2009 Undrafted Players

Mortty Ivy: The Carolina Panthers picked up linbacker Mortty Ivy after the draft.

He made some notable plays during training camp, including interecepting a pass for a touchdown and seperating a pass from reciever. He also suffered a groin injury.

Ivy a couple of big plays during his four pre-season games, including a tackle for a loss against the Giants and a forced fumble against the Steelers.

At the end of the pre-season, Ivy was waived but re-signed to the practice squad.

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Greg Isdaner: The Dallas Cowboys signed guard Greg Isdaner after the draft.

Isdaner played with the third team during training camp and was given slim chances of making the team.

He played in three pre-season games, was hazed, and eventually waived from the team.

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Ryan Stanchek: The Atlanta Falcons picked up guard Ryan Stanchek after the draft. He played in four pre-season games but was released before the begining of the season.

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Dorrell Jalloh: Jalloh was invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rookie mini-camp after the draft. He was not signed and ended up in the Montreal Alouettes' training camp. The Alouttes cut him before camp ended.

Colts, Pats, 'Boys Look at McAfee

McAfee gets NFL attention
By Colin Dunlap
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 24, 2009

Pat McAfee is long on leg strength -- and confidence.

The West Virginia place-kicker and Plum native is on brink of being selected in this weekend's NFL draft. He's one of the top-rated kickers by most draft analysts and a projected late-rounder by some.

So, when asked, McAfee never wavered, figuring if he doesn't get drafted, there's still a spot for him in the NFL.

"I'm just staying even keel about all this," he said. "If I don't get drafted, hey, no big deal, man, I'll just have to go into a camp as a free agent and take someone's job from them. That is honestly the way I feel, so why not just say it like that?"

McAfee, 6 feet, 228 pounds, handled all three components of the kicking game at West Virginia last season -- punting, field-goal kicking and kickoff duties. And he excelled at all portions of the triumvirate, which have the NFL scouts intrigued.

A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award -- presented to the nation's top punter -- he had a 44.7 yards per punt average, dropping 23 punts inside the 20 yard line. McAfee was also a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top kicker after he went 17 for 20 in field goals, including 7 of 8 from beyond 40 yards, and also had eight touchbacks.

Some teams like him as a kickoff man, some like him as a place-kicker, where others have raved to his Pittsburgh-based agent Eddie Edwards about his punting.

The Indianapolis Colts extended one of their limited college prospect invitations -- rare for a kicker -- to McAfee a few weeks ago. He said the Colts, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have been in contact with him most.
. . .
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09114/965134-144.stm

2002 Undrafted Players

Corey McIntyre: Despite missing out on the draft, McIntyre has made a living as a backup fullback and special teams trooper. He has a simple view on his occupation, as the Buffalo News reports:

“That’s my love and pleasure, right there,” McIntyre said after finishing his first practice with the Bills Wednesday. “I love special teams. That’s where I’ve always earned my money.”

What’s his motivation on kick coverage? Simple, said McIntyre:

“My mentality is I have to feed my kids, so somebody has their food and I have to go get it,” he said. “I see the ball, go get the ball.”

Eight years before he made it to the Bills, McIntyre was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad. The following year, in 2003, he was relocated to NFL Europa's Frankfurt Galaxy. There he helped lead his team to the World Bowl. In the championship game McIntyre had 12 carries for 76 yards. Despite his efforts the Galaxy lost. After returning from Europe, the Eagles released McIntyre before the beginning of the 2004 season.

Shortly after his release in Philadelphia, the Cleveland browns picked him up. In 2004, Cleveland released McIntyre.

During the first weeks of the 2006 season, the New Orleans Saints lost two fullbacks to injury. They signed McIntyre and second fullback to fill the holes. The Saints waived McIntyre in November, before the end of the season, in order to make room on the roster.

A day later, the Atlanta Falcons snapped up the former WVU fullback. McIntyre was kept on the inactive list for the rest of the season but was quickly made special teams captian the following year. In 2008, the Falcons cut him at the end of training camp.

After spending a year with the Bills, McIntyre became an unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season but has already been resigned. It appears that his blocking skills are appreciated up north.

