It sounds crazy but Catawba College All-American DeVonte Peterson may have been too small for the National Football League.
Too small? DeVonte Peterson, who could bench press David Bennett’s car 20 times?
The Buffalo Bills figured so when Peterson’s weight in training camp dropped from 277 to 265. If you’re going to play inside on the defensive line in the NFL, you better have more size than that. So they waived him Thursday.
Peterson has cleared waivers and agent Joe Linta said Saturday the search begins immediately for another team.
“He had a tough time with his weight,” said Linta in a phone conversation from his home in Connecticut. “He was an undersized guy.”
Linta said there are still plenty of opportunities for Peterson, including NFL Europe. So Peterson may have to prove himself overseas first.
Peterson being cut didn’t really surprise his agent.
“First of all, he was a Division II player that wasn’t drafted,” Linta continued. “He’s a great player but if I’m making phone calls on draft day, that’s a bad sign.”
n
Ironically, Peterson’s teammate on last year’s 11-1 Catawba team, Radell Lockhart, is still in camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When scouts flooded Catawba’s practice over the past two years, head coach Bennett would always say, “They came here to look at DeVonte but they left talking about Radell.”
Like Peterson, he is 6-foot-4 and also weighs 265 pounds but he is an outside guy on the defensive line. “So he has a better chance,” Linta said. “We’re hoping he is put on the practice squad.
“We’ll find out Tuesday,” Linta said of the Jags’ cut day.
n
And let’s not forget West Rowan’s John Milem, the 6-foot-8 hulk of a defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers. Linta said he was not listed a starter right now but is in the rotation.
n
Scooter Sherrill has kept pretty quiet this summer. That’s because everyone else in the N.C. State basketball program has been grabbing the headlines.
Trey Guidry transferred. Damien Wilkins transferred. Coach Herb Sendek hasn’t transferred, but the clamoring for his job after last season’s 13-16 debacle has some enemies wishing he would.
That’s why next year is seen as a do-or-die year for the personable Sendek.
The questions here are:
Who will play inside with Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge gone?
And will Sherrill get more playing time this season? You have to wonder. Julius Hodge is Sendek’s third straight All-American recruit that has been called the Wolfpack franchise. Will he join Scooter and Wilkins in All-Americans that made little noise in their freshman year?
Despite the transfers, Scooter still must vie for playing time with the 6-5 Hodge, Anthony Grundy, Clifford Crawford and Archie Miller.
That’s five guards and two starting spots and they all think they should play. Sendek will have his work cut out stroking those egos.
n
Scooter has a cousin that didn’t play much in his freshman year — or sophomore year — at Florida State. But the benchwarming should end this year for Kannapolis’ Nick Maddox, at least, according to a story in the Tallahassee Democrat.
Seminole offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden told the Democrat he would use his one vote to name Greg Jones as Florida State’s top tailback.
One problem, though.
“I get 10 votes,” coach Bobby Bowden said last week.
And with those 10 votes, the head coach will select Maddox as the starting tailback against Duke. Maddox had just 11 carries for 48 yards in FSU’s two scrimmages, but that was part of the plan to get younger players experience.
“Right now, Nick Maddox is the starter,” Bobby Bowden said. “It will take an injury to keep him out of the (starting lineup) unless he just has a terrible week of practice.”
Jones has 17 carries for 109 yards in two scrimmages. Sunday’s final scrimmage is closed to the public.
n
Trivia question: Besides the obvious, what do Rick Barry, Pete Maravich and Julius Erving have in common?
Trivia answer: None played in the NCAA tournament. More obviously, all three were named to the list of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players as part of the league’s 50th anniversary in 1996.
n
Golf World magazine on Wendy Ward winning the inaugural Wendy’s Championship for Children:
“As a result, the LPGA Tour is renaming all of its tournaments after American players in their 20s.”
n
Reggie Jackson on slumps: “So many ideas come to you and you want to try them all, but you can’t. You’re like a mosquito in a nudist camp. You don’t know where to start.”
n
And finally ...
How ‘bout that South Rowan football team? Wow!
n
Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
.
Today's News
