By Marc Thaler
Managing Sports Editor

At first glance, Ron Smalls appears to have an eerily appropriate last name. Listed at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds in Manchester’s media guide, the Wolves defensive back doesn’t look big enough to belong on a professional football field.

In fact, that’s the exact line of thinking the 24-year-old defender hopes opposing receivers adopt. Go ahead and underestimate this undersized athlete.

Well, consider Ron Smalls the ultimate optical illusion. His looks are extremely deceiving.

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“He plays with the ‘Napoleon Syndrome’ where he’s a little big man,” Wolves assistant coach and director of football operations Keith Easley said. “He goes out there and he’s not intimidated.”

Smalls’ actions on the field certainly back up those words. Last year as an af2 rookie, the 2003 Morehouse College graduate landed a punishing hit, which earned him serious respect points in the locker room. On kickoff coverage against

Albany, Smalls set his sights on the Conquest’s top offensive threat. When the ball fell from the net into the hands of his opponent, Smalls was in perfect position.

In one motion, Smalls planted his target, knocking out the return specialist’s two front teeth in the process.

“They know I’m not scared,” Smalls said of his teammates. “I tell them I’m the hardest hitter pound for pound. I don’t want people thinking I can’t play or I’m fragile.”

Confidence, Smalls added, is the key to his game. Watching him in practice or compete on game days, it’s apparent he isn’t lacking in that department.

Playing inspired football was the first – well, second – characteristic the Wolves coaches noticed about Smalls when he was invited to try out for Manchester’s ’05 squad.

According to Easley, Smalls’ speed was impossible to ignore. The af2 talent had another endearing trait, too. The cornerback possessed quickness that allowed him to excel in coverage.

“He had this hunger and attitude that he was going to come into (training) camp and just dominate,” said Easley, who called Smalls and offered him a contract following the team’s open tryout. “Those are the type of guys you definitely look for.”

“He has a lot of heart for someone his size,” said 310-pound lineman DeShon Stovall, one of the Wolves biggest players. “That’s what you gotta have when you’re that little. He has one of the biggest hearts on this team, I would say.”

Still, confidence, quickness and heart alone won’t be enough, in all likelihood, for Smalls to jump from the af2 to Arena Football League competition. Smalls’ best bet for advancement, Easley said, involves playing on both sides of the football.

The decision to give the defensive back an opportunity to catch passes rather than knock them down rests with the boss, Ben Bennett. While Smalls has strictly been a defender so far this season, he’s working to catch the head coach’s attention.

“I’m kinda small to just play defense,” Smalls said. “I’ve gotta do everything. If I could kick I’d do that, too.”

Naturally, Smalls has big goals. By season’s end, he wants to be a 10-10 guy, recording 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Such a lofty goal might be too tough to attain. Then again, there’s a definite moral to Smalls’ story. Don’t judge a man’s game by his frame.

“He picks on the biggest guy on the field,” Stovall said with a giant grin. “He can run down there and get blasted, bounced around. But Smalls is Smalls. He’ll always stand back up.”