Former Northeastern linebacker Liam Ezekiel, who was passed in all seven rounds of the NFL draft on April 23, was signed by the Buffalo Bills Thursday and participated in the team’s mini-camp this past weekend.
Ezekiel, Northeastern’s all-time leading tackler, was projected by some sources, including www.draftboardinsider.com, to be selected as high as the fourth round. If selected, the Arlington native would have been the first Husky to be drafted since the Cincinnati Bengals picked tight end Dan Ross in the second round in 1979.
A general philosophy that has begun to sweep the NFL is picking the best available player in the draft and not necessarily addressing the team’s needs. That may have hurt Ezekiel’s chances of being selected.
“[California quarterback] Aaron Rodgers was taken by Green Bay late in the first round,” Northeastern football coach Rocky Hager said of the Brett Favre-led Packers. “It’s not based on needs that some teams make selections, but based on who the best players available are.”
Ezekiel, who had one of the most successful careers ever in a Husky football uniform, was a three-time all-American and four-time all-Atlantic 10 selection.
The mini-camp, Hager explained, is different than what many might foresee it as.
“Thursday night you come in and Friday is one big camp, full of meetings, playbook explanations, and it’s not run at a slow pace,” Hager said. “There’s a lot thrown at you quickly. It’s football all day, and there’s plenty of studying by the new guys in the evening.”
For an undrafted free agent like Ezekiel, the Bills may have been one of the better teams to be signed by. The Bills opened the 2004 season with an NFL-high four undrafted rookie free agents. Hager said the Bills are a team that has showed “a lack of concern” to try out and sign non-Division I-A players.
Buffalo has a group of talented linebackers, including veterans Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher. This shouldn’t concern someone vying to make the team in the same position, said Hager.
“A linebacker is in a high-traffic position and injuries are imminent, it’s part of the position,” he said, noting that Ezekiel will be adapting to special teams as well. “Special teams are full of linebackers, tight ends and defensive ends. These are players that are well-sized and can run, and Liam fits that.”
