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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS SAFETY Bob Sanders is all grown up now and one of the top defensive players in the NFL.

He has changed, but his style of play has not.

“I’ve got friends (from my childhood) who say I’ve been playing the same way since I was a kid,” said Sanders, a northwest Pennsylvania native. “Since I was in little league, I’ve been doing the same exact things, making the same type of plays I made then.”

As a college and pro standout, Sanders is known as a hard-nosed defensive presence. Colts head coach Tony Dungy calls Sanders “The Eraser” for his ability to finish plays and erase teammates’ mistakes.

It has added up to two Pro Bowl selections, a Super Bowl XLI championship and, most recently, being named the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Only in his fourth season as a pro, he is one one of only four safeties to ever receive the top individual defensive honor.

In 2007, he had 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and 96 tackles, including three double-digit tackle games. All were career highs.

Though his numbers are impressive, it’s his presence on the field that makes offenses prefer to keep their distance from the intimidating DB.

Sanders believes his education from playing youth football expands far beyond his ability to tackle ball carriers. He has been trying to relay that message back to those that helped start his career.

Last spring in Erie, he talked to students at numerous area schools about the importance of goal-setting and education. He returned in June and hosted the Bob Sanders Skills and Drills Camp for youth football players.

”I think it’s because of the people I had around me, and the coaches,” said Sanders, of why he has learned that youth football gives more than just lessons about the game. “They taught us how to be young men and how to be respectful and how to carry ourselves out in the public. All of that matters in being a professional football player, how you carry yourself and being smart about the decisions you make.”

With his work in his hometown and in Indianapolis, where he has also been part of many off the field charitable events, Sanders has taken what he’s learned from his youth football days and applied it to his professional life.

“You learn how to play the game and respect the game as a kid. You’re always working hard and I have continued to do that throughout my career.”

He’s doing it both on and off the field.

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Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.