When fellow graduating Dartmouth students ask Casey Cramer '04 where he's working next year, he can say he is moving to Florida to play in the NFL. While going to an Ivy League school places one on the fast track towards I-banking or graduate school, it is a rare occurrence for an Ivy league student to jump to the NFL. For example, Ohio State alone had 14 players selected in the Draft, whereas the entire Ivy League had only two taken. Yet, on day two of the 2004 NFL Draft, Casey Cramer was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 228th selection in the seventh round.
With this selection, Cramer joined an elite club of Ivy League players selected in recent years and became the first Dartmouth player drafted since 1998. I talked with Cramer and Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Bruce Allen. We touched upon various topics such as Cramer's experience at Bucs mini-camp this May, the failed promises of Coach Parcells and the Cowboys to Cramer before the draft and how Cramer has managed classes alongside training for the NFL this spring.
The Dartmouth: Where were you on draft day? Were you surprised that the Buccaneers drafted you?
Casey Cramer: On the first draft day, I spent the day golfing and hanging out watching the Dartmouth baseball team play. Because I was definitely not going to be picked on that day. I spent my time away from anything associated with football.
The second day was much different. My wake up call was from Bill Parcells of the Dallas Cowboys because they were the team most interested in me. They told me that if I was still unpicked by the 7th round, they were going to pick me. I spent the entire day in the Dartmouth football office with the TV on, talking on the phone to coaches and scouts of teams interested in me. But as the 6th and seventh round went on, none of the teams picked me. I was starting to get scared when even the Cowboys didn't use their seventh round pick on me. Little did I know that Tampa traded their second string fullback to the Cowboys, which allowed room on their roster for me.
The whole day scouts and coaches were calling me, but when a secretary from the Buccaneers called, I knew something was up. She asked me to hold, and suspiciously I asked my friend who had the next pick. When they told me it was Tampa Bay I started to put everything together. Just then, Coach Gruden got on the line, asked me what I thought about Florida. I told him I liked the weather down there, and he then asked me to come play for him and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The D: The Buccaneers also drafted Nate Lawrie from Yale in the fifth round. What made the Buccaneers select both of the Ivy League players in the draft?
Buccanneers GM Bruce Allen: Our area scout Frank Dorazio has become a legend in NFL circles for recommending and getting two Ivy leaguers in the same year drafted.
The D: How was mini-camp with the Bucs?
Cramer: The mini-camp down in Tampa was very fast and very intense. We arrived Thursday afternoon and from then on through Sunday it was all Football. From learning plays, learning about our workouts or just learning about the business; everything was thrown at us at such speed and volume. In the first three days they put in over 80 plays, more than I ever learned here at Dartmouth. Coach Gruden is the real deal, and his "chuckie" look he gives can be quite intimidating.
Bucs GM Allen: Every player entering the NFL has a difficult time adjusting to the complexities and speed in the NFL. It doesn't matter if the player is coming from the Big Ten or Ivy League.
The D: How do you feel about the transition to fullback from tight end? How are you preparing for the change?
Cramer: The transition from fullback to tight end is a bit harder than I imagined just because I am used to running routes and catching balls and a fullback spends more time blocking. I think what Tampa Bay likes about me is that they think I can do both.
Bucs GM Allen: Many of our offensive personnel groupings make the FB and TE interchangeable.
The D: How do you feel about joining a fullback position already with All-Pro Mike Alstott and former starter Greg Comella? Where do you hope to fit in the Bucs backfield?
Cramer: I am just trying to make the team. I hope to learn a lot from both Alstott and Comella and that by being around the two, something will rub off on me. All I want to do is make the roster or practice squad, so I have a chance of playing on special teams.
The D: How have you balanced preparing for the NFL draft, with school work and upcoming graduation?
Cramer: It has been difficult to do both school and prepare for the draft, and now for training camp. Many of the other draft picks are already down in Florida training with the team because either they stopped taking classes or have graduated. I still have to keep my priorities, first being that I need to graduate, and secondly that I need to have a job.
My average day consists of waking up at six, running, then I go to class. After that I get some food, lift weights, and then to the trainers to ice. Some days I have an afternoon class, and after it I play catch for a half an hour. All in all, I spend an average of 5 to 6 hours a day on football and training which is close to a full time job in addition to my schoolwork. I definitely keep myself busy.
The D: Closing remarks?
Cramer: I am very excited for this upcoming season. I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to have a chance at playing professional football. Everyone here at Dartmouth has been so supportive of me whether they are my coaches, my friends who run with me and keep me company in the mornings, and my teachers for putting up with my coming to class all sweaty. I hope I can accomplish what I want to show everyone that Dartmouth can prepare its students for any vocation, even the NFL.
