THE MODEST CORNERBACK : Charger Rookie John Hendy Has Taken a Quiet Approach to Professional Football

SAN DIEGO —  The Chargers exchanged bravado for humility when rookie John Hendy replaced Wayne Davis as the starting left cornerback. Davis’ brashness was replaced by Hendy’s modesty.

“I’m not an outward type of person,” Hendy said, “but I have confidence. I know what I can do and can’t do. On the field, I play with a little cockiness, but I don’t talk to opposing players. I think I’m a smart player and try to use that to my advantage.”

A lot of pro defensive backs inflict verbal and physical abuse upon wide receivers, or at least they try to portray that image. They make pregame boasts and postgame declarations.

After Seattle receivers Daryl Turner and Steve Largent scored four touchdowns against Davis earlier this season, Davis said: “I’ve been initiated, but this will never happen to me again . . . But it’s going to make me a greater player.”

Hendy, a third-round draft pick from Cal State Long Beach, is more of a professional than a braggart. And his unassuming personality doesn’t seem to befit a cornerback.

“He’s almost too nice to be a defensive back,” Long Beach Coach Mike Sheppard said. “He is an ideal kind of guy and the type of person you would want to date your daughter. And he is very, very appreciative of his ability and of where he is.”

Hendy leads the Chargers with four interceptions, all of which have come in the past three games. He had an interception at Houston, two against Buffalo and one in the closing minutes of the win over Pittsburgh last Sunday night. He returned one of the interceptions against Buffalo 75 yards for a touchdown.

“On that touchdown run I wanted to make sure I stayed in bounds and kept telling myself not to get tackled,” Hendy said. “But the credit on those interceptions has to be attributed to the line. A good pass rush is what causes interceptions.”

Even Hendy shakes his head at the thought of leading the Chargers in interceptions. The last time he returned an interception for a touchdown, he was playing for West Valley College in Los Gatos. He had four interceptions during his two years at Long Beach and only one during a senior year when teams didn’t throw his way.

“I had a reputation and after a while they started throwing to the other side,” Hendy said.

Sheppard has an additional theory.

“Here, he couldn’t catch a cold, and there he catches everything,” Sheppard said good-naturedly. “If he had caught the ball that well here, we would have moved him to wide receiver.”

All kidding aside, Sheppard said: “John was right on his man all the time. He just doesn’t get beat.”

Not getting beat gives Hendy as much satisfaction as making an interception. That is one of the reasons he believes the game in Denver was his best.

“Denver was my best game in terms of the not making many mistakes,” he said. “Against Buffalo, I had some coverage breakdowns and missed some tackles.”

He is the first to criticize himself and the last to toot his own horn.

“John is a humble individual who takes constructive criticism well,” strong safety Gill Byrd said. “He lets his playing speak for itself. If he makes 20 good plays and one mistake, he’ll dwell on the one mistake. It’s hard to find that out of a young man just out of college.”

Not only is Hendy inexperienced, but he did not have the benefit of playing throughout most of his first summer camp. After an impressive mini-camp in May, Hendy developed an infection in his groin area.

“I was unlucky and got an infection,” Hendy said. “I couldn’t run and I had to just watch the team practice. I wasn’t doing anything except going to meetings.”

It was not an easy chore for an energetic 23-year-old who wanted to prove to his new coaches and teammates that he could hit, tackle, run and play.

What made it more bearable for Hendy is that he actually enjoys studying films and welcomes the mental challenge. It has paid off.

“He hasn’t made a lot of the mistakes I made as a rookie,” Byrd said, “and I feel real comfortable with him in there.”

After playing just one exhibition game, Hendy was used frequently as a nickel back in the first six games. Davis, a second-round selection in the 1985 National Football League draft, was consistently getting beaten by receivers.

And Hendy was improving.

“He was making great plays from the nickel back position and in practice he was consistently making great plays,” Byrd said.

The Charger coaches must have agreed.

“One day Coach (Jim) Wagstaff came in and told me I’d be starting the Minnesota game,” Hendy said. “At first, I said ‘all right.’ ”

All right? Is that all Hendy said when he was told he would be making his first professional start?

“It did kind of surprise me, but I didn’t get that excited or nervous,” he said. “I started preparing for the game.”

He has been preparing for starting assignments ever since.

“In college I could use my strength a lot more than I do now,” Hendy said. “I would just hold a receiver at the line. Up here, the receivers are quicker and stronger, so I’ve had to become more disciplined in my coverage. I know where I have help and have been using that to my advantage. Everyone has been concentrating together and we’re getting to know each other’s personalities.”

Hendy’s personality has not been affected by his sudden success.

Said Sheppard: “He called me last week and said, ‘Coach, I’ve been fortunate enough to make it and I’m doing OK financially. How much money could I give back to the football program and where do you need it?’ That was typical of John.”