Southern California, told me, ‘If you can’t bring energy and enthusiasm to the field and the building, you probably don’t belong on the field and the building.’
“He says when guys are running up the field, when they’re coming back to the huddle, that’s the time to coach them, and I just always believed that.”
Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman has grown accustomed to Saunders making a beeline toward him before the play has even ended.
“It’s crazy,” said Coleman, a first-round draft pick. “You can tell he’s not just doing it to do it. He’s doing it because he loves his players getting better. That guy is so smart and intelligent. He’s been around the game for a long time. I try to pick his brain and ask him questions all the time.”
Wealth of experience
Saunders has been a football coach for 46 years, including the past 33 in the NFL. His rare blend of experience and intensity is among the reasons Jackson calls Saunders the best wide receivers coach in football.
“He’s an unbelievable teacher, and he’s a great leader of men,” said Jackson, who had Saunders as his offensive coordinator during his one season as head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011. “He knows how to get guys to play and play at a high level real fast. It is probably one of the most improved units on our football team — the receiver position.”
It’s also one of the least experienced groups. Of the 11 receivers on the roster, five are rookies, two are first-year players and then there’s Terrelle Pryor, a former quarterback who switched positions last summer.
“The thing you always get with younger players usually is enthusiasm. The other thing is you have to teach them everything,” Saunders said. “You have to teach them how to practice, how to study, how to learn, how to accelerate their abilities on the field physically, mentally and emotionally. That’s a challenge.”
Saunders thinks of those receivers as his children, even though he and his wife of 43 years, Karen, have three of their own, distinguished clinical psychologist Dr. Korrin Saunders, Emmy Award winning director/producer William J. Saunders and Browns offensive quality control/assistant wide receivers coach Bob Saunders.
Praise and tough love
He’ll give his players tough love if they unnecessarily run out of bounds, reminding them the sideline has never missed a tackle. He’ll also praise them if they run a route worthy of a touchdown, even when a pass isn’t thrown their way.
After Saunders jogs to track down a player, encouragement is always at the core of his advice.
“I enjoy when somebody does something well,” said Saunders, head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1986-88 and an offensive coordinator for four other NFL teams.
“That’s a part of me out there, and you’ve got a vested interest in helping them get better.
‘‘I’ve got a master’s degree in education from Stanford, and one thing I’ve always learned is those students that are looking at you in that class, you want them to get A’s. You don’t want them to get B’s or C’s or D’s, and it’s my responsibility to make sure every student that I have, whether they’re wearing pads, get A’s.
“When a guy gets an A on a quiz or a test, I’m really excited for them. They bring the energy out in me, I think, because of how hard they work and what we’re trying to do.”
The energy doesn’t seem to dissipate.
After Saunders finished speaking with reporters following the final practice of mandatory minicamp, he didn’t walk off the field. He ran.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ.