Jimmy Kennedy, the St. Louis Rams first round pick in the 2003 NFL draft, last April. (Bill Stover/AP)

With his junior season at Penn State complete, Jimmy Kennedy had a decision to make before the 2002 NFL draft. Projected as a late first- or early second-round pick at the time, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive tackle had two options - fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL or return for his senior season.

In an era where the lure of millions of dollars often compels athletes to leave college early, it would have surprised no one had Kennedy decided to do the same. Instead he stuck it out, earned his degree, improved his game and moved up the draft board. His reward was being selected No. 12 overall in the April draft by the Rams.

"He made the mature decision," said Kennedy's position coach in high school, Juan Aquino. "He wanted to come back and improve. It was the smart thing to do. He tries to do the smart thing more times than not."

Kennedy, however, did not make his decision before doing his homework. He consulted Penn State coach Joe Paterno, some of his teammates and the NFL's draft advisory committee. He also spoke with a football analyst, the late Joel Buchsbaum.

"He told me I (stank) and that if I came out I would be picked in the fifth or sixth round," Kennedy said with a smile.

Thus Kennedy worked hard to improve his game before his senior season, a year in which he saw a rise in his statistics, from 51 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a junior to 87 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a senior. As a result, his draft status rose.

"He did a great job in the offseason," Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson said. "He came back in great shape and got after it with a serious attitude. He was a very dominant football player. He also had a stronger mindset. He was a more determined Jimmy Kennedy. It really paid off."

Added draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., "Game to game he was more of a factor (as a senior). He was quick. He got after the quarterback well. He could get through double teams. He played hard. He needed to stay, to show that he could keep his weight where it needed to be, to be more consistent. It was a good move for him to go back."

Even though Kennedy didn't get selected as high as some had predicted in the 2003 draft - a sluggish 5.12-second time in the 40-yard dash during his predraft campus workout didn't help - he landed with a team happy to have him.

"Obviously, this is not a 'need' pick," Rams coach Mike Martz said on draft day. "This is purely a value pick. We just felt compelled to pick him. I'm still getting used to the fact that we drafted him. I'm just shocked."

Rams general manager Charley Armey agrees.

"When we do a player (evaluation) we take them apart piece by piece, and then we put them back together," Armey said. "We look to see what pieces of the puzzle are missing. There are no missing parts to this player's puzzle. He's the total package. He's very smart and aggressive. He's also very intelligent so we expect him to be a quick study."

As Kennedy will soon find, the money that comes along with being a first-round selection was worth the wait. He hasn't signed a contract yet; however, if his deal is similar to the one signed by last year's 12th overall selection, he will pocket somewhere in the neighborhood of $7.5 million over five years.

The money will be a long-awaited reward to Kennedy and his family.

Raised in Yonkers, N.Y., by a single mother who was consumed by her children, work and, briefly, a drug addiction, Kennedy was grocery shopping for the family and helping care for his two younger brothers by age 8.

His mother "had her problems," Kennedy said. "Being a single parent and trying to support boys. She was working two jobs and I had to be the father of the house. I made sure my brothers showered, that dinner was set, that the house was clean. I had to be a man at a young age."

Said his mother, Mary Darby, who today works as a nurse, "He felt it was his responsibility after seeing me get up in the morning and struggle with his brothers. He had no other choice. Jimmy was my backbone."

The hard work and maturity displayed at a young age carried over into Kennedy's college years.

Accepted to Penn State as a partial qualifier - he had the grades but failed to score high enough on his college entrance exam - Kennedy was not allowed to play his first year. But with tutors and hard work, he wound up graduating with a degree in rehabilitation services education.

He also continued to work at improving his game, which took him to the cusp of a professional career following that junior season. Then came the big decision - stay or go?

In the end, despite the advice of many, Kennedy made up his own mind. The money could wait. College life was too much fun, and more important, Kennedy felt he had unfinished business after the Nittany Lions had suffered through back-to-back losing seasons.

"I had to weigh my options," Kennedy said. "I had a mother at home who was struggling. But I didn't feel like I had accomplished my goals. I went in a winner and was going to leave a loser."

Or, as he said back then, "I didn't come to Penn State to have two losing seasons for the winningest coach in Division I history."

Kennedy was not used to losing. In three seasons at Roosevelt High, his team went 30-3, with three trips to the state playoffs and one state title. He wound up leaving Penn State a winner, too, as the Nittany Lions went 9-3 his senior year and played in a New Year's Day bowl game.

"He wanted to get Penn State back to its winning ways," Johnson said. "He was a big factor in that."

On the football field, Kennedy has always been a big factor. At least he became one once he filled out.

Cut twice from his junior high teams because he was too small, Kennedy had a dramatic growth spurt between the eighth and ninth grade. Soon, he was a high school All-American and a scholarship athlete who chose Penn State on the advice of a sick uncle.

"So many kids don't make it," Aquino said. "But (despite) coming from where he came, the lifestyle he saw and was surrounded by, he didn't go there. Maybe seeing his mother, and what she was battling, (is the reason) he didn't end up that way. He just didn't fall for that. So many kids can't do it. So many succumb to pressures.

"A lot of kids hear adults speak but they don't really listen. Jimmy listened to what you had to tell him. We have a lot of kids here who are very good athletes, who could get scholarships. But they don't pay attention and they don't take care of their side academically. With Jimmy, when adults told him to go to class, he did it."

Kennedy also worked feverishly to get his weight under control after he reportedly tipped the scales at more than 400 pounds during one of his college recruiting trips. By the time he arrived at Penn State he had dropped 25 pounds. He dropped another 25 as a redshirt freshman, and by the time his senior season rolled around, Kennedy was a 316-pound, run-stopping force.

Now, he's ready to take his game to the NFL.

"I'm not trying to be Warren Sapp," Kennedy said. "I'm trying to be better than Warren Sapp. I'm not trying to stop the run like Gilbert Brown. I want to be better than Gilbert Brown. I want to be better than all of those guys."

First, though, Kennedy has to get healthy and in NFL-game shape. He suffered a bruised tendon in his left knee during his first minicamp drill in May, but the injury did not keep him down long. He's now preparing for Rams training camp, which opens later this month.

"He wants to be the best he can be," Aquino said. "He doesn't want people thinking he's lazy. He's very team oriented. He wants to prove to people that he can play. He really wants a Super Bowl ring and everything that goes along with it."

Said Kennedy, "I don't even think about (my contract). Don't get me wrong. Playing for the Rams is definitely a way to support my family. But money is not what's motivating me. I love this game and I want to become the best."

Reporter Nick Wishart:
E-mail: nwishart@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8184