Posts Tagged ‘Jaimie Thomas’

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April 27th, 2009 | 02:48 pm

Terps in the NFL Update

Just wanted to get a quick update on the list of newest Terps to join NFL teams.

Over the weekend, the five Terps drafted tied the most in the Ralph Friedgen-era:

Darrius Heyward-Bey (7th overall, Oakland Raiders), Kevin Barnes (80th overall, Washington Redskins), Moise Fokou (230th overall, Philadelphia Eagles), Jaimie Thomas (236th overall, Indianapolis Colts), Dan Gronkowski (255th overall, Detroit Lions)

Then comes word today of six undrafted free agent signings, via a university press release.

Linebacker Dave Philistin (Seattle Seahawks), wide receiver Isaiah Williams (Baltimore Ravens), center Edwin Williams (Washington Redskins), tackle Scott Burley (Redskins), linebacker Chase Bullock (Arizona Cardinals) and defensive tackle Jeremy Navarre (Jacksonville Jaguars) signed as undrafted free agent contracts.

Defensive tackle Dean Muhtadi and offensive tackle Dane Randolph have earned tryouts with the Green Bay Packers, according to the release.

That makes 13 Terps with some kind of pro plans. Several other Terps, including wide receiver Danny Oquendo and linebacker Trey Covington, will look to hook on with teams in the coming days.

More on some of the latest Terps to join teams, including Philistin and Williams, later.

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April 27th, 2009 | 11:26 am

The Waiting is the Hardest Part…

There was a late flurry of Terp action in yesterday’s NFL Draft.

After Darrius Heyward-Bey came off the board Saturday and Kevin Barnes was selected early yesterday, several Terps had some tense moments before earning phone calls from drafting teams.

It was more than eight hours into yesterday’s portion of the Draft before Moise Fokou (230th), Jaimie Thomas (236th) and Dan Gronkowski (255th) found out they were being taken with three of the final 26 picks.

Fokou said he didn’t want much to do with the early part of the Draft after hearing he’d probably go somewhere between the fourth and seventh rounds. But once he sat down in front of the TV during the fourth round, he had to wait a while before seeing his name flash across ESPN’s bottomline as the newest Philadelphia Eagle.

“It was long and it was gruesome,” Fokou said last night. “You get nervous. Once that seventh round comes around, you start thinking, ‘Oh my goodness. I’m not going to get drafted.’ But I’m so happy I got picked up by the Eagles.”

Gronkowski, who went to the Detroit Lions, was taken just one pick ahead of South Carolina kicker Ryan Succop, who as the final pick gets a pretty lavish ceremony in California for being “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Fokou said he knew what Gronkowski was going through as the Draft wound down but guessed that all his drafted teammates feel the same way as he does now that the Draft is done.

“I’m ready to go back to practicing and strap those cleats on to play football again,” Fokou said. “This has been a long process, and I’m glad it’s over.”

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February 12th, 2009 | 08:29 pm

The Road to the Combine

The Terp football team just graduated a Friedgen-era high 30 seniors. Naturally, several of them have aspirations of continuing their career at the next level.

To prepare, center Edwin Williams, guard Jaimie Thomas, defensive tackle Jeremy Navarre and linebacker Moise Fokou are training in the Atlanta-area with Chip Smith at Competitive Edge Sports, which has trained NFL Pro Bowlers such as Albert Haynesworth and Asante Samuel, according to its website.

Next week, Williams, Thomas and Fokou will head to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. (They’ll be joined by former teammates Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kevin Barnes and Dan Gronkowski.)

I caught up with Williams, projected as the draft’s seventh-best center by www.draftcountdown.com, to get a few thoughts as he prepares.

Williams, who went to Atlanta from the East-West Shrine Game where he was on the victorious East squad, said he has been working out about four hours per day. That includes two hours of running and two hours of lifting, in addition to one pool workout a week.

“I’m just trying to get myself as light as I possibly can for athleticism, so I can just get at it,” Williams said. “That’s what the combine is. As far as the drills go, it’s all running around, fast-twitch muscles and flexibility. I’m just trying to get on top of my game. It’s going to be interesting, though.”

Williams has been clocked at 5.40 in the 40. He’s hoping to best 5.30 in Indianapolis.

That will be the hard part for the always affable Williams, who was consistently the star of the team’s Tuesday press lunches. Williams said he talked to some NFL personnel at the Shrine game and has been getting coaching at Competitive Edge Sports, but he’s confident in his interviewing skills.

“It’s really being myself,” Williams said. “It’s gotten me this far. I don’t see why I should change now.”

It’s all pretty exciting for Williams, who admitted he was a bit star struck when he arrived at the training facility. He’s currently living with players from Ohio University and Wisconsin, and training alongside players like former Oklahoma and Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar and former Oklahoma wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias.

“People aren’t out there being cut-throat,” Willaims said. “Everyone’s helping each other out, being positive. Everyone knows that really it’s out of our hands right now.”

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