One week after the NFL Draft, dozens of undrafted players have been signed by the NFL's 31 teams, hoping to add depth or even to find a diamond-in-the-rough who avoided all the scouts' eyes. The Ivy League has had four players become beneficiaries of the rookie free agent pool, including Dartmouth's own Caleb Moore '01.
Moore was picked up by the Tennessee Titans last week and faces an uphill battle to make the team's roster. Moore, at 6'4" 295 lbs., has good size for a guard but isn't quite as quick as many NFL starting guards.
Moore is a great worker, and he will need to utilize that work ethic to move up the Titans' depth chart. Tennessee already has three deep at left guard, and has two young players at right guard.
Benji Olson and Gennaro DiNapoli are both a few weeks shy of their 26th birthday and figure to be first and second at right guard, where Moore would most likely have an impact. Both have the size that Moore offers (Olson " 6'3" 315 DiNapoli " 6'3" 295), and have the experience necessary to keep their jobs.
The left guard spot is even more logjammed with 18-year veteran and former Pro Bowler Bruce Matthews holding down the starting spot.
Behind Matthews are Zach Piller and Scott Sanderson, both of whom have several years of experience and played at a higher level of competition in college than Moore. Piller was a guard for the Florida Gators while Sanderson played for Washington State during the Desert Swarm days in Arizona.
Most scouts figure Moore's best bet is to have a good training camp and make the practice squad where he can demonstrate his intelligence and perhaps improve on the minor bad habits he has. With a year of NFL practice in hand, Moore may turn out to be a solid pickup at guard within three years.
Also on the list of Ivy Leaguers picked up was Stephen Campbell. The former Brown Bear wide receiver was signed by the Buffalo Bills.
Campbell is big (6'2" 210) and has great hands and coordination to go along with solid route-running skills and intelligence. The downside is that he lacks breakaway speed (4.7 40 yards).
Campbell does not hesitate to go over the middle and can take a hit, unlike flashier receivers to be drafted of late like Joey Galloway and Terry Glenn.
Campbell will compete with a host of second and third-year players hoping to lock up the slots behind Eric Moulds and Peerless Pryce.
Campbell can be likened to a young Ed McCaffrey in his great ability to find gaps in zones and catch balls that seem to be drastically inaccurate. If he can show even a fraction of McCaffrey's improvement, Campbell can become a huge third receiver for the Bills.
Harvard's Mike Clare was picked up by the Cleveland Browns and may have the best shot at making the lineup as the Browns are fairly thin in the interior of their line.
They did draft Boston College's Paul Zukauskas who will compete with Clare for a backup guard's spot behind Jim Pyne and Steve Zahursky.
Clare is huge for a guard at 6'3" 322, but if he loses a little of the weight he might move well. Clare lacks the athleticism of his Harvard predecessor, Minnesota Vikings lineman Matt Birk, but he is very tough and aggressive.
Clare could be a good fit if he can work on his slow feet and find a way to play guard despite his limited athleticism.
The surprise signing was that of Princeton's Ross Tucker by the Washington Redskins. Tucker was not listed on most draftboards, and was not even considered a possible selection by Pro Football Weekly.
Tucker was one of five interior lineman signed by the Skins, who need to fill a hole at right guard and find depth behind Michael Moore at left guard.
Tucker will compete with Tam Hopkins of Ohio State, Jason Schwab of Nebraska, Michigan's David Brandt and Northern Iowa's Brad Harms for roster spots in the new Marty Schottenheimer regime in the nation's capital.
Schottenheimer has imposed a rigid off-the-field schedule which has received rave reviews from players who were on the Redskins under Norv Turner. Tucker may fit right in with his Princeton discipline, and may turn out to be a solid selection by the new sherriff in D.C.
With all of this recent activity, look for one or two more Ivy Leaguers to hear the call, as several NFL teams haven't delved deeply into the rookie free agent markets. Hopefully, the Ivy League will again make its mark on the NFL as it did with Birk and hopes to with Sean Morey and others.
