The NFL
draft is a major event for young football players who are trying to live out a
dream that started when they were young.
The sad part
is a lot of players who feel they may have been good enough go through all 3
days in waiting to get the call from a team that they were selected and it just
does not happen.
The thing
about this is the draft may have come and gone but the chance to get an invite
to a team still is not over.
It is called
becoming a rookie free agent, the day after the draft teams make calls and
invite players to go to minicamp and get a shot at making the team. The players
then go to minicamp and if the team likes what they see this player may just
get a shot at training camp.
The names in
the NFL that have gone this way are impressive. I have found a list on NFL.com
that goes as follows: Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, Priest Holmes, Arian Foster,
Antonio Gates, Wes Welker, London Fletcher, Rod Smith, Jeff Saturday, James
Harrison, Adam Vinatieri, Wayne Chrebet just to name a few. Alright Vikings
fans, anyone heard of John Randle? The man not only was undrafted making it the
hard way but he is now one of the elite as he was enshrined in the Football
Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. John’s hard work through his Vikings career has
paid off.
The Vikings
have a few on the current roster, but 2 in particular that I am pulling for to
have big careers.
Erin
Henderson who was signed in 2009 by the Vikings as an undrafted rookie free
agent has worked his butt of so much he became a starting linebacker for the
Vikings in 2011.
Erin I have
met several times in Mankato and you will not find a nicer man. I have watched
him through his Vikings years in camp with his older brother, E.J. It was such
a great sight to see the 2 brothers on the same team. I felt bad for Erin because
of the amount of people that would called him E.J. Erin has made a name for
himself now and his play speaks for himself. He just signed a contract in the
offseason to remain a Vikings for a couple more years.
I am relieved
as this is the man who deserves the reward of the contract. If you are a radio
listener and listed to KFAN, Erin is a regular on the show and does a wonderful
job during the season.
I got a firsthand
experience as I went in the locker room in Winter Park to conduct interviews
with players after practice. I interviewed a few players but later I came on an
interview that was being conducted with Erin. It was the weak prior to
Thanksgiving and Erin was asked what he was going to do over the break.
Erin, answered
he was going to watch football and see how the linebackers play. If this is not
a man who wants to be better than I do not know what is. Good Luck to Erin this
upcoming season.
Marcus
Sherels made the team in 2010 as an undrafted rookie free agent. This man I am
pulling for because of his story being a Minnesotan his whole life.
I live in
Owatonna and the high school is part of the Big 9 conference. Marcus played for
Rochester John Marshall Rockets who are also part of this conference.
Marcus then played
for the University of Minnesota before getting the call for the Vikings. A home
town boy with a storybook ongoing is a great story to follow.
The punt
return he had last year in Detroit that went for a touchdown was a great sight
from our hometown kid.
I got to do
a better job of recognizing young kids and their potential future. I remember
going to training camp and watching a young kid playing catch with Cris Carter
and Randy Moss. Who was it? It was Larry Fitzgerald Jr, a Vikings ball boy back
in the day. What is Larry Jr now? He just might be the best receiver in the
NFL. Larry also got drafted with the number 3 pick in 2004 by Arizona.
I go to
Owatonna football games and when they played Rochester John Marshall little did
I know I was watching a future Vikings player.
Good luck to
all players in the draft and if you are not called do not give up as you see the
examples of players before you and what they have accomplished.
Thanks for
reading
Purplestick
source: NFL.com
source: NFL.com
No comments:
Post a Comment