Grande Rosso
August 4th, 2005, 01:54 PM
Reitz graduate gets shot at NFL
By GORDON ENGELHARDT Courier & Press staff writer 464-7518 or [email protected]
August 4, 2005
Brian Claybourn's life turned into a cavalcade of emotions within the space of one hour.
He was working out at 6 p.m. Monday at Western Kentucky University, his alma mater, wondering if he would ever get a shot with an NFL team.
One hour later, he received a pivotal call on his cell phone from San Diego Chargers director of scouting Fran Foley. The next morning, Claybourn was on a plane out of Nashville, Tenn., winging his way toward San Diego. He kicked off during special teams drills during the Chargers' practice on Wednesday.
"It was just a last-minute thing," the 6-foot-1, 185-pound rookie said Wednesday night. "They needed somebody to take reps off their punter (Mike Scifres) and kicker (Nate Kaeding) and hopefully I'll get some exposure for myself. I probably won't make it as a punter. The guy they have was a Pro Bowl alternate last year and Kaeding is a good kicker. The only thing I'll have a shot at is kickoff specialist."
Claybourn, a Reitz High School graduate, set a Western Kentucky single-season school record with a 43.4 punting average last year and finished his career second on the school's all-time list with a 40.9 mark. Named third-team NCAA Division I-AA all-American by and Sports Network in 2004, Claybourn helped lead the Hilltoppers to the I-AA national championship in '03.
Despite being thrown into the cut-throat world of the NFL seemingly on a moment's notice, Claybourn wasn't nervous as the strode into the ball the first time on Wednesday.
"I was just looking at it as a great opportunity," he said. "There are not a whole lot of people who have the chance to do it, the opportunity to come out here."
He said not knowing where he might stand week-to-week is the nature of the beast as an NFL punter or kicker.
"It's a frustrating job because you never know what people are thinking inside an organization," Claybourn said. "A lot of times it's kind of a waiting game. You wait and see if somebody will call, some day or some night or you might be down in Bowling Green.
"It was definitely unexpected, not something you'd expect at 7 o'clock at night, so it was definitely a shock. At the same time there are all kind of different emotions running through you. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to come out here. I'm playing with the best pro football players in the world."
By GORDON ENGELHARDT Courier & Press staff writer 464-7518 or [email protected]
August 4, 2005
Brian Claybourn's life turned into a cavalcade of emotions within the space of one hour.
He was working out at 6 p.m. Monday at Western Kentucky University, his alma mater, wondering if he would ever get a shot with an NFL team.
One hour later, he received a pivotal call on his cell phone from San Diego Chargers director of scouting Fran Foley. The next morning, Claybourn was on a plane out of Nashville, Tenn., winging his way toward San Diego. He kicked off during special teams drills during the Chargers' practice on Wednesday.
"It was just a last-minute thing," the 6-foot-1, 185-pound rookie said Wednesday night. "They needed somebody to take reps off their punter (Mike Scifres) and kicker (Nate Kaeding) and hopefully I'll get some exposure for myself. I probably won't make it as a punter. The guy they have was a Pro Bowl alternate last year and Kaeding is a good kicker. The only thing I'll have a shot at is kickoff specialist."
Claybourn, a Reitz High School graduate, set a Western Kentucky single-season school record with a 43.4 punting average last year and finished his career second on the school's all-time list with a 40.9 mark. Named third-team NCAA Division I-AA all-American by and Sports Network in 2004, Claybourn helped lead the Hilltoppers to the I-AA national championship in '03.
Despite being thrown into the cut-throat world of the NFL seemingly on a moment's notice, Claybourn wasn't nervous as the strode into the ball the first time on Wednesday.
"I was just looking at it as a great opportunity," he said. "There are not a whole lot of people who have the chance to do it, the opportunity to come out here."
He said not knowing where he might stand week-to-week is the nature of the beast as an NFL punter or kicker.
"It's a frustrating job because you never know what people are thinking inside an organization," Claybourn said. "A lot of times it's kind of a waiting game. You wait and see if somebody will call, some day or some night or you might be down in Bowling Green.
"It was definitely unexpected, not something you'd expect at 7 o'clock at night, so it was definitely a shock. At the same time there are all kind of different emotions running through you. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to come out here. I'm playing with the best pro football players in the world."