LOS ANGELES — By the time the ice hockey career of Joseph Noteboom topped out in the 11th grade, he was pushing 6-foot-5 and well over 250 pounds. He was a big, fast, tough defenseman whose skating skills defied his imposing frame. The job description was pretty simple: Go find the guy with the puck and crush him.
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Noteboom had a particular knack for spotting unsuspecting puck carriers along the boards and then hurling himself at them with all his size, strength and might. Pity the poor opposing player and plexiglass when he timed everything up just right. Which was often.
“Oh yeah, for sure. I was a big guy so that was my job,” said Noteboom, his devilish grin about as chilling as you’d imagine.
About the only thing more absurd than imagining a kid that big flying around an ice hockey rink was the location. When you think hockey, Plano, Texas doesn’t exactly come to mind. But then, who would have thought a town in the middle of Texas would catch the hockey bug like Plano did in the 2000s? But that’s exactly what happened deep in the heart of football country.
Before you knew it, nearly every kid in the region wanted to be Sidney Crosby.
Or in Noteboom’s case, Drew Doughty.
“In my area (hockey is) really big,” Noteboom said. “There were at least five ice rinks within 10 miles.”
The pull of football and a prolonged growth spurt meant hanging up the hockey skates for good. That decision more than six years ago was as easy as it was wise, and it has led him to Los Angeles, where he’s a rookie offensive linemen with the Rams.
Now 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, Noteboom delivered a crisp, efficient performance in a 19-15 preseason win over the Oakland Raiders on Saturday that, coupled with a strong training camp, gives the Rams hope they shrewdly uncovered a starting-caliber NFL lineman in the third round.
Somehow a man as big as Noteboom went missing from the NFL’s draft radar last April over the first 88 picks, allowing the TCU standout to fall right to the very fortunate Rams at pick No. 89. They went into the draft needing to add youth and depth to a position that was top heavy and extraordinarily lucky last year. They left it with Noteboom, Maine tackle Jamil Demby and Michigan State center Brian Allen. All three have played well enough to at least allow the Rams to ponder the possibility that they secured three potential future starters.
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That’s no small feat considering left tackle Andrew Whitworth is pushing 37, center John Sullivan is 33 and right tackle Rob Havenstein, left guard Rodger Saffold and right guard Jamon Brown are all free agents at the end of the season.
The likelihood the Rams go through another season like 2017 essentially unscathed along the offensive line — they needed just one half of play from a reserve last year — are slim. Chances are one or all of their rookies will be pressed into duty at some point. And with Brown suspended for the first two games of the regular season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, Noteboom could be a candidate to replace him along with veteran Austin Blythe.
But even if they don’t need the rookies this year, the Rams — with their age and finances and the NFL’s hard salary cap — will need one or two new O-line starters to emerge in the very near future.
Noteboom appears the surest bet, at least initially. He played both tackle positions and some right guard Saturday against the Raiders, remaining in the game until the end of the third quarter. And he accounted himself quite well, flashing smooth footwork, balance and hands warding off pass rushers, and power and tenacity in run blocking. The Raiders sat most of their starters, so context is important, but just one month and two preseason games into his career, Noteboom continues to flourish even as the Rams thrust him into stressful situations by challenging him to play multiple positions.
“He’s shown a lot of good, encouraging signs for us,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “Confident. Smart, conscientious player.”
“He’s come in as a rookie and done everything asked of him,” said Whitworth, who has taken all three of the Rams’ young linemen under his wing. “He continues to show why he was a good player in college, and he’s continued to improve each and every time he gets an opportunity. And that’s what you want to see from a young lineman.”
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You don’t play as long as Whitworth has and not know what to look for in a good lineman or how they should carry or conduct themselves. The veteran Pro Bowler has pulled aside Noteboom to point out certain things — what he did well, what he could do better — or to offer tips on an assignment or technique. Noteboom has quietly and appreciatively soaked it all in.
You can tell a lot about a guy by not only how he plays, but also how he accepts and processes criticism or advice. And Noteboom has left an impression as a player and a young teammate.
“He’s one of those guys that, honestly, he’s got the right character and attitude to be a really good football player,” Whitworth said.
As Noteboom was leaving the Coliseum on Saturday, he was already thinking about aspects of his performance to focus on in film study. He’ll narrow it down to two or three specific areas and then work on them in practice. Off the top of his head, he said he wants to get a better command of the playbook so he can play more freely rather than thinking so much. That’s easier said than done when you’re cross-training at three different positions, but as he showed against the Raiders, Noteboom is handling everything the Rams are putting on his plate.
“It’s all there for what you need to be successful,” Whitworth said. “He has the talent and all the things needed to be a good player. He just has to keep progressing.”
Top photo of Joseph Noteboom by Kirby Lee of USA TODAY Sports