Know This Guy?
I saw my old friend Eric Bakhtiari the other day. Oh, sorry. You don’t know who he is? (If you’re reading this on the USD page, you should at least have an idea).
Well, Bakhtiari is friends with Josh Johnson. And with John Matthews. I know all these guys. Like ‘em all a lot.
Even more so, I’m impressed with them. All three are absolutely fantastic athletes, and I’m talking cream of the crop here. All played their college football at USD. All are professional football players now. In the NFL.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. There are hundreds of guys out there like Bakhtiari. And Johnson. And Matthews. Just trying to make a living doing what they do best. Playing football.
And hoping that someday, somebody — anybody — will notice them. When the trio played for the Toreros they were almost impossible to miss.
BakhtiariGives It Another Shot With The Bolts
Bahktiari was a defensive end who towered over his opponents and looked like a man playing against boys. He was twice an All-American and twice named the Pioneer Football League’s defensive player of the year. His senior season in 2007, he had 20 sacks.
Johnson played quarterback and played it as well as any quarterback in the country. I once saw him score a touchdown on an 89-yard scramble. Defenders chasing him looked like they were trying to catch a butterfly with chopsticks. He threw pretty well too, unless you don’t consider a 42 TD, 1 interception senior season pretty well.
Matthews, a great junior wide receiver the season that Bakhtiari and Johnson were finishing up at USD, really exploded last season as a senior — even without Johnson. He was named first-team All-American after leading the nation with 102 catches for 1,428 yards and 21 TD’s. In his Torero career, he caught 50 touchdowns, and thanks to his breakaway speed, it seemed like almost every one of them was on a bomb.
Of course, USD plays its college football — and plays it very well, I might add — in the FCS (formerly Division 1-AA). And therein lies the rub. You put up numbers like these guys did in big time college football, you’re signing on the dotted line of a first-round contract.
You play out of the spotlight at USD, you’re just happy to have the chance to see a dotted line.
“You just keep on playing, and you keep on working,” said Bahktiarithe other day as he trudged off the field after a morning workout at Chargers Park.
Yep. That’s right. Chargers Park. As in where the local NFL team is working out getting ready for the 2009 season. Bahktiari is there with the dark blue jersey (number 48 for those scoring at home), the white lightning bolt helmet, and scraggly hair that’s (just) a bit longer than it was during his USD days.
He looks huge. And strong. And on the field, he’s still fast. But will it ever be enough to earn him a spot on the active roster?
Bahktiari caught on withthe Chargers last season as an undrafted free agent and nearly made the team, but was let go when the Bolts made their final cuts. He was re-signed to the practice squad when Shawne Merriman got hurt early in the year, but released again two weeks later.
The San Francisco 49ers signed him their practice squad last October where he remained for the rest of the season. Now he’s back with the Chargers to give it another try.
Will Johnson Throw For the Bucs?
Johnson, the most celebrated of the trio, was at least drafted after finishing third in the voting for the ‘07 Payton Award (FCS’ version of the Heisman). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked him up in the 6th-round, and he did get some playing time in last year’s pre-season.
But he never made it into a regular game, and though he’s still in Tampa Bay, the odds of him breaking into the lineup seem slim (at least the way things stand now). That’s because the coach who drafted him, Jon Gruden, has gone and been replaced by Raheem Morris.
Morris has signed former NFL starter Byron Leftwichand also drafted his own former college quarterback Josh Freeman out of Kansas State. With journeyman Luke McCown still around as a backup, Johnson faces the possibility of being squeezed out of town.
A Nameplate To Help Manning Find Him
Matthews, despite his unbelievable ‘08 season, also had to go the free-agent route after going undrafted. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts in late April and would have to be considered a longshot to crack the opening day roster (though if you saw him at USD, you’d have a hard time understanding why).
The Colts, of course, have Peyton Manning. And Manning has himself a rather full stable of quality receivers. Even though Marvin Harrison is gone, studs like Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez remain. Also ahead of Matthews in the pecking order are two other returning veterans and a guy the Colts didselect in the ‘09 draft, former BYU wideout Austin Collie.
But, just like his other former USD chums, Matthews is geared up to give it a go. He can look across the line of scrimmage at Colts star middle linebacker Gary Brackett and see a guy who was once like himself, an undrafted free agent. A guy who made it.
There are many who’ve made it from the Division 1-AA ranks to stardom in the NFL (a few who come quickly to mind: Phil Simms, Doug Williams, Steve McNair, Walter Payton). But for them, it was never easy.
The Torero trio are aware of that. They’ve got skills, and they know that, too. But can they catch a break and catch on?
Don’t bet against it.
– Ello
