DIX' SPORTING GOODS: From the Ancient Eight to the NFL

Yesterday’s announcement that senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti and senior defensive end Desmond Bryant were going to the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders, respectively, as undrafted free agent signees got me thinking about the current state of the Ivy League in the NFL.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not delusional. I know Ivy League football pales in comparison to top tier conferences, but something has to be said for the fact that the Ivies are the only conference in the football championship subdivision (FCS) to have a player from each school in the NFL. So I think it only fitting to see how our Ancient Eight predecessors are faring in the big leagues.

By my count, there are roughly 19 Ivy League grads (21, now counting Pizzotti and Bryant), who have had some NFL activity in recent years.

The most notable of those would probably be Harvard’s own Matt Birk ’98, who had a long career at center for his hometown Minnesota Vikings, amassing six Pro Bowl selections. As an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Birk was snatched up by the Baltimore Ravens to the tune of three years, $12 million—six of which are guaranteed. Not too shabby.

The team with the most Ivy Leaguers is undoubtedly the New York Giants. Their 2007 roster that upset the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII included Cornell’s Kevin Boothe, Brown’s Zak DeOssie, and Penn’s Jim Finn.

DeOssie was responsible for tackling New England’s Laurence Maroney at the Patriot 26 on the final kickoff of the game. With just 29 seconds remaining, 74 yards is a long way to go.

Both Boothe and DeOssie are still on the roster, while Finn is navigating the free agent market. The Giants have since added Columbia’s Steve Cargile to backup Kenny Phillips at safety.

Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 was somewhat of a one-hit wonder. In his debut with the Rams, Fitzpatrick came in after Jamie Martin got injured in the second quarter and took the Rams from a 24-3 halftime deficit to a 33-27 win in overtime while throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns.

Since, Fitzpatrick has been serving primarily in a backup role with the Rams, then the Bengals, and now the Bills. Accuracy has been his Achilles’ heel; last season Fitzpatrick passed for 1905 yards and eight touchdowns, but also had nine interceptions. It’s never a good sign when you have more interceptions than touchdowns.

Elsewhere around the NFL, there is a smattering of players with Ivy League roots. In St. Louis, Columbia’s Jeff Otis is a deep backup for Rams quarterback Marc Bulger.

Dartmouth’s Casey Cramer is a third string fullback in his third stint with the Titans, last I checked.

In Arizona, Brown’s Sean Morey is holding things down for the Cardinals special teams. He got a Pro Bowl selection this past season as a “special teamer.” In 2007, he also got a few receptions at wideout—eight, to be exact, for 131 yards.

Fellow Bear Paul Raymond just got signed as a wide receiver for the Jets in January, so if Pizzotti gets any snaps, he can look for his former rival downfield.

Prinecton’s Jonathan Drekker is listed on the Steelers active roster, but he doesn’t yet have a place in their depth chart, while across the country, fellow Tiger Zak Keasey is playing backup to the 49ers Moran Norris at fullback. Dennis Norman, also a Princeton grad, is a backup center for the Jaguars.

The only Elis on the NFL radar are Eric Johnson and Nate Lawrie. Johnson was released by the Saints last year before the start of the season to join Lawrie floating in the free agent pool.

Penn’s Ben Noll is on the practice squad for the Detroit Lions, while Brown alum Chas Gessner, after getting released by the Seahawks, signed with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League, where he scored three touchdowns in their playoff loss to the Cleveland Gladiators.

Princeton’s Ross Tucker is, in my opinion, the consummate Ivy Leaguer. After getting cut by the Redskins, Tucker took up journalism and writes occasionally for SI.com. He also sometimes hosts for Sirius NFL Radio, and he co-founded a high school recruiting website called GoBig Recruiting. If it’s not football, it’s a business career focused around football.

Sadly absent from any NFL rosters is Clifton Dawson ’07, who was released by the Colts in March after being shuffled between Indianapolis and the Bengals.

So as Pizzotti and Bryant embark on the road from the Ivy League to the NFL, they should know that the journey is no easy task.

There is a long trail of Ivy grads who couldn’t make the cut. But that’s not to say that it can’t be done.

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.