For Practice Squad?

My first thought when I was watching that second Youtube video was "Woooo!! He killed him! Who's number 32 on Tulsa!?" at the 2:55 mark. (Turns out it was Curnelius Arnick. Graduated after 2011. I don't think he ever made it to the league.)

Second thing I thought was I love how committed the Hawks are to improving in short yardage situations. We got by for the most part with the give to Robinson when teams were gearing up for Beast Mode, however, we had our struggles. And it's because we were so reliant on the handoff to Robinson that the Falcons were able to set up for it perfectly on a crucial 4th down in the playoff game. Whaley looks awkward when he's running in the open field, which actually could make for some fun for the fans, but he really looks like a different runner inside the 10. Kinda like Shaun Alexander, if Shaun Alexander had the running style of Spencer Ware. Whaley's a legit goal line back who goes in there with reckless abandon. And you've gotta love the fact that he's a walkon that's now getting a chance to crack THE BEST roster in the NFL. How can you not root for this kid to make the Practice Squad and get to be a part of this?

The more and more I look into the UDFA class from this year, I keep coming away more and more impressed.

I guess I don't know what I was supposed to be impressed by..... the 5 mile wide hole the O line opened up for him? He won't make the team.

Michael and Ware are both short yardage specialists. Whaley won't make it to TC.

Seafan wrote:Michael and Ware are both short yardage specialists. Whaley won't make it to TC.

An honest question then... why would the Hawks even bother signing this guy if he won't even make it to TC? So, you're thinking he's just a mini-camp player - but, camp roster spots are too precious to carry another back? I think he could stick around a bit. There must be a reason they signed him - perhaps to give a guy who deserves a shot in an NFL camp to come in and take some reps - perhaps more for the defense. Sounds like he's used to not being the back that gets the attention, so nothing new for him. If he shows something, maybe he sticks around in some capacity or, if not, on speed dial. His production dropped in 2012. I don't know enough about the player - but, perhaps that had something to do with a leg injury he had.

I appreciate the original post and further comments b/c I probably wouldn't have taken a look at him otherwise. I was unaware of his story. Pretty cool whether or not he sticks around.

NFL teams invite players to mini-camps for try outs. If they like what they see the player will get invited to training camp. This is basically the next level below un-drafted free agents. I don't know if the player was offered a contract but if not it's just a try out.

After watching the videos it's apparent the kid has a very long stride and gets up to speed fairly quick.

v1rotv2 wrote:NFL teams invite players to mini-camps for try outs. If they like what they see the player will get invited to training camp. This is basically the next level below un-drafted free agents. I don't know if the player was offered a contract but if not it's just a try out.

After watching the videos it's apparent the kid has a very long stride and gets up to speed fairly quick.

Whaley was not signed merely as a tryout player. He's one of the 9 signed UDFA. There were several others for mini-camp tryouts. That was the point of my question. Seems like that was already determined. Having said that... a player is never safe in any case. They need to perform or it's Not-For-Long.

I watched a couple other clips following the linked you tube clip and the guy seems pretty humble and interviews well. He did not show up for the team pictures and excused it away as not wanting to be in the spotlight. With his resume it kind of makes you wonder about his work ethic. If he is ready to put in the work, I could see him having success at the NFL level but if it is work ethic that is holding him back he will be exposed pretty quickly on this roster. Will be a fun one to follow.

RichNhansom wrote:I watched a couple other clips following the linked you tube clip and the guy seems pretty humble and interviews well. He did not show up for the team pictures and excused it away as not wanting to be in the spotlight. With his resume it kind of makes you wonder about his work ethic. If he is ready to put in the work, I could see him having success at the NFL level but if it is work ethic that is holding him back he will be exposed pretty quickly on this roster. Will be a fun one to follow.

I don't know man, if anything the dude seems to have an amazing work ethic. To go from making Italian subs to being a walk-on at one of the premier programs in the country is pretty amazing and takes a lot of hard work. Add the fact that he then won the starting job at Oklahoma, and it's even more impressive. You just know that he had to have worked his ass off in order to do all that. Admittedly, I don't know jack about the team photo thing but who knows, maybe he really didn't want to be in the spotlight? Could be. We'll see how hard he works when he gets to camp. That'll be the true measuring stick of his work ethic.

Here's a pretty decent article written about him from 2011 that I found only because of the videos SPO posted above. I guess I just love this kid's story because I'm hoping he can stick on the Practice Squad. Luke Willson's already my Adopt-A-Rookie because he also played for the Blue Jays, so I have to, but Dominique Whaley's got me in his corner in the same kinda way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1191152/