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Newman is Canada's best shot Saturday

Newman is Canada's best shot Saturday

By Michael Preston

Offensive linemen are a priceless commodity. Jake Long, the Michigan tackle, will be the first overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft this weekend and ask a head coach or a general manager where he would most like to guarantee success from the two days of picking precariously from the college ranks and he will tell you that up front in the trenches is his priority.

So what fate awaits Powell River, BC, native Jesse Newman, another offensive tackle who is due to graduate the University of Louisiana Lafayette next month after a stellar career with the Ragin Cajuns?

Newman does not kid himself that he will be mentioned in the same breath or even on the same draft day as Long; perhaps not even among the 250 overall picks that make up the NFL Draft. But he can hope that the film of him “playing nasty” as he describes his style, might tempt someone scanning an NFL team draft board to call his name this weekend.

“I’m a realist and I know that my chances of being drafted are slim,” said Newman. “But as far as being signed afterwards as a free agent, I’m sure I have a good shot.

“On draft day I am going to carry on as normal, but for me that means watching the draft. There will be a few draft parties around here and I’m going to one of them and will watch the first few rounds. I will be keeping an eye on all the rounds and it will be hard not to wonder if my name will be called.”

Having played at a school below the radar in terms of national prominence and by his own admission not put up numbers that stand out in a traditional sense, Newman acknowledges he is a long shot to be drafted. He has been a starter since his true freshman season and was named to the Sun Belt Conference Honor Roll in 2007, and he does have that intangible that coaches like to add into the mix, be it as a draftee or a free agent.

“My strengths are my aggressiveness in getting after defensive linemen in the run game,” explained Newman. “I’m just nasty out there and that is what people who watch my film say, that I’m nasty. I think that if scouts have watched my film they will see something in my game, but if they look at my numbers they’ll throw me away and look at someone else.

“I think I have a chance with any NFL team that runs the zone. I think I can be proficient in that type of a game because at Louisiana we have run that the past three years. That will be my best shot at fitting with a team.”

Newman’s agent Culley Curran from CCSI Sports remains optimistic that his client is up there among the likes of Boise State guard Andrew Woodruff (Victoria, BC) and record-setting wide receiver Jabari Arthur (Montreal, QC) of Akron and as a Canadian whose name might be called at the Radio City Music Hall I Manhattan this weekend.

“Quite a few teams we’ve spoken to have him on their draft boards,” said Curran. “I think his chances of a free agency are very high. His pro day was not the best he’s had and not something he’s ecstatic about, but NFL teams said they’re not putting all their stock on pro day and it’s just a piece of the puzzle.

“Teams have followed him in games in college so I think he could be a late round pick or a free agency deal.”

Newman, who played only one season of football at South Delta High School before lining up for the Victoria Rebels in the CJFL, added: “I’m just excited about football in general. I don’t really mind whether I play here in the south or at home, but to play in the NFL has to be every player’s dream."

Major: Exercise Science

2006-07 Sun Belt Conference Honor Roll

2006: Started all 12 games at left tackle...Played a season-high 77 snaps at Houston.

2005: Started the final nine games at left tackle after missing the first two games with a knee injury...Played 647 snaps, including a season-high 89 at Arkansas State...Named Hooter’s/Credeur’s Cajuns Offensive Player of the Week at North Texas, as Cajuns rushed for 327 yards on 61 carries.

2004: Started all 11 games at right tackle as a true freshman...Saw 801 snaps, becoming one of five Cajuns to top 800 plays...Enrolled in class for the spring semester 2004...Participated in spring drills.

Prior to Louisiana: Played three seasons in the Canadian Junior Football League, following graduation from South Delta Secondary School in Powell River, British Columbia.

High School: Played only one season, his senior year, of high school football at South Delta...Was selected to play in the Provincial High School Football Senior Bowl and was named Most Valuable Offensive Lineman that season.

Personal: Son of Bob Newman and Judy Hickling.