What Does It Take To Make NFL?

If you haven't heard by now Shaun Draughn was cut by the Redskins Saturday and he is the last player from the Twin Counties that still had a shot to make and NFL Roster.  This leave Julius Peppers as the only Twin County player in the NFL.  Is being all pro your only chance to make one of the big clubs?

Last year the greatest pass receiver  in the history of college football went  undrafted.  Why wouldn't  anyone not even take a chance on Terrell Hudgins in the sixth round?  He had only 4.624 speed in the forty yard dash. That could easily beat 99.97 per cent of all people in Nash County but not in the NFL.  Dallas brought him in as a free agent but free agents are easy to cut.  You don't have to pay them any more once they are gone like a contract player.  Once the lock out was over Hudgins never got a call this summer from any NFL team.

Stephan Virgil who right here on this web site was named the Top Gryphon player of the first ten years of Gryphon football in this decade. He couldn't make it. Sometimes timing has every thing to do with it.  Virgil who injured his knee his senior year at Virginia Tech never quite  got back to 100% when his chance came last year.  Even playing in the World football championships  this summer a call never came this year from any NFL team.

Travis Cobb a backup player for B W Holt at wide Receiver blossomed at Junior College enough that the University of Arizona grabbed Cobb for two years.  Cobb teammates with both Hudgins and Virgil at Rocky Mount was a kickoff return specialist at Arizona  and even had a touchdown return on National  TV.  His speed got him into the camp of the Chicago Bears.  His speed was not enough and the Bears cut him early.

Shaun Draughn played both offense and defense in Tarboro and at Carolina.  I think that is one reason Shaun made it all the way to the last day before being cut.  He had a real shot at being on the special teams as who knows the reason why but the Redskins went in a different direction.

If there were a minor league system all four of our area players would still be looking at the lower minor leagues in hopes of one day making the big time.  The only true minor league system for the NFL is college football and all four  have aged out.  They may still wait for the phone ring but every day there  is a new player just finishing college waiting to take their place in the waiting line.