Kaesviharn

        He first heard it as a boy in his apartment complex's parking lot, where the speed bumps were the first-down markers and the curbs were out of bounds, and he didn't hear it again (this time in his own head) until about 15 years later.

        If any of us will play in the NFL someday, it will be Kaesviharn.

        In between those two whispers was a long, circuitous journey that included Paramount, Calif., Lakeville High School in Minnesota, Augustana College in South Dakota, the Arena Football League, the XFL, Washington High School in Sioux Falls, S.D., and the Green Bay Packers. Who knows what other stops there might be for Bengals cornerback Kevin Kaesviharn, 25?

        “I've been blessed,” he said.

Kaesviharn tackles Tampa Bay receiver Jacquez Green. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        He's the poor man's Kurt Warner, because Kaesviharn's story is almost as implausible. Warner went from the Iowa Barnstormers and NFL Europe to NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP in two years. Kaesviharn went from high school algebra teacher and Iowa Arena Ball and the XFL to NFL cornerback in a little more than a year.

        As important as the inspiration Warner provided was that another alternative league-mate made a move to the NFL — to Green Bay's front office — and brought in Kaesviharn as a free agent.

        Kaesviharn had taken a year off between graduating from Augustana College in South Dakota and playing for the Iowa Barnstormers. He taught school and worked with the football team and found that he really missed playing.

        He's Horatio Alger in hip pads. He played 1999 and 2000 with Iowa, then played this season with the San Francisco Demons of the XFL, before going to Green Bay.

        It was in Green Bay that Kaesviharn first realized he could cover NFL receivers and make plays. “I can play in this league,” he remembers thinking. The last time he had heard that was as a boy in California playing pickup football in the parking lot with some buddies. He overheard them say one day that if any of them would play in the NFL someday, it'd be him.

        “That stuck with me,” he said.

        Duke Tobin, the Bengals' director of pro/college personnel, had a similar feeling while watching a tape of a preseason exhibition between the Packers and Browns.

        “He had size, moved well, had an interception,” Tobin recalled. “I thought, "What a great find. They're playing him; they won't cut him.' But one thing you do (as a scout) is take your needs and look at clubs with strengths in those areas, because they might have some tough cuts.”

        Among the things that distinguish Kaesviharn from many other college — and even some pro — corners, is he isn't one to get caught with his back to the ball when an opposing receiver goes to catch it. Kaesviharn goes for it, too. He has ball skills more commonly associated with offensive players. His three interceptions are tied for the team lead, even though he wasn't around the first half of the season.

        “I've watched him play and thought, "Boy, they've done their homework — they got a guy out of nowhere who makes plays,'” said Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher. “Your success at corner is heavily dependent on your ability to play the ball. There are a number of corners in this league who get in position that just can't make a play ... Those who can make plays on the ball often catch it.”

        Kaesviharn played some wideout for Iowa; as a corner, he had a club-record 14 INT's in 2000.

        Kaesviharn's ball skills, along with his big-corner size (6 feet 1, 190 pounds) sets him apart. He has requisite speed and quickness, back-pedals well and changes direction smoothly.

        It isn't rare for free agents to make NFL teams. Tobin said about 550 free agents are invited to NFL camps annually, and about 55 of them make the regular rosters. Another 55 of them make NFL practice squads. So, two of every 10 free agents get an NFL job — roster or practice squad. But how many of those 110 taught high school math for a year between college and pro ball? How many taught it during two offseasons of Arena Ball?

        How rare is Kaesviharn?

        “If anybody could compute it for you, it'd be Kevin,” said Dale Veatch, assistant principal at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, S.D. “He's a sharp guy and an excellent math teacher — very good with the students. He taught upper-level algebra and basic algebra.” '

        Even if there is another math teacher out there playing corner, he's probably not of Thai descent. Kaesviharn's father was born in Thailand; he immigrated to America for opportunity.

        Washington High offered Kaesviharn a full-time job after the 2000 school year, but he and his wife mulled it over before deciding to give the NFL dream another chance. He joined San Francisco of the XFL.

        Veatch said the job offer is a standing one, and while he doesn't know the former math teacher's plans, the cornerback does. He can see himself teaching.

        “It's a way to give back.”

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