BamaOnLine.com - Where they are now: Patrick Hape

August 2, 2009

Chase Goodbread
BamaOnLine.com Senior Writer

Former Alabama tight end Patrick Hape was drafted in the fifth round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and had an eight-year career in the NFL. Hape spoke with BOL earlier this summer.

BOL: As a blocking tight end, you weren't able to show much with the ball in your hands at Alabama. Was that a frustration?

Hape: "If you had game where you caught one or two balls, everybody's like 'You had a great game,' whether you blocked well or not. Whereas if you didn't catch a pass but had a good game blocking nobody knew you were on the field. ... I wasn't a star, but I tried to help make stars."

BOL: What are you doing these days?

Hape: "I'm living in Birmingham right now, selling real estate, and I day-trade stocks."

BOL: Tough time to be in the real estate business - or maybe a great time, right.

Hape: "Everybody said they couldn't believe I got into real estate, but there's nowhere to go but up right now. I'm still learning the business and getting my feet wet. I've been doing it a couple of years."

BOL: Talk about your NFL career.

Hape: "Eight years - I was lucky. I tried to play a couple more years - I was in a couple more training camps at the end. There was no reward at the end. I got out in 2006."

BOL: Most memorable Alabama win?

Hape: "Anytime we beat Auburn, of course. Every game we won was memorable. Coach Stallings would always say, 'A win is a win is a win,' and it always rang true. ... I had a guy come up to be one year after a close win, you know we won most of them but played close a lot, and he said he had to take all his nitro-glycerine pills to get through the game - and it was Vanderbilt [laughing]."

BOL: How did you manage to last so long in the NFL, particularly as a fifth-round pick?

Hape: "I was always trying to get one year in, then focus on the next year. I took it one year - one game - at a time. I was probably the slowest guy in the NFL, definitely the weakest guy in the NFL. But having said that, working hard and having great coaches prod me along the way, it helped to last as long as I did."

BOL: Who is the toughest NFL player you ever had to block?

Hape: "There are so many. I'll tell you, blocking somebody like Reggie White. I played against him several times when he was at Green Bay. I would hit him as hard as I could and I could barely move him. One time I blocked him and Mike Alstott ran right off my back, and I said, 'Sorry, Mr. White'. But most of the time, he wouldn't budge. There were a couple of times where I had to pass block him by myself, and I was so scared. You couldn't do anything with him."

BOL: How were your last years in Denver with the Broncos?

Hape: "My last year in Denver Jerry Rice came in, and I got to hang out with him a little bit, and that was a joy. He was like a rookie with us - cool, laid back, would do anything for you. Just a great guy and one of the all-time greats."

BOL: Is coaching in your future?

Hape: "I'm thinking about it more and more. I might get into it one of these days - I don't know yet. I've got a couple of connections in the NFL to be a GA, but you still have to start with little to nothing."

BOL: Which former teammates to you best stay in touch with?

Hape: "Shannon Brown, Freddie Kitchens, Jeremy Pennington. I talk to those guys some, but not enough. But it's still a family. Every time you see someone you played with, it's like you were never apart."

BOL: What do you think of the job Nick Saban has done at Alabama?

Hape: "I think he's doing a great job. He's a great coach, a hard coach, and that's one of the reasons Freddie [Kitchens] has moved up so much, because he was with Saban for awhile and had someone like that as a mentor ... I'm very excited that he's at Alabama."

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