Former Troy High School football standout Kris Dielman reportedly left a boatload of cash, to the tune of $10 million, on the table in Seattle, who attempted to sign the highly sought after free agent offensive guard.  Instead, Dielman signed a six-year deal with the San Diego Chargers worth $39 million, with $17 million guaranteed in the first two years. You ask why? Simple, Dielman's heart remained with San Diego throughout his one-day stint as a free agent.

 In an interview with Dielman before re-signing with the Chargers on Saturday he expressed just how much it would mean to him to stay in San Diego.

 "I would love to stay in San Diego," Dielman said. "I've made a home here. I have a great crew of friends here, and I'm with a great team. You got Nick Hardwick at center and Marcus McNeill at left tackle. For me, it doesn't get much better than that. We complement each other and have a good feel on how to work with one another."

That was made evident during the regular season when the crew provided blocks for an offense that rushed for 2,578 yards finishing second in the league.

 "The longer we can stay together the better we'll become. We just scratched the surface of what we did this year with all three of us on the line," Dielman said.

 Although Dielman was a top priority for the team since the season ended, he was left dangling in free agency. However, the team's reluctance to get a deal done before the start of free agency didn't make the left guard bitter at all. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

"I am going to be loyal to them just for the fact that they brought me into this situation," he said. "They brought me in from college and gave me an opportunity. They were patient with me and coached me along to become an NFL guard."

Dielman showed his loyalty by taking less money to remain with the club.

Keeping LT "clean"

When asked what is it like to block for arguably the best running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, to ever play the game. Dielman was not at a lost for words.

"Wow! The craziest part is when you are in the huddle and you look across and you see him," he said. "That's why you want to do well. I think that's one reason why our O-line was so good this year. All five of us were dedicated to making sure that we kept him clean. The guy is a class act. The way you see him on TV is the way he is. He doesn't change his demeanor at all. He's a very calm and collective individual who goes out there everyday and you know exactly what you're going to get out of him.

"He's going to give 100 percent every day and do his best. That's when all that spectacular stuff happens that he does. He's a great leader, great teammate and great person. He's awesome man." 

So how did LT reward his guys for a job well done this season? Well, the All-World running back rewarded the men who protect him with two first-class round trip tickets to go anywhere in the world they wanted to go.

Dielman was right, class act all the way.