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Against All Odds: Undrafted Donterrious Porter Determined to Fulfill NFL Dream

May 17th, 2013 at 11:19 AM
By Jesse Collin

For three days, seven rounds and 256 picks, Donterrious Porter desperately hoped to see his name scroll across the TV screen on draft weekend.

But like countless other NFL hopefuls, Porter went undrafted.

As football fans, we are conditioned – and rightly so – to celebrate the collegiate players who are blessed with enough talent and ability to be selected in the draft.

But often overlooked are the hundreds of players who don't receive that life-changing phone call. After all, earning an opportunity to play football at the highest level is a dream that most aspirants will never realize. Consider this:

  • Only about one in 17 senior high school football players – fewer than six percent – play in college.
  • Those fortunate enough to play collegiate football have an even slimmer chance – about 1.8 percent – to make it to the professional level.

For the strong-willed Porter, however, the end of the draft is not the end of football, but rather the beginning of an arduous uphill battle to make a pro roster.

Hailing from little-known Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Porter faces the daunting challenge of becoming one the handful of undrafted Division III players to play on Sundays.

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Carolina Panthers Quick Hit: DeAngelo Williams Restructures Contract; Steve Smith Disses Mark Sanchez

May 17th, 2013 at 11:17 AM
By Jesse Collin

Panthers restructure Williams' contract

DeAngelo Williams capitalized on former general manager Marty Hurney's giving spirit, agreeing to a five-year, $43 million deal two offseasons ago.

Although he's had his moments, the Panthers all-time leading rusher is not worth that type of money anymore – and everyone knows it.

In what seems like a small restitution for his handsome contract, the 30-year-old Williams restructured his deal on Wednesday – a move which frees up some much-needed wiggle room in the Panthers' air-tight salary cap.

Brian McIntyre of Yahoo! Sports was first to report the story.

The reworked deal lowers Williams' cap number by more than $3 million in 2014 and nearly $4 million in 2015. The eight-year veteran received a $4 million signing bonus for agreeing to new terms.

According to the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers are now $8.5 million under the cap.

Smith slights Sanchez

Steve Smith made the headlines on Thursday for making some disparaging comments about Mark Sanchez.

'IMG_9078' photo (c) 2011, Parker Anderson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

The 34-year-old Panthers wideout, who occasionally co-hosts "The Drive" on WFNZ 610-AM in Charlotte, did not hold anything back when voicing his opinion about the embattled Jets quarterback.

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Carolina Panthers: Latest Offseason News and Notes

May 14th, 2013 at 10:24 PM
By Jesse Collin

Keiser among post-rookie camp casualties

Defensive end Thomas Keiser was among the players waived by the Panthers following last weekend's rookie camp, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Offensive lineman Zack Williams and undrafted rookies Damario Jeffery and Trey Diller were cut as well.

Report: Panthers interested in Woodson

According to ESPN's Josina Anderson, veteran free agent defensive back Charles Woodson has drawn interest from multiple NFL teams, including the Panthers.

The Raiders and Broncos are reportedly also interested in the eight-time Pro Bowler.

Two undrafted rookie DBs catch Rivera's eye

Two undrafted rookies – cornerback Melvin White and safety Robert Lester – were the stars of last weekend's rookie minicamp, at least in the eyes of Panthers head coach Ron Rivera.

“The two guys we felt really good about, who we thought were draftable was the safety from Alabama… and I really liked Melvin White,” Rivera told the Charlotte Observer. “He’s another guy we felt had a chance to get drafted and didn’t unfortunately. I think those two guys really showed well today.”

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Wait, What? Adam Schein Says Carolina Panthers ‘Going Nowhere’ with Ron Rivera, Cam Newton

May 12th, 2013 at 6:05 AM
By Jesse Collin

NFL.com's Adam Schein sounded off in an article last week on his thoughts about the Carolina Panthers' upcoming 2013 season. Schein, who co-hosts several New York sports talk radio programs, believes the Panthers "don't have a chance for anything" this season.

He goes on to call the Panthers "the worst team in the NFC South" and potentially "one of the four worst teams in the NFC."

'Rich Gannon and Adam Schein at the Sirius Celebrity Fantasy Football Draft 2011' photo (c) 2011, Scott Miller - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

While the Jerry Richardson-owned franchise has hardly given the Carolina faithful any reason to expect greatness in 2013, Schein's prognosis still seems overtly grim.

But perhaps the more intriguing question is this – why so negative?

Schein cites several reasons, namely the following:

  1. He doesn't believe Cam Newton is an "elite, upper-echelon quarterback," citing the Panthers sub-.500 records in both of his seasons under center.
  2. He doesn't believe Ron Rivera will become a great head coach, and contests that he should have been fired following last season.
  3. Most of all, Schein believes that the Panthers simply lack talent, labeling the team as having "the worst roster in the division."

Wait…what?

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‘Underdog’ Matt McGloin Hopes to Earn Spot on Carolina Panthers Roster

May 11th, 2013 at 6:03 AM
By Jesse Collin

Most casual college football fans recognize the name Matt McGloin, who quarterbacked the Penn State offense for the better part of the last three seasons.

The Scranton, Pennsylvania, native played in 31 games – including 21 starts – for the Nittany Lions from 2009 to 2012. During his tenure in State College, he passed for more than 6,000 yards and 46 touchdowns, breaking several school records in the process (check out video below).

Despite a highly successful collegiate career, McGloin was mostly dismissed as an NFL prospect. Scouts cited (a lack of) size, accuracy and arm strength as reasons he couldn't make it at the next level.

McGloin, however, is no stranger to adversity.

Not heavily recruited out of West Scranton High School, the 6-1, 210-pound quarterback joined the late Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions team as a walk-on in 2009. After spending his freshman year as Penn State's third-string quarterback, McGloin earned the opportunity to compete with Kevin Newsome and Rob Bolden for the starting job as a sophomore.

Although not originally named the starter, McGloin ultimately got his shot mid-way through the season. When Bolden, who was filling in for an already-ill Newsome, suffered a concussion against Minnesota, McGloin was called into emergency duty.

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