Late Sam Mills, Carolina and New Orleans football player, to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Perhaps the late Sam Mills would have been a blue-chip college recruit and high NFL draft pick had someone invented — as the 5-foot-9 linebacker memorably suggested — "a computer to measure heart."

Mills played Division III college football and was not drafted. That made his rise to stardom with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers — and his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, this weekend — all the more remarkable.

The player nicknamed Field Mouse had the will to "keep pounding," as he'd famously say. It made him an inspiration to people facing long odds in many aspects of life, whether they were undersized football prospects or cancer patients.

"I get emotional talking about him and I always have, because the darn guy was special," said Jim Mora, who coached Mills in the USFL with the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars, and then with the Saints. "I loved the guy."

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Former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert was struck by how little Mills resembled an NFL player in public. Not only was Mills a bit shorter than the average guy on the street, but he wore prescription glasses and had an air of politeness and approachability.

"He was a straight-and-narrow, great guy, just down to earth," Hebert said, noting that Mills also ran Bible study with the Saints. "Not only was he a leader, like X's and O's, but also a spiritual leader. ... Sam was as tough as they come on the field and a perfect gentleman off."

Hebert also marveled at Mills’ ability to so thoroughly win over the fan bases of two long-time divisional rivals.

"You know, I go to the same