When Cameron Dantzler was playing high school football as a wiry cornerback in Hammond, La., he earned the nickname "The Needle."
Why? "I was always skinny," Dantzler said, "and when I hit you, it hurt."
Embedded in the nickname — which Dantzler wore on a custom-made shirt in his introductory news conference — is the degree to which the cornerback tends to be underestimated. The Mississippi State product prides himself on packing more of a punch than his 190-pound frame would suggest. His agency sent a video to teams of Dantzler running the 40-yard dash at a pro day in Baton Rouge, La.