Monday, August 21, 2006

William & Mary players in NFL training camp!

A former co-worker of mine sent me this rundown of William & Mary players currently in the NFL, or at least in NFL training camp. The grand total: 6 players. Yes, he's a W&M alum. Enjoy:

As for W&M players, get a good look now, because I don't think most of them will be employed come September. To wit:

DB Billy Parker, Carolina: had a great year in the AFL last season...this is his second camp (after Miami last year)...haven't heard any news on him at all, and he's at the bottom of the depth chart on the Carolina web site...could stick since he can play both positions, but I haven't heard any news on him.

OT Adam O'Connor, Carolina: undrafted free agent, played DT in college...big guy (6'8"), but again I haven't heard anything on him from camp...the only things I've read about the offensive line is that it looks really thin, so he's probably not impressing...then again, as a defensive line convert, he's going to be a project...if he showed anything at all in camp, he'll be on the practice squad.

QB Lang Campbell, Cleveland: was in the Browns camp last year, too...I thought he had a chance to be drafted last year after a spectacular senior season for the Tribe, but alas no...remember how good he looked against you guys two years ago?...he played two weeks ago and looked good against the Eagles scrubs, but didn't play Friday night, which has me wondering if his last chance for the NFL has come and gone, especially as the Browns website has a new article about two other schlubs competing for #2 behind Charlie Frye...who knows, maybe he'll make the practice squad or get signed by another team.

WR Dominique Thompson, St Louis: played two games for the Rams last year, and was on their practice squad the rest of the season, so I don't know if he's got any eligibility for that left...could make what is a very deep WR unit...then again, I haven't heard any news, so I don't know how he's doing.

WR Rich Musinski, New England: has been kicking around the camp grind for a couple of years now...read an item in Patriots Football Weekly recently along the lines of "great hands but too small and slow to separate from dbacks," which probably means sayanora for little Richie...but he plays hard and Belichick likes these project guys to come out of nowhere and make the team, plus the Pats are really thin at WR, so who knows? He does keep playing in the pre-season, and caught a TD Saturday.

FS Darren Sharper, Minnesota: loved him when he played for my favorite team (Green Bay), but hate him now that he plays for my brother's fave...still can't tackle, but has a nose for the ball (9 picks last year, 45 career)...another all-pro season likely.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very astute comments from this new contributor. I'll bet he's really sexy too. I can't wait until he reviews the W&M basketball hotshots vying for a place in the NBA. Oh, wait...

Anonymous said...

Okay SC --

As a Carolina fan, surely you know by now that it looks like Matt Baker will make the Cowboys roster as the #3 QB, now that Drew Henson has been dropped. Who would have guessed that? Then again, I'm always surprised at guys who look so-so in college but make it to the pros (Matt Schaub, for one).