Since being picked by the Patriots in April, Alfonzo Dennard has been little more than a name.
No conference call on draft day. No meet and greet at rookie mini-camp.
A lone public appearance has gone largely under the radar -- last weekend's first annual Alfonzo Dennard Scholarship Fundraiser Basketball Tournament in Georgia.
The event, at his alma mater's Wilcox County High gym, raised funds "to provide financial assistance to college-bound student athletes from the South Georgia region." It's not a community service obligation or PR stunt; Dennard dreamed up the fund well before his April 21 arrest.
It may not be seen that way, however. If anybody hears about it at all.
Dennard is learning, as when the projected second to fourth-round pick went in the seventh, the broad consequences of being charged with third-degree assault of a police officer.
No warm and fuzzy write-ups have been penned about this bit of philanthropy.
New England Patriots
The 22-year old tweeted, "Having Fun at my charity event" on Saturday. He thanked Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram for showing up (Atlanta's Sean Witherspoon, Arizona's Michael Floyd, and Washington's Kennan Robinson) were also to attend).
But no photos or stories yet. No interviews with the three Wilcox graduates -- Quez Mahoganey, Shareba Montgomery, and Darek Lawson -- who will benefit from the money raised.
Dennard awaits news of his next court date.
A plea of "not guilty" was entered in writing May 30 to the charges against him. He participated in Patriots OTAs the next day. Media squinted through binoculars to confirm the 37 at the lower left hem of his shorts -- graduating the Name to Faraway Figure.
The former Cornhuskers cornerback should be awkwardly navigating his first interviews with NFL media, smiling brightly or tightly, learning to keep his answers innocuous. Instead, he's sequestered from New England in silence.
Newton's third law of motion, isn't it?