Blanchard and Kumerow impressing at NFL Training Camps

St. Louis Rams WR Derek Stanley makes a spectacular catch

Two former UW-Whitewater All-American's are looking good early on in their respective NFL training camps.

Quarterback Matt Blanchard was signed by the Green Bay Packers in April after receiving an injury settlement after an injury plagued year with the Carolina Panthers. Blanchard suffered a severe concussion during last year's training camp.

Blanchard is battling 5th round draft pick Brett Hundley for the Packers' No. 3 quarterback position on the regular season roster.

Meanwhile at the Cincinnati Bengals training camp, former Warhawk wide receiver Jake Kumerow has been impressive in the early days of camp.  The 6-5 target has made some of the most crowd pleasing catches early on. The first undrafted free agent taken by the Bengals needs to be more consistent as camp goes on.  Kumerow suffered a broken finger on the first day of rookie camp in May. He returned to the field "full go" for the first time just prior to the start of training camp.

Back in 2007, Derek Stanley was drafted in the 7th round by the St. Louis Rams. Derek started the season on the Rams' practice squad. He was elevated to the regular season roster the same week that UW-Whitewater was playing Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. Stanley played three years with the Rams as a wide receiver along with returning punts and kicks.

Stanley wasn't the only Warhawk off the 2006 team that ended up in a training camp. Tight end Pete Schmitt signed a free agent contract following his invitation to participate unsigned at the Redskins 2007 rookie camp. While Pete was a pure tight end while playing at Whitewater, he was more of an H-back with Washington. The Mount Horeb native was making inroads prior to injuring a shoulder midway through training camp. He was later released after agreeing to an injury settlement.

It appeared that 2007 Gagliardi Trophy winner Justin Beaver was on track to be drafted. Beaver ended his career as the third leading rusher all-time at the D3 level. After failing to be drafted Beaver was invited on a tryout basis at the Green Bay Packers rookie camp.

The 5-8 running back had made headlines around the league by putting up Pro Day numbers rivaling many of the tip D1 backs in the country.  Justin was a media star at the rookie camp. I was covering Justin and new many of the journalists who I worked with a couple of years earlier as producer and "voice" of the Titletown Report. Speculation was that Justin would be offered a free agent deal. The speculation failed to materialize. A few days later Beaver signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. 

The CFL is a wide open league offensively in it's novel three down format. Justin was a workhorse running back - a type of back that few teams had at the time in the CFL.  I drove up to Regina, Saskatchewan to spend a couple days in the Roughriders preseason camp. By that time Beaver had begun to understand the business-side of professional football. Justin spent the season on the team's practice squad prior to returning to Wisconsin to become a teacher as the result of his UW-Whitewater education.

Another one of the 2007 national champions signed with Saskatchewan. Linebacker AJ Raebel had all the tools to play at the pro level. When he arrived in Regina the big redhead was suffering from extreme fatigue and was released early on.  Raebel was soon after diagnosed with testicular cancer. He is now recovered and teaching and coaching in Waukesha.

As I suffer from my own cancer, I miss being able to be in Green Bay and Cincinnati to interview and do stories on Blanchard and Kumerow. 

In 2007 I spent three days in suburban Washington DC covering Pete Schmitt's training camp effort with the Redskins. The following week I was in suburban St. Louis following Derek Stanley's successful training camp with the Rams. In 2008, me and former UWW head coach Bob Berezowitz spent a couple days covering Derek when the St. Louis training camp was conducted at Concordia University in Mequon.

Again, I wish so much that my health would allow me to travel to Green Bay and Cincinnati. My medical team has taken that option off the table for me. It again shows me that cancer really does suck!