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Antwan Lake: The Detroit Lions signed defensive end Antwan Lake after the draft. He was inactive for all but nine games and totaled only one tackle in his first year. He was waived before the beginning of the 2003 season.

Lake was signed by the Atlanta Falcons in 2003 but did not play that year. Over 2004 and 2005, He served the backup function on a tenacious defensive line. Lake had one of his best years in 2005 when he accumulated total of 16 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and caused a safety. After the 2005 season, Lake had surgery on his shoulder and became an unrestricted free agent.

In 2006, Lake was signed by the Saints. Again, he played a backup role. Lakes best year with the Saints came in 2007 when he totaled 18 tackles and one sack.

In 2008, Lake suffered a groin injury during the first game, which kept him on the sidelines most of the season. He was released by the Saints and became an unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season and has yet to be picked up.

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Rick Sherrod: Saftey Rick Sherrod spent the first two seasons after he graduated bouncing around NFL teams during the offseason. After going undrafted, he was originally picked up by the Buffalo in April 2003 but was quickly released. The same month he was signed by the Saints before being released in August. The following year, before the beginning of the season, was again signed and released from two different teams, this time the Cowboys and the Jaguars.

After bouncing around the NFL, Sherrod joined the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers in May 2005. He was waived in January of 2006 and is no longer playing football.

2003 Undrafted Players

An updated version of this blog post is available at WVUPros.com

Angel Estrada: In 2004, the Ohio Valley Greyhounds of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) gave Estrada his first professional start. Estrada dominated the league in defense while playing both sides of the ball and special teams. On the defensive side, he lead the league with 14 interceptions as well as recording 65 tackles and 21 pass break ups. For his efforts the team gave him the Rookie of the Year Award, the conference awarded him as the Defensive MVP and the league chose him as an All-Star.

In 2005 the AFL's Nashville Kats signed Estrada, where also played both sides of the ball. Before the regular season was over, Estrada was released.

The New York Dragons picked up Estrada for the remainder of the 2005. He played 4 games and caught an interception despite an injury to his hamstring. In 2006, he stayed with the Dragons and racked up 40 tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles while playing in 11 games.

The Grand Rapids Rampage contracted Estrada before the beginning of the 2007 season. He suffered an injury, however still played five games. Despite the few amount of games, he still racked up 26 tackles.

Estrada returned to the Dragons for the 2008 season. He preformed again though injury, recording 16.5 tackles.

As far as I can guess, Estrada is still with the Dragons but it's hard to tell for sure since the AFL season has been canceled due to the recession.

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Lewis Daniels: The cornerback also began his pro career with the Ohio Valley Greyhounds in 2004. He had 28.5 tackles and 3 sacks his first season. They re-signed Daniels in 2005, a year where he totaled 61 tackles and 5 interceptions. In 2006 he totaled 39 tackles and had 3 interceptions. Daniels was not included in team statistics in 2007 and I was not able to find any other information on him.

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Kenny Sandor: The offensive lineman was also with Greyhounds, but started in his draft year, 2003. He received a few starts in his first year after several injuries to starting players. Sandor received NIFL All-Star status for his help giving the team's running back, Rayshawn Askew, the rushing title. He was re-signed along with Lewis Daniels in 2005. Like Daniels, Sandor was not included in team satistics in 2006 and I could not find any other record of him playing anywhere else.

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Jason Davis: The Texans took Davis, a defensive tackle, after the draft. He spent his fist three years (2003-2005) on the practice squad before being sent to play with NFL Europa's Berlin Thunder in 2006.

After a season in Europe, Davis was waived from the Texans. For the rest of 2006 he jumped around the NFL, spending time with both the Cowboys and Colts, before turning toward the AFL.

The Philadelphia soul signed Davis in 2007. He only produced one assisted tackle that year.

It looks like the following year the New York Dragons signed Davis. Beyond the one article, the books on him start to fade.

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David Upchurch: The Steelers picked up defensive lineman Upchurch after he went undrafted in 2003. He spent all of 2003 and two weeks of 2004 on the practice squad before he was released.

