In what may be a record showing, seven players with South County connections attended 2018 NFL training camps. Three made season opening rosters, with two more assigned to practice squads and another placed on injured reserve.
Southwestern College had three alumni in NFL camps this summer: Quarterback Luis Perez with the Los Angeles Rams, receiver Sergio Bailey with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and offensive lineman Kevin Bowen with the Cleveland Browns.
Bailey, whose total contract value is worth $1,711,000, is currently on injured reserve after injuring an ankle in a preseason game with the Bucs. The Olympian High School grad appeared in two exhibition games for the Bucs with five catches for 73 yards and one touchdown (in a 30-14 win over the Tennessee Titans).
After attending Southwestern College, Bailey, 24, attended Eastern Michigan where he accumulated 1,746 yards on 114 catches and 16 touchdowns in two seasons. He caught 54 passes for 878 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Eastern Michigan lost, 24-20 to Old Dominion in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl.
Perez, 24, the Harlon Hill Trophy winner for NCAA Division II champion Texas A&M-Commerce in 2017, signed as a free agent with the Rams but has since been assigned to the team’s practice squad. In three preseason games, the former Southwestern College/Otay Ranch High School signal-caller completed eight of 15 passes for 43 yards with one interception.
Bowen, 25, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins following the 2016 NFL Draft but spent the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons on injured reserve.
He signed with the Browns on July 30 and attended Cleveland’s training camp but was released on Aug. 28 in advance of the team’s final preseason game.
“All three of them have unique stories,” SWC head coach Ed Carberry said. “Success is not a straight line. They are all hard workers who pursued their dreams.”
Bailey and Perez join four other South County alumni on NFL rosters for the 2018-19 season.
That list is headed, of course, by Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith (Bonita Vista Middle School/Helix High School), Baltimore Ravens defensive back Tony Jefferson (Eastlake High School), New York Jets place-kicker Jason Myers (Mater Dei Catholic High School) and Ravens offensive lineman Nico Siragusa (Mater Dei Catholic High School).
Smith, Jefferson and Myers all made their respective teams’ season opening rosters while Siragusa, a SDSU alumnus, is currently on the Ravens’ practice squad.
Siragusa signed with Baltimore after being tabbed in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft but was subsequently injured in training camp last year and sat out his rookie season.
Trading places
For those viewing the 2018 NFL Opening Weekend, they duly noted quite a bit of roster movement between the league’s 32 teams, especially at the quarterback position.
Smith, 34, embarked on his 14th NFL season with his third team while leading the Washington Redskins to a 24-6 victory over the host Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 9.
Smith, who attended Bonita Vista Middle School and graduated from Helix with a pair of CIF championships, completed 21 of 30 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns without and interception.
Smith played the last five seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs, leading that team to the playoffs four times and two AFC West championships before being traded to the Redskins during the offseason. He spent eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers after being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Smith finished Sunday’s game with a 118.1 quarterback efficiency rating. He has thrown for 32,143 yards and 185 touchdowns in his career.
He posted one of his finest seasons in 2017-18 with 4,042 passing yards and 26 touchdowns against five interceptions, leading the NFL with a 104.7 quarterback rating.
Smith connected with receivers Chris Thompson and Jordan Reed for touchdowns in Sunday’s game. Smith opened scoring in the game with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Thompson with six seconds elapsed in the second quarter and upped Washington’s lead to 21-0 with a four-yard strike to Reed with eight seconds remaining in the first half.
“I thought the way we came out starting to move the ball, being able to finish off some drives in the red zone was big … out O-line dominated,” Smith told the media in a post-game press conference.
“It was fun to get into a rhythm out there. I think we have a ton of guys with unique skill sets; it’s a credit to coach (head coach Jay Gruden) allowing all the guys to use them.
“I thought the guys did a great job being in shape, ready to roll.”
Adrian Peterson scored his 100th career rushing touchdown on a one-yard run midway through the second quarter for the Redskins, who next host the Indianapolis Colts (0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Remember the Titans
Jefferson, 26, playing in his second season with the Baltimore Ravens, recorded four tackles, including two unassisted tackles and one tackle for a loss to go with an interception and two pass deflections in Sunday’s 47-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Bills.
The Ravens out-gained the Bills 369 to 153 in total yards. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes without an interception for a 121.7 quarterback rating in the victory.
Jefferson, who spent four seasons with Arizona before signing with Baltimore last year as a free agent, has four career interceptions, including one for a touchdown while playing for the Cardinals. He also has 360 career tackles and 7.5 sacks.
The Ravens have a short week as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals (1-0) on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Baltimore finished 9-7 last season, but fell short of qualifying for the playoffs. Jefferson said the team is focusing on what he termed “situational football” this season.
“Last year is last year; this is a new year,” Jefferson told the media. “We’ve got to go out there and play Ravens football, Ravens defense.”
Both the Bengals and Ravens are tied for the early lead in the AFC North standings.
“It’s great to go into another game with the momentum that we (have),” Jefferson noted. “This is a divisional matchup. They know us very well and we know them very well. It’s going to be a good matchup … When our guys are rolling, they’re rolling.”
Getting his kicks
Myers, 27, accounted for 12 points in Monday night’s 48-17 win by the New York Jets over the host Detroit Lions. He was successful on two field goal attempts, including a longest kick of 35 yards, and was perfect on all six extra-point conversions.
Myers had played parts of three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released on Oct. 17 last season. He subsequently signed with the Seattle Seahawks but was released on Aug. 20 after losing the starting kicking job to veteran Sebastian Janikowski.
The Jets claimed Myers off waivers on Aug. 21, and the Crusader grad subsequently won the starting job when he connected on both of his field goal attempts — a 58-yarder and 43-yarder — in a 10-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the team’s final preseason game.
The Jets stunned the Lions on two touchdown passes by Sam Darnold (198 yards with one interception), two rushing scores by Isaiah Crowell (10 carries, 102 yards), an interception return for a touchdown by Darron Lee and a punt return for a touchdown by Andre Roberts.
Helix High School alum Levine Toilolo, playing in his sixth NFL season, had one catch for seven yards while playing tight end for the Lions. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford had an otherwise forgettable night with four interceptions and a dismal 47.9 quarterback rating.
The former Highlander standout, now 27, previously played five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, accumulating 723 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and earning a start with the team in Super Bowl LI, a 34-28 overtime loss to the New England Patriots.
Myers’ career NFL statistics include 66 of 81 field goals made (81.5 percent) and 82 of 94 extra-point conversions made (87.2 percent).
The Jets will host the Miami Dolphins (1-0) in their next game on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Extra points
Granite Hills High School product Joe Cardona recently signed a four-year contract extension that will keep the long snapper with the New England Patriots until after the 2022 season.
Cardona was drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of the Naval Academy. He appeared in the 2014 Holiday Bowl during a homecoming visit to San Diego when the Rams edged San Diego State 17-16.
Cardona won a Super Bowl ring with New England in Super Bowl LI (a 34-28 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons). He had an active role in seven special teams plays.
He also appeared with the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, a 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The defending AFC champion Patriots kicked off the 2018 season with a 27-20 win over the visiting Houston Texans on Sept. 9. New England travels to Jacksonville to play its next game on Sunday, Sept. 16, in a rematch of teams that competed in the 2017 AFC Championship game. The Patriots scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to overcome a 20-10 Jaguar lead to win 24-20.
Jacksonville defeated the host New York Giants, 20-15, in its season opener.
2014 Poinsettia Bowl Flashback:
Photos by Phillip Brents
