100%CardsFan
100% embarrassed
Chasing down his dream
Ex-K-State player eager for chance
Mar. 30, 2004 12:00 AM
We were intrigued to read about the big fellow who showed up at Cardinals minicamp Sunday with a pair of cleats and a dream.
So we tracked him down to see what gives.
"I just moved out here about two weeks ago from Michigan," said Jerome Evans, a former Kansas State defensive lineman who went undrafted in 1998. "I got up, packed up my family and came here. I've never been in an NFL camp and always wanted to try. I was just determined to do it, and the good Lord led me that way."
The Cardinals led him out of the facility.
However, when Rattlers Vice President Gene Nudo heard about Evans he wanted to know more. Turned out Nudo's player personnel boss, Pete Kettela, was already on it and had been in contact with Evans' agent, Mark Feinsod. Evans will try out for the Rattlers on Wednesday and Thursday.
"He runs a 4.85 40, so he's an athlete," Kettela said.
Evans, 27, said he thought he would be drafted after his college career, which included a six-tackle performance in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 1997, and doesn't believe the agent he had at the time did his job.
Since then, the 6-foot-6 Evans has played semipro ball - which probably explains his interest in the Cardinals - spent part of a season with the New York Dragons in the Arena League and worked for a food-distribution business in Michigan, loading pallets.
The food job was hard work that dropped his weight from the 330 pounds to 295.
"Everybody is always asking me, 'How come you ain't in the NFL?' All I can tell them is, I've never had a chance," he said. "I've got a wife and three kids and another one on the way. I want to provide for them, so I'm very hungry.
"I can't even watch football games, because I see guys I used to play against and I know I'm better than some of them. I hope to God this is my chance."
Nudo has learned that, in the Arena League, it's best not to turn a cold shoulder to guys like Evans.
"I remember (receiver) Chris Horn showed up here with some videotapes and just left them with the security guard one year," Nudo said. "We looked at the tape, brought him in and he ended up playing for us a couple of years. Now he's with the Kansas City Chiefs, so you never know.
"(Evans) is a pretty good-looking specimen. Who knows? If he can come in and do a good job, maybe Dennis (Green) won't have to look too far to see him."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/0330p2main0330.html
Ex-K-State player eager for chance
Mar. 30, 2004 12:00 AM
We were intrigued to read about the big fellow who showed up at Cardinals minicamp Sunday with a pair of cleats and a dream.
So we tracked him down to see what gives.
"I just moved out here about two weeks ago from Michigan," said Jerome Evans, a former Kansas State defensive lineman who went undrafted in 1998. "I got up, packed up my family and came here. I've never been in an NFL camp and always wanted to try. I was just determined to do it, and the good Lord led me that way."
The Cardinals led him out of the facility.
However, when Rattlers Vice President Gene Nudo heard about Evans he wanted to know more. Turned out Nudo's player personnel boss, Pete Kettela, was already on it and had been in contact with Evans' agent, Mark Feinsod. Evans will try out for the Rattlers on Wednesday and Thursday.
"He runs a 4.85 40, so he's an athlete," Kettela said.
Evans, 27, said he thought he would be drafted after his college career, which included a six-tackle performance in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 1997, and doesn't believe the agent he had at the time did his job.
Since then, the 6-foot-6 Evans has played semipro ball - which probably explains his interest in the Cardinals - spent part of a season with the New York Dragons in the Arena League and worked for a food-distribution business in Michigan, loading pallets.
The food job was hard work that dropped his weight from the 330 pounds to 295.
"Everybody is always asking me, 'How come you ain't in the NFL?' All I can tell them is, I've never had a chance," he said. "I've got a wife and three kids and another one on the way. I want to provide for them, so I'm very hungry.
"I can't even watch football games, because I see guys I used to play against and I know I'm better than some of them. I hope to God this is my chance."
Nudo has learned that, in the Arena League, it's best not to turn a cold shoulder to guys like Evans.
"I remember (receiver) Chris Horn showed up here with some videotapes and just left them with the security guard one year," Nudo said. "We looked at the tape, brought him in and he ended up playing for us a couple of years. Now he's with the Kansas City Chiefs, so you never know.
"(Evans) is a pretty good-looking specimen. Who knows? If he can come in and do a good job, maybe Dennis (Green) won't have to look too far to see him."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/0330p2main0330.html
Nice semi-pro dig at the Cardinals.
