Professional Hustlers looks at the Mid-American Conference studs of yesteryear and what they're doing in the pro ranks right now. Will they make the team? Are they still an elite player? Did they wander off into Canada?
PREFACE: We realize many of these players actually played with Temple when they were an independent/Big East team. You will get over this fact.
DE Raheem Brock — Only 23 other folks were taken after him in the '02 NFL Draft. He's what you call a longshot-turned-old-standby. You do call people that, right? So after a lengthy career with the Colts, they were done with the aging pass rusher and the Titans snapped him up. You know the Titans; they love their defense and castoff veterans. And who wouldn't love Brock? His middle name is Fukwan. Isn't that a badass little portion of his birth certificate, or what?
DT/FB Dan Klecko — If his name sounds familiar, that's because Klecko is a neat surname. Sounds like a children's party game, akin to Jenga and Parcheesi. He won a couple Super Bowls with the Patriots and a third with the Colts, but now he's doin' it dome-style for the Atlanta Falcons. Everyone loves the occasional two-way player, and Klecko is hardly the first, but he might be the best, when ranked according to football-sounding surnames.
DT Terrance Knighton — It seems that a guy whose nickname is "Pot Roast" is struggling with his weight. Color me shocked. Cover me in gravy.
FB Jason McKie — A Backup fullback? What team these days keeps even one fullback on the roster? Fault the new-fangled shotgun formation, kids. And the Wildcat™ formation.
OT Devin Tyler — Baltimore Sports Report thinks he has a chance at making the Ravens offensive line. But he won't get his own Sandra Bullock movie.
QB Henry Burris — Ah, CFL quarterback legend Henry Burris, and one of the famed Chicago Bears starting quarterbacks in 2002. He's still chuckin' the rock for the Calgary Stampeders, and he no-foolin' leads the league with 16 touchdowns through 7 games. Do your own metric conversion.
OT Andre Douglas — On the Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad, but kinda injured. Still, it makes him Temple's second best player in the CFL.
LB Alex Joseph — "On the fence" of making this team, says the Green Bay Press-Gazette. There are no fences in football. Pick a side, young man.
CB Dominique Harris — Our friends at Buffalo Rumblings liked what they saw of him. And it looks like he even made Tim Hiller look foolish. So that's who ruined his chances at competing for Peyton Manning's job.
TE Steve Maneri — You know you got a shot at making the roster when your own team has you listed as a tackle. Maybe that's what he's been doing wrong.
DE Brian Sanford — He has a decent chance to get some snaps on the D-line for the Browns. Then again, don't we all?
DT Andre Neblett — Well, he's still with the Panthers, and he hasn't been cut yet, but they have him fourth on the depth chart at RDE. Yuck.