With NFL training camp approaching at the end of July, eight Spartan rookies from this past season will look to make their mark in the NFL, while two others are currently on CFL rosters.
Trae Waynes, Jeremy Langford, Tony Lippett, Keith Mumphery, Andrew Gleichert, Kurtis Drummond, Taiwan Jones and Marcus Rush will be attending training camps and Matt Rea and James Bodanis are currently on CFL rosters.
Waynes, Langford, Lippett and Mumphery were drafted and are locks to make their respective NFL teams’ 53-man roster. Gleichert, Drummond, Jones and Rush will fight to make their teams as undrafted free agents.
Waynes, who was recently invited to a private gym workout with Floyd Mayweather, as reported by TMZ, was drafted No. 11-overall in the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Wobschall of vikings.com recently sat down with Vikings’ defensive back coach Jerry Gray in a video interview. Gray talked about Waynes and said he has learned a lot and has a great attitude.
“We know there are some things that God gave him that we can’t, which is great speed and height, the burst and the close,” Gray said to Wobschall in the Vikings.com interview. “So we are giving him some things that are probably uncomfortable right now so when it gets down to training camp and the season we can kind of back off that and then let him take over the game.”
Langford received praise by Chicago Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace at a press conference following the NFL draft in which Langford was selected 106th overall by the team.
“Langford’s a guy our running backs coach likes a lot,” Pace said, as reported by Larry Mayer of chicagobears.com.
The Bears’ running back coach Stan Drayton coached against Langford at Ohio State University.
Lippett, who was drafted 156th overall by the Miami Dolphins, played wide receiver in college but has been converted to cornerback. Lippett played two-ways at receiver and corner during the 2015 Cotton Bowl and showed his potential at Dolphin OTA’s by recording three interceptions in a single day’s seven on seven scrimmage, according to miamidolphins.com. Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin spoke at a press conference following Lippett’s successful day at OTA’s.
“He doesn’t have a ton of position experience there (at cornerback) in games, but he seems to be a guy that’s learned the system pretty well,” Philbin said, as reported by Alain Poupart of dolphins.com. “Every rep that he gets is extremely valuable at this stage of his development. I caught a couple of (the interceptions), and he went up and high-pointed one of the balls. He was in the right place at the right time.”
Mumphery, who was drafted 175th overall by the Houston Texans, was recognized on Sportscenter’s July 14 edition of NFL Live for his rookie progress thus far. Texans’ head coach Bill O’Brien spoke at Rookie Minicamp in May about Mumphrey’s contribution to the team.
“For Mumphery, we thought he may have a chance and should have a chance to really help us on special teams,” O’Brien said at a press conference. “So we’re really looking at him to be in this weekend to start off and learn the core special teams, punt, punt return, kickoff cover, kickoff return, be a part of all that. Then, obviously, try to find his niche at receiver. We felt like he was an outside receiver that could do some things on the inside and be a special teams contributor.”
Gleichert was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie free agent and will look to make the team as the 4th tight end on the roster. Trey Burton, now in his second season with the Eagles, made the team last year in the way Gleichert may this year, by establishing himself in blocking and special teams, as reported by ESPN in May.
Drummond was signed by the Houston Texas as a rookie free agent. Drummond played safety at MSU and the Texans’ secondary question marks have provided him with the opportunity for a roster spot. Drummond has held his own against NFL veterans at OTA’s and Rookie Minicamp, as reported by P.D. Starr of scout.com.
Jones was signed by the New York Jets as a rookie free agent. Jones has been working as an interior linebacker this offseason and, according to thejetsblog.com said “expect [Jets’ head coach Todd] Bowles to lobby his front office to find a way to keep a developmental prospect like Jones.”
Rush was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as a rookie free agent. Rush played defensive end at MSU, but reports state he has been working out as an outside linebacker. An analysis of Rush by ninersnation.com said his chances of making the roster are slim, but the opportunity for him to be on the practice team “makes a lot of sense.”
Former MSU punter Mike Sadler had a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but rookie punter Kirby Van Der Kamp from Iowa State University was the kicker invited to Rookie Minicamp, according to news from the Buccaneers official website.
Matt Rea is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and James Bodanis is a member of the Montreal Alouettes. These teams will face each other on Sept. 27, as reported by theonlycolors.com.
