It wasn’t long after the Broncos called Darcel McBath to draft him at No. 48 overall in April that McBath realized the situation he was about to be in.
Sharing a locker room and defensive backfield with future Hall of Fame players like Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey? Not bad for a self-described “normal” kid from north Texas who grew up playing basketball and football.
McBath has been the top reserve safety — and he filled in for Dawkins for a half against San Diego — and has emerged as one of the team’s top special-teams players. He has played in all eight games and has a team-leading eight special-teams tackles.
Q: What is your hometown (Gainesville, Texas) like? The typical football-crazy type town?
A: Definitely. We play football from third grade through high school, we played against and with the same people all my life. My whole varsity team I played with since third grade. Used to have a thing called the Super Bowl. That was the big goal, to get there. My team got there my last year in Pee Wee and we won, that was a big deal. It was a pretty big deal, got to play on the high school field.
Q: Who were you raised by, and with, there in Gainesville?
A: My mom (Twana); I have three sisters (Tiffany, Brittany, and Yolanda), all younger. They are 21, 20 and 19. We’re all pretty close.
Q: What kind of big brother are you?
A: I’m pretty protective. I had to beat up a lot of people in my younger days. I’ve never seen my sisters go on a date. Maybe when I went to college they did! They never did while I was there. They were scared of me.
Q: What is your mom like?
A: She’s cool, she’s funny. Strong. She’s a good parent. She worked different jobs, two jobs at a time sometimes. She was always working.
Q: How do you spend your off-days here in Denver?
A: We’re usually in the mall shopping, or something. Go see movies downtown. I try to do something new every week, just to keep it different, just trying to figure out Denver.
Q: You’re a big shopper? What do you like to buy?
A: Shoes, jeans. I like everything — I wear everything from Nikes to Vans. I’ve probably got one pair of every kind of sneaker.
Q: So, I hear you’re also a basketball fan?
A: I was a basketball player before I was a football player. I’ve played forever, in AAU since fourth or fifth grade. I played all through high school. My high school team, we went to state three out of the four years I was there.
Q: Did you ever think your sports future was going to be in basketball?
A: I thought it was, but started in football my junior year and I kind of blew up, so that’s what it was.
Q: You never thought of going to Bobby Knight at Texas Tech and asking for a shot?
A: He would have laughed at me. I met him a couple of times, though. He came to practice.
Q: (Texas Tech teammate) Michael Crabtree can play basketball. Did you ever play him? What about your teammates here; have you challenged anyone to a pickup game?
A: We used to play at the rec. He’s really good. He can do his thing. I haven’t played since I’ve been up here. They say in the offseason we play a lot, so I’m looking forward to it.
Q: What has been the biggest adjustment from life in college to the NFL?
A: Mostly, the hours we’ve got to put in. In college, it’s like 12-4, or something like that. But here it’s all day. It’s your job, it’s a real job.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
About McBath
Position: Safety
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 198 pounds
Year: Rookie
Draft: Second round, No. 48 overall
Hometown: Gainesville, Texas
College: Texas Tech
College stats: Started every game his last three seasons at Texas Tech, and in 2008 he tied for first in the country with seven interceptions.
2009 stats: Has a team-high eight special teams tackles and has five total tackles on defense. He replaced Brian Dawkins for most of the first half against San Diego and made three tackles. He made his first career interception in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ win over Cleveland on Sept. 20.