After being released from the Steelers, Upchurch was signed with AFL's Orlando Predators but was given NFL waiver. He spent less than a month with the Ravens practice squad before being signed by the Chargers.

In 2005, Upchurch went back to the Predators. He had 7 tackles on the year after being hampered by an injury. Like Jason Davis, Upchurch's record fades. I'll update them both if I find more later on.

2004 Undrafted Players

Lance Frazier: As an undrafted free agent in 2004, Frazier was initially picked up be the Baltimore Ravens but was quickly waived before the beginning of the season. The Cowboys picked him up and gave him playing time.

During the 2004 season, Frazier played on both defense and special teams. On special teams he returned punts 24 times and had a 9.9 yardd return average. He also fumbled twice, both in a loss to the Eagles, garnering the ire of then head coach Bill Parcels. On defense, he had 34 solo tackles and 2 interceptions.

In 2005, the Cowboys released Frazier shortly after he sprained his ankle. Other than a short 2006 training camp stint with the Seahawks, he has not returned to the NFL.

After being cut from the Cowboys in 2005, Frazier began his AFL career. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Storm, however I can't find anything on his production there. In 2006 he was traded to the New Orleans Voodoo, an expansion team at the time, but was put onto the exempt roster because he was offered a contract in the CFL. As far as his AFL status is concerned, his contract was traded to the Philadelphia Soul but he is still on their exempt roster.

In 2006, when the AFL's Voodoo exempted Frazier, he began his CFL career. He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he has spent the past three years. He only played one game in 2006, possibly because of his Seahawk's training camp stint. In 2007 and 2008 he appeared to progress. In 2008, he led the team with 5 interceptions. In 2009, the Roughriders resigned him before he entered free agency.

Pacman Released from Cowboys

ESPN Snitches On Pacman, Costs Him His Job
By Dashiell Bennett

Reporter John Barr was preparing a story for Sunday's edition of "Outside the Lines," alleging that Adam was under investigation for "ordering" the shooting of three men, following an altercation at a strip club. This happened in June 2007, after he had already been suspended a full year for a completely separate strip club shooting incident. Barr waited until Wednesday to call the NFL, the Cowboys, and Jones' agent for comment, and claims that they knew about the investigation, but that he provided them new details that they were not aware of. Hours later, Jones was gone.
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http://deadspin.com/5126160/espn-snitches-on-pacman-costs-him-his-job?skyline=true&s=x


Cowboys release troubled CB Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones
By Jeff Carlton
The Associated Press, January 8, 2009

Irving, TX (AP) -- Adam “Pacman” Jones’ attorney doesn’t think the troubled cornerback will be unemployed for long.

The Dallas Cowboys said Wednesday they are done with Jones, releasing him after a 2008 season marred by disappointing play and a six-game suspension for an off-field scuffle.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-cowboys-pacmanjones&prov=ap&type=lgns

2005 NFL Draftees

An updated version of this blog post is available at WVUPros.com

Rasheed Marshall: Marshall was drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round (174th overall) and wasn't particularly impressive there. He was converted from QB to receiver and used as a return specialist. He had 43 touches as either a punt or kick returner and averaged 5.1 and 18.8 yards a return, respectively. More importantly he had 4 fumbles during those 43 touches. I don't think coaches like giving the ball back after kicks/punts. Marshall was let go after the 2005 season. Between 2006 and 2007 he hopped from the Steelers (another surprise) to the Rams practice squad before departing for the Arena League. I don't know much about the Arena League, so if you're interested you can check out his stats.

Chris Henry: Not one of West Virginia's favorite sons. He was drafted in the third round (83rd overall) by the Bengals. On the field he hasn't been great recently. Looking at his stats, he seems to have peaked in 2006 with 605 receiving yards and only had 220 in 2008 (while only playing in one more game in 2006 than 2008). Of course, the Bengals were beat up this year and looked downright ugly. Unless they were playing the Redskins, anyway.

Adam "Pacman" Jones: Titans to Cowboys, troubles the name. I don't feel like getting into it. For more insight, watch the hilarious video below.