“After a while, I decided I wanted something more exciting, more physical,’’ said Vollmer, a 6-foot-8-inch, 315-pounder who could be in line to make his first career start tomorrow afternoon against the Tennessee Titans if injured left tackle Matt Light is unable to play.
“Plus, I had put on some pounds,’’ he said. “It’s a lot of water you have to drag [in the swimming pool].’’
Vollmer, who was always tall growing up, put on the requisite poundage to play American-style football with his German club team in Dusseldorf. Though dwarfed in popularity by soccer, American football appealed to Vollmer because of its rigid team structure, the discipline required to succeed, and, of course, its physical nature.
So, at 14, the game grew on Vollmer, who grew big enough to help his club team, Quirinus Gymnasium, to a 25-0 record over his career. Vollmer drew the attention of college recruiters from Indiana, Western Michigan, Louisiana Tech, and the University of Houston, all of whom swarmed to offer a scholarship after he appeared in the 2004 Global Junior Championships in San Diego.
Vollmer, however, didn’t speak a word of English.
Despite the communication barrier, Vollmer signed with Houston and then-coach Art Briles, who is now at Baylor. “I did my research online and learned about the university and the program,’’ said Vollmer, who speaks English fluently now. “I felt like it was a good fit for me. A family atmosphere.’’
In Kaarst, he was Sebastian Georg Vollmer, his middle name pronounced “GEE-org.’’ But in Houston, he went by the handle “Sea Bass.’’ Between Vollmer’s German accent and Briles’s Texas twang something must have been lost in translation.
“Yeah, the off-the-field communication was a little difficult,’’ said Vollmer, who encountered visa problems that put him a month behind schedule when he arrived in Houston for his freshman season in 2005, appearing in eight games as a reserve at tackle and tight end. “But you still have to learn the playbook, so it doesn’t matter what language it is.’’
Football is football. In Texan or German.
