Former Georgia Tech cornerback Chris Milton rehearsed his backpedal and turns, the footwork so intrinsic to his position. Dressed in Tech workout gear, he was practicing in a warehouse carpeted with artificial turf in a Norcross office park.
His audience kept a close eye, watching, suggesting and encouraging. The man’s relationship to Milton, depending on the perspective, either made little sense or perfect sense.
“Too many steps, but you’re getting smoother,” Champ Bailey, the Georgia great and one of the greatest NFL cornerbacks of all-time, told Milton. “You’ll get it right.”
After Milton’s senior season ended in November, Bailey’s phone rang – Milton was on the other end. He wanted to know if Bailey would help him prepare for his pro day and ultimately for the NFL. A Bulldog coming to the aid of a Yellow Jacket – anathema to those who live Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate to its extreme. Bailey never gave it a second thought for at least two reasons.
One, Bailey and Milton both hail from Folkston, the town of about 5,200 in southeast Georgia.
“I think it went without saying that, if he needed my help, I would help, being from the same hometown,” Bailey said after working out Milton on Wednesday. “There’s not many of us that come out of there.”
Two, Bailey, now retired after a career in which he earned 12 Pro Bowl berths, the most ever for any cornerback, saw it as the duty of a football player who had once been the recipient of the same instruction.
“It’s just, these are young men trying to live their dreams,” Bailey said. “That’s all I see. I don’t give a (darn) where you went to school. I just see a young man trying to get there, and I’m trying to help.”
Since January, Bailey has been working once a week with Milton at others (including another former Tech corner, D.J. White) at the training facility of Chip Smith, the noted NFL and pro-day trainer. Seventeen springs ago, Bailey himself was under Smith’s guidance trying to prepare for his own pro day out of Georgia.
Has the tools
He has an intriguing pupil in Milton, who started for two years for the Jackets and was a standout special-teams player, but did not distinguish himself on defense. However, at an NFL-sponsored regional combine in New Orleans on Sunday, he ripped through the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds. The time would have tied for second among cornerbacks and fifth overall at the draft combine in Indianapolis. He also had a vertical leap of 37 inches, an above-average score.
Milton – 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds with long arms – has the right body type and athletic ability for the position.
“He’s got the talent,” Bailey said. “I think what people can’t judge is your competitive fire, and I know he has that. Regardless of if you’re drafted or not, you just you want to be there and make an impression and tell people that you’re hungry, and I know he has that.”
Wednesday, Milton and Bailey worked together for about an hour. Bailey had him work particularly on reversing direction – backpedaling, turning his hips to run with a receiver and then spinning to change course. Bailey was looking for an economy of steps in Milton’s footwork and smoothness in his transitions and wanted him to quickly turn his head. He gave Milton tips on how to read and defend pivot routes and encouragement when he slipped up.
Milton said later it was “kind of surreal” to receive one-on-one instruction from an all-time great.
“At the same time, I kind of followed him growing up, him being from Folkston,” he said. “I see it from both ways.”
Long history
Their families are close. Bailey was friends with Milton’s older cousins and sometimes was in the Milton home. Milton went to school with Bailey’s daughter. He has recollections of attending Bailey’s draft-day party in 1999 when he was six.
Said Bailey, “I’ve known him since he was a baby.”
Milton was receptive to Bailey’s pensive and encouraging manner, not what one might expect of a six-time all-pro.
“That’s what I think made him so great, just letting his play do the talking,” Milton said. “I think that’s one of the reasons he’s so great.”
Milton will try to put Bailey's instruction to work Friday at Tech's pro day. He is one of 11 former Tech players who will work out Friday at the Brock indoor facility. His elite 40 speed has already gained him some attention. Milton said that he has heard from two scouts who told him they'd be at the pro day.
“So at the very least he’s forcing us and teams to take a closer look at his (game) tape,” ESPN draft analyst Steve Muench wrote in a text message. “He’s also showing that he might be worth taking late to see if a team can help him develop, especially considering he’s a strong special-teams player.”
Bailey, who played his final NFL game in 2013 and now lives in Sandy Springs, said he hoped to attend Friday’s testing.
“Hopefully they let me in the door,” he said, joking.
In truth, former Tech and Georgia players working out together is common. Bengals wide receiver and former Georgia All-America A.J. Green trains frequently at Tech’s Brock indoor facility over the summers with former Tech star Demaryius Thomas and, at least until his retirement, Calvin Johnson. A photo of former Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley taken at Brock made the rounds on message boards and blogs last summer.
In summers to come, Milton hopes to join them.
“First, I feel like I’m a good special-teams player, so I think I can definitely come in and contribute right now on special teams,” he said. “And definitely I feel in can compete at corner, as well. I think I’m all around, but I feel like maybe if a team wants a hard worker, a team player, I feel like I’m that guy.”
If he needs a reference, there’s an old cornerback from Folkston willing to vouch for him.
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