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Brampton's Westerman excels with Jets

Brampton's Westerman excels with Jets

By Randy Lange, Editor, NEWYORKJETS.com (August 2009)

If Jamaal Westerman is everything Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine think he is, you can chalk up another one for the entire NFL draft machine missing a diamond in the rough.

When Westerman came to the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers in the spring, the Jets head coach’s eyes instinctively lit up and the D-coordinator saw the potential.

“It starts with I-told-you-so,” Ryan playfully taunted reporters this week about Westerman’s ongoing successful transition from college DE to pro LB at SUNY Cortland training camp. “I’m not as surprised as you guys are. He jumped out at us. We liked him in college. When he came in, I’m surprised that he could transition from having his hand in the dirt all the time to now standing up and now going back inside. I’m surprised that mentally he’s been able to handle it. That’s a hard thing to do, and he seems to be doing a pretty good job of that.”

Then later in training camp, Pettine said on a Jets Radio ‘netcast now up on newyorkjets.com that the Jets will probably move Westerman back outside.

It makes perfect sense that the 24-year-old is eminently adaptable, since he was born in Brooklyn and raised in Fort Lauderdale and Ontario, Canada, before finding his way to the banks of the Old Raritan.

“I didn’t come in really expecting anything,” Westerman said. “Wherever they were going to put me, I was going to try and play hard and pick it up. As many different things you can do is always better. So I’m just going out there to play hard and pick up all the little ins and outs of every position I’m playing.”

That includes special teams. Westerman was out there today with half of his teammates for the afternoon ST practice, the final session at Cortland until Sunday. Ryan said Mike Westhoff has already moved the rookie into a lot of starting groups.

Westerman is not a gloater. He hasn’t talked about having it in for the 31 other teams that didn’t draft or sign him. And he’s put Ryan’s high praise — “I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t make a name for himself this year” — in the proper context.

“It’s good that he said it, but it doesn’t really mean much in the big picture,” he said. “That’s good now, but tomorrow might be a totally different story, so I’ve just got to keep trying to get better.”

NYJ, Signed 5/1/09 as an Undrafted FA

Jamaal Westerman, #55, Linebacker

Height: 6'3" Weight: 255 lbs Age: 24

Years in NFL: R

College: Rutgers

BEFORE THE NFL

Four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Rutgers, was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2006 and 2008...For his career, Westerman finished with 26 sacks, third highest in school history, in 50 career games, and totaled 141 tackles, including 45 behind the line of scrimmage.

Led the Scarlet Knights with six sacks in 12 games...Ended the season with 33 tackles.

Enrolled in Rutgers in January 2004 to take part in spring practice before his freshman season.

Played at Notre Dame Academy in Brampton, Ontario...Four year starter who led team in tackles and sacks as a senior. Also led league in tackles, sacks and tackles-for-loss.

OFF THE FIELD

Born Jamaal Akeem Westerman in Brooklyn, NY.

Family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL...Played his freshman season at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Ft. Lauderdale before moving to Brampton Ontario and enrolling at Notre Dame Secondary School.

Both his parents hail from Barbados.

Graduated from Rutgers in May 2008 with a degree in labor-employee relations and a minor in sociology.

Pursuing his Masters in labor-employment relations.