NEW ORLEANS — The transformation has been almost unbelievable.

When 18-year-old Cameron Heyward arrived in Columbus late last summer, people didn't so much fixate on the freshman's impressive 6-foot-6, 280-pound frame as they focused on something that was not there.

They looked at Cameron and saw his late dad — the fabled Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, one of the more powerful and colorful running backs ever to play in the NFL.

He was remembered for his 11 pro seasons with five different teams, for those comical in-the-shower Zest TV commercials of the mid-1990s, and, of course, he was known for one of the NFL's best nicknames ever.

"They say the name came from when he was a kid playing football in the street," Cameron said. "He used to run over people — head first. He'd ram it into them and they'd go, 'Oh man, you got an iron head.' "

So when Cameron joined the Ohio State Buckeyes — rather than seeing him as Georgia's Class 5A prep defensive player of the year — people viewed him as "Little Ironhead" and wondered how he'd carry the family name.

Well, after 12 games, he's shown he's carrying it — literally and figuratively — far better than any one could have dreamed.

"Before each game I write IRONHEAD on the (black) eye patches I wear beneath my eyes," he said. "And then I try to go out and glorify my dad's name with my play."

And therein lies the transformation.

He's played so gloriously for the Bucks — he's started the last seven games, is fourth on the team in tackles for loss, fifth in sacks, sixth in passes broken up and won Freshman All-Big Ten honors — that the focus now is all on him.

With a rare blend of speed and strength, he's come roaring out from his dad's shadows.

"Sometimes you forget he's a true freshman," fellow defensive lineman Doug Worthington told reporters 10 games into the season. "The things that he does, as far as extra weight training and going in and watching film, he's a guy that's way ahead of his time."

And yet, as he's come back to New Orleans, he's found himself also going back in time.

When the Bucks face Louisiana State in the BCS national title game at the Superdome on Monday night, he'll be returning to the same stage that launched his dad's pro career.

After an All-America career at Pitt, Ironhead Heyward was the first-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1988 and played here five seasons before going on to the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts.

"I was real, real small, but my mom took me to all the games," Heyward said. "And I think my dad took me down to the locker room a few times. I remember more of it when he was with the Falcons and the Colts.

"I also remember those TV commercials he did. Everybody would tease me with that one line, 'Hey Ironhead, what's that little thingee?' "

Although Heyward's parents eventually split and he lived with his mom, Charlotte Heyward-Blackwell, and stepdad, Cory Blackwell, who played for Wisconsin, Cameron said he maintained a unique relationship with his dad:

"It really wasn't like father and son; it was more like he was a best friend, a big brother. We hung out a lot, played video games, went to movies."

He said his father hadn't wanted him to play football when he was a youngster, but ended up a vocal — sometimes too vocal — backer of his later on.

Late in 1998, Ironhead began having vision problems and a tumor pressing against his optic nerve was discovered at the base of his skull. A 12-hour operation and 40 radiation treatments seemed to have made him cancer free, but in 2005 the tumor returned with its tentacles wrapped around the brain.

Forced into a wheelchair, Ironhead still showed up at his son's football games in Suwanee, Ga. He wheeled down close to the field and harangued the officials all game long.

"Sometimes it would embarrass me a little, but now I wish he was here," Cameron said. "I miss him."

Ironhead Heyward died in May 2006. He was 39.

In his final days — as his son helped care for him — Ironhead often was visited by an old teammate and longtime friend, former Saints quarterback Bobby Herbert.

"One of my best friends —

T-Bob Herbert, Bobby's son — plays for LSU, He's an offensive lineman," Cameron said. "We grew up together. Our moms even had their baby showers together. The two of us call each other on occasion, and who'd have thought we'd meet back here on the football field.

"It's definitely special coming back to New Orleans, the place where my dad started. But I don't look at it as some kind of coming-back party.

"For us, I hope it's more of a coming-out party."

For Cameron Heyward it already is.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2156

or tarchdeacon@DaytonDailyNews.com.