TEMPE, Ariz. -- As the son of military parents, Deone (pronounced day-ohn) Bucannon can rattle off an dizzying list of California (and Hawaiian) cities in which he's lived. But the constant moves did not change the way Sonji and Duane Bucannon raised their three sons.
"Everything is structured. Everything is in place. Everything has a reason for it," Bucannon said at an introductory press conference Friday at Cardinals headquarters. "If you want something, you have to work hard for it. If you're not willing to put the work in, then it's not worth getting."
That simple mantra fueled Bucannon when others didn't think as highly of his playing abilities.
"After high school I only had four (college) offers: Washington State, San Diego State, Cal Poly and Nevada," said Bucannon, whose dad was in the Marine Corps and whose mom served in the Navy for 23 years. "People didn't think of me as what I am now. I'm going to use that as motivation. I'm going to prove to them. I'm going to be a pro."
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim felt Bucannon flew a bit under the radar on draft day, allowing Arizona to select him with the 27th pick after trading down to acquire an extra third-round pick from New Orleans.
In earning that shot, Bucannon became the first Washington State player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since Tacoma native Marcus Trufant was selected 11th overall by the Seattle Seahawks in 2003.
Many draft analysts looked at him as a second-round pick, with the greatest criticism has being his coverage ability -- something the Cardinals will want him to do, at times, against tight ends.
"Everybody has their own opinion," Bucannon said. "I feel like I can do everything across the board."
Of course, the thing Bucannon does best is deliver a blow, leading coach Bruce Arians to describe him figuratively (we think) as a head hunter on Friday. That's not a label Bucannon wants to earn in a league that increasingly punishes head shots. Bucannon said he understands where the line is drawn.
"I'm definitely aware of it. That's part of becoming a professional," he said. "I'm not going to sacrifice any of what got me here, but I wouldn't take away this game that I love so much from somebody else (by) being dumb. I'm going to be a professional about it but I'm also going to be aggressive.
"My dad told me, 'Don't play this game if you're just going through the motions.' That's not why I play this game. I play it because I love it."
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