Casey Cramer '04 did Saturday what every kid who ever tries to throw a perfect spiral or strap on a pair of Pop Warner shoulder pads dreams of when he signed on the dotted line with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After a stellar four-year career as a wide receiver for the Big Green, the Bucs drafted Cramer in the seventh and final round of April's NFL Draft. Not quite big enough to play his collegiate position at the professional level, Tampa Bay drafted Cramer with the intention of using him as a fullback.
"We will place him in a three-point stance in the backfield," said Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden after Cramer was selected. "He was a very productive player from the Ivy League and he left a real good impression at the East-West Shrine game earlier this year."
In a May interview with The Dartmouth, Cramer recalled the events of the day he was drafted. "When a secretary from the Buccaneers called, I knew something was up," he recalled. "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."
While the deal doesn't necessarily mean Cramer will make the cut and get to suit up for the 2002 champs, it does mean he will get to go to Bucs training camp and vie for a post on the roster of 40.
Cramer is fighting for the spot to back up the recently injury addled perennial Pro Bowl starter Mike Alstott. He will be competing with former New York Giant and Tennessee Titan Greg Comella, fourth-year pro Jameel Cook, and former Miami Dolphin Deon Dyer. He is currently listed as fourth on the depth chart, behind Comella and Cook, but ahead of Dyer.
Cramer's signing also marked a bit of history for the NFL, as sixth round pick Nate Lawrie, tight end from Yale, also signed with the Bucs on Saturday, thus making the Tampa Bay 2004 draft class the first to include two Ivy League players.
Cramer, a native of Middleton, Wisc., is the second-leading receiver in Dartmouth history with a total of 185 career receptions. He was a unanimous First-Team All-Ivy pick in both his sophomore and junior years, and a Second-Team All-American in 2002. In the East-West shrine game, Cramer led the East with six catches for 36 yards, including one for 27 yards. He had 13 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Dartmouth. His biggest game of this season was against Brown, when he caught 10 passes for 137 yards in a 26-21 loss. Cramer played in 39 games for Dartmouth and amassed 180 receptions for 2,405 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also ran nine times for 13 yards and threw one pass for a 35-yard gain during a brief stint as a quarterback.
In 2002, Cramer racked up 72 receptions for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns, and he followed up as a senior with 58 more grabs for 695 yards and six scores.
