As the Rams’ resident early bird, end James Hall speaks with certainty when he ticks off the order in which his teammates join him at the Russell Training Center each morning.

In fact, the Ram to arrive second after Hall himself each morning might come as a surprise to some. But that’s fine because C.J. Ah You seems to have a surprising affect on a lot of people these days.

“He’s just a determined athlete,” Hall said. “He takes his job very seriously. He’s the second guy in here every morning and working on things to take care of his body. He’s developed into a hell of a professional and he’s been huge for us.”

Quietly and extremely under the radar, Ah You has developed into the type of pass rushing specialist that coach Steve Spagnuolo loves to employ as part of a rotation off the bench.

Long known for using a deep rotation on the defensive line with the intent of creating mismatches, Spagnuolo cycles through defensive linemen on a regular basis. To stay in that rotation, though, you must produce.

And so far in 2010, that’s precisely what Ah You has done. On limited snaps off the bench, Ah You sits in a tie for third on the team with three sacks and has also chipped in two quarterback pressures, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

That Ah You is on the field at all let alone consistently producing for the defense might come as a bit of a surprise considering his injury history, not least of which included a torn ACL that cost him the bulk of the 2009 season.

“It’s definitely challenging whenever you have an injury like that,” Ah You said. “I worked hard this offseason with the trainers and they did a great job. We attacked it really hard and I came back feeling good. I am just happy that I’m healthy.”

Perhaps more than anything, it’s been that inability to stay healthy that has kept Ah You from getting to regularly show his pass rush potential.

Ah You has been through myriad knee surgeries but has continued to battle with the sole purpose of leaving his mark on this team and this league.

It’s that desire that continues to bring him back even when things get bleak. After spending the entire 2008 season and the final six weeks of 2007 on the practice squad, Ah You had a breakthrough 2009 preseason performance.

It was good enough to land him a spot on the final 53 man roster. But it all came crashing down in week 10 when he suffered another in a series of knee injuries. Ah You finished the year with one sack and gained some newfound perspective.

“It’s just fun to be out on the field,” Ah You said. “You take it for granted when you are playing. When you’re not playing, you see the guys and you just want to be a part of it. Now, I am just kind of a part of it with everyone else and having a lot of fun.”

That small taste of playing at the game’s highest level was enough to provide Ah You the motivation needed to get back on the field.

So, as he did the previous year, Ah You went out and again earned a roster spot on Spagnuolo’s defense. At 6’4, 275 pounds, Ah You has been a regular in the team’s nickel packages as a quicker, more athletic pass rushing defensive tackle.

Ah You has the versatility to move outside as well and says that things are dramatically different this year now that he has a better grasp on the system.

“It’s like night and day,” Ah You said. “You play a lot faster where you don’t have to think so much. Everything is just more fluid this year. You know exactly where you need to be and what your role is so it’s definitely a lot better this year.”

ROSTER MOVE: The Rams made a move late Tuesday to add depth at tight end and bring to an end the rookie season of another.

St. Louis signed free agent tight end Derek Schouman to the active roster and placed rookie Fendi Onobun on injured reserve, thus ending his rookie season.

Schouman originally visited St. Louis last week and was not signed. But he comes to the Rams with experience and could contribute in the final weeks.

Schouman played his first three NFL seasons in Buffalo, racking up 27 catches for 275 yards and a touchdown in 21 games. He played collegiately at Boise State and was a seventh round pick of the Bills in 2007.

“(He’s) an athletic tight end,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “He has played in the league. He’s lined up at fullback going back a year or two ago. He’s been a tight end, people move him around. We are glad we have him. We need somebody ready to go should something happen.”

The Rams drafted Onobun with the first pick of the sixth round this year. He played in three games, making two catches for 15 yards.

Back spasms have kept Onobun on the sidelines in recent weeks and he was inactive last week against San Francisco.

“Fendi just wasn’t coming around with his back,” Spagnuolo said. “We just didn’t want to push it any further. He will get healthy and he will be with (head athletic trainer) Reggie (Scott) the rest of the year and we’ll get him ready to go next year.”

Spagnuolo said he did not believe Onobun would need surgery.

INJURY REPORT: Two weeks after the bye week, the Rams are about as healthy as they’ve been since the beginning of the season.

Every player on the roster participated in at least a limited capacity during Wednesday’s workout including a handful of players whose status was in question coming into the week.

Tackle Rodger Saffold (sprained ankle), safety James Butler (ankle), linebacker/fullback Brit Miller (concussion symptoms) and receiver Danario Alexander (knee) all did some work on a limited basis.

Saffold got some repetitions and Spagnuolo said the Rams were optimistic he’d be able to go this weekend against the Falcons.

As for Alexander, he’d like the chance to play against former Missouri teammates Sean Weatherspoon and William Moore this weekend but Spagnuolo said nothing is certain in his return.

“We are going to be careful with Danario,” Spagnuolo said. “It was just a few weeks back he had surgery. But it was nice to see him out there today.”

Everyone else did the full practice.