Former Idaho linebacker David Vobora spent last week in Southern California being feted for his status as Mr. Irrelevant, a moniker he earned when we was chosen by the St. Louis Rams with the 252nd - and last pick - of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Vobora, the Eugene, Ore., native who was a two-time All-WAC selection for the Vandals, found out that last certainly is not least when it comes to the NFL Draft.
Vobora was introduced in shackles and a prison jump suit, but it was all uphill from there. There was a test drive of a lamborghini. He rubbed elbows with big-wigs at a banquet in his honor where he received the Lowsman Trophy. He spent time on a yacht, got VIP and rock-star type treatment at Disneyland and in Hollywood.
Oh yeah, and he got to spend time with Hugh Hefner and some of the famous playmates at The Playboy Mansion.
We caught up with Vobora on Saturday night and asked him about his week. Here is the bulk of that interview:
Q: Can you describe what your trip to the Playboy Mansion was like for those of us who probably won't ever get the chance to experience it for ourselves?
A: "In the simplest terms - it was a slice of heaven. The mansion was awesome. We got to go for Hef's movie night. He likes on Friday nights to watch old black and white movies. The playmates toured us around. We got to see the famous grotto and spend some time at the mansion, which was beautiful. Everyone wants to go to the mansion for the girls, and we got to meet "The Girls Next Door" and take pictures with them. It was great to spend time with them and Hef. It was such a small group - about 10 of his friends and us. We got to sit down and have dinner with them, and then we went to into the theater (room) and watched a great 1935 music called "Top Hat." It was a great movie and a great time. It didn't really set in at the time, but we were like little kids on Christmas morning later on when it finally started to settle in. We were pretty giddy."
Q: What was your favorite moment of the week?
A: "Everyone keeps asking me that, too. Gosh, I feel like I kind of have a favorite moment of each day. But for the week, everything was fantastic. Driving the Lamborghini was great. The arrival party was a blast. Tuesday was the Disneyland day and it was super surreal. Imagine walking around with a huge pack of cameras flashing and TV cameras everywhere. Everyone was looking at me and saying 'Who is this guy? We've got to find out who he is.' I signed a lot of stuff for kids and we were getting backstage treatment wherever we would go. We didn't have to wait in any lines. Disneyland was a blast. We got to go out in Hollywood, and that was something a lot of people don't get to experience. The banquet was great. I got to meet a lot of big-time people from around this area and others from throughout football. It was a lot of fun."
Q: Were you there alone or did you get to bring anyone with you?
A: "I was going to bring Taylor Rust (an Idaho defensive end who is a Timberline High graduate), but he couldn't come because of NCAA compliance issues."
Q: Ouch. That had to hurt, huh?
A: "Yeah, but we can't rub it in. The poor guy. He wants to hear stories, but at the same time, I'm like 'I don't even want to tell you because you're going to be so upset that you weren't able to come.' "
Q: So who did you bring?
A: "I brought my buddy Roy Schuening, who also was drafted by the Rams this year. I knew him a little bit from college because he played at Oregon State. I met him through (former Idaho quarterback) Brian Nooy because they are both from Pendleton, Ore. That was the connection. Once we went to St. Louis a couple months ago, we really hit it off. We hung out a lot. When Taylor couldn't come, all I had to say was you get to go the Playboy Mansion and Roy was like 'Say no more.' Roy came, my family came and had an absolute blast and got the royal treatment. We've really been living an unreal life here for the last week."
Q: Before Irrelevant Week, what have you been doing since you were drafted in April?
A: "I went to mini-camp. It went well and I played well. I got kind of an introduction to it all. I went home for a week, and then back out to St. Louis was literally out there for the last six weeks for OTAs (organized team activities). Those went well, and I was able to learn and get more reps. This is a perfect situation for me. They drafted me for a reason - for depth at linebacker and for special teams."
Q: What's ahead on your calendar?
A: "The rookie symposium (held Sunday in San Diego) for all of the drafted rookies. Then I can finally make it home to my bed in Oregon. I'm going to sleep for a couple days straight I think. And then I'll just train hard for those next couple weeks until our training camp starts July 23."
Have a summer newsmaker you want to read about? Send and idea for our summer Q&A series to sports@idahostatesman.com.
