A dream come true

No one offered him a scholarship out of high school, so he walked on at the University of San Diego -- a non-scholarship athletic program -- and promptly was redshirted. Then he went on to become the most decorated player in USD history. He led all Division I-A and I-AA players with 20 sacks in his senior season, earning small school first-team All-American honors (USD is a part of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly I-AA).

He was in the running for two major awards, and was the only small school player among eight finalists for the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation's top defensive end. But he still had plenty to prove. Before the NFL Draft, Bakhtiari went to an open tryout with the Raiders and the 49ers, the team he idolized growing up.

"It didn't go too well apparently," Bakhtiari said.

Bakhtiari went undrafted, but the Chargers called afterwards and wanted to sign him as a free agent. Obviously delighted, Bakhtiari received ample playing time in the preseason, including some game action against the 49ers at Candlestick Park. In front of 20 family members, relatives and friends, Bakhtiari recorded four tackles.

"When Eric got a little older I would take him to watch Steve Young and Jerry (Rice). I never dreamed that one day he would be out there playing," Bakhtiari's father, Karl, said in an e-mail.

Said Eric Bakhtiari: "My dad said just seeing me play in Candlestick was enough football he'd ever have to see me play again. It was awesome playing there and a great moment. But I've been living in San Diego for the last five years, and now I got a new favorite team. My dad has been to all my games. He has been my biggest supporter to the point where it's been obnoxious (laughs)."

But in the dog-eat-dog world that is the NFL, the good times didn't last. A couple of days after the Chargers-Niners game Bakhtiari was released when teams had to make their final round of cuts to get their roster down to 53 players. For the next few weeks, Bakhtiari's life was in limbo.

"There was a time there I was homeless and unemployed," he said matter of factly.

But in the NFL -- just like in life -- only the strong survive, and Bakhtiari remained strong in his belief that he could make it. Opportunity came knocking when San Diego's All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman decided to have major knee surgery after the team's first game against Carolina. The Chargers brought up Antwan Applewhite from the practice squad and replaced him with Bakhtiari.

When he got the call from his agent that the Chargers wanted to sign him to the practice squad, Bakhtiari shouted for joy. He wasn't the only one. His girlfriend and another friend were with Bakhtiari at the time, and they were so excited that they jumped on him, causing Bakhtiari to accidentally hang up on his agent.

"I was so happy I couldn't speak," Bakhtiari said.

So how exactly does a player who didn't start until his senior year of high school and was never offered a scholarship be on the cusp of making the 53-man roster for one of the more talented teams in the NFL? A lot of hard work, an unwavering confidence and taking advantage of opportunities given to him by coaches who believed in him.

Bakhtiari has tremendous praise for Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos, who coached Bakhtiari for his senior year. But what a season it was. Frustrated with the previous coaching staff, Bakhtiari's career took off when Philipopoulos used him as a standing defensive end. All Bakhtiari did was lead San Mateo County with 14.5 sacks.

"He's the only person that saw it, to use me in that way," Bakhtiari said. "Not even my dad saw it. I didn't see it. No one did except him. He saw how hard I worked. Before that I had no position, and the coaches had no confidence in me as a football player overall. I'm not even saying I deserved to be a starter (as a junior), but that I was on the opposite side of the fence until the new coaching staff came in."

Philipopoulos is too modest to say he had much to do with Bakhtiari's meteoric rise to prominence. But it was pretty clear to him that Bakhtiari had tremendous talent and a passion for the game.

"I saw his work ethic and how athletic he was," Philipopoulos said. "We put him out there and all of a sudden no one could block him. I'd be lying if I said I knew he could play in the NFL at that very moment, but I knew this kid could really play. He did some amazing things on the field. Sometimes it takes a while for your body to mature and develop. It's not like one day he woke up -- and bam! -- he became a force. It's a process."

In one year, so much was accomplished. But Bakhtiari's football lesson in higher learning was only getting started. He entered USD at 210 pounds, then packed on 50 pounds over the next four years. Every time he was in the weight room, he thought about all the people who doubted him, the whispers that never seemed to go away. He heard it all, first through high school, then through college and now as a professional. One thing is for certain: Bakhtiari has never lacked for motivation, internally or externally.

"I have a million enough reasons to be motivated," he said. "The one thing that motivates me the most is my love for the game. But it never hurts to have people doubt you. Maybe being on the bench for three years (at Burlingame) motivated me. Then at USD people said I was too weak to play defensive end. Then in the pros they say I don't have a position to play. Then I get released and they bring me back. It always seems like there's (an obstacle) along the way. I still have plenty to do. So far I'm thinking I've done nothing."

It's that level head that has gotten Bakhtiari this far. As a practice squad player he's just as busy -- maybe even more so because he's fighting to get on the active roster -- than the star players. A typical day has Bakhtiari working out by 6 a.m. From 8 a.m. to noon he's in meetings before taking a 30-minute lunch break.

At 1 p.m. the team goes through a walk-through, with practice lasting a little over two hours. Then Bakhtiari has more meetings that last until 5. Only then is Bakhtiari's job done. As part of the practice squad he mimics the Chargers' upcoming opponent in practice.

"I'm loving every minute of it," he said. "I run every play on defense and then I go to special teams and run every play. I try to give them (the offensive starters) a good look to what they'll be seeing (from the linebackers) in the game. It only helps me become a better football player."

For now Bakhtiari's life revolves around football. Few athletes work harder, and the thought of suiting up on Sundays drive him to become the best player he can possible be. If there is another injury to the Chargers' linebacker corps and if management feels Bakhtiari is ready, getting called up to the active 53-man roster is a distinct possibility. And that would be the biggest step in what has turned out to be a spectacular odyssey.

From the time he graduated from USD to the moment he was signed to the Chargers' practice squad, Bakhtiari prayed every night before he went to bed, hoping he could land a spot on an NFL team. Now he says a different prayer: "I say thanks for giving me a great day, and that hopefully another one is right around the corner."

For Eric Bakhtiari, the future has never looked so bright.

Contact Emanuel Lee at emanuel@smdailyjournal.com and (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.