Seahawk Addicts
"In one game against Rhode Island in 2002, Gessner caught 24 passes, tying the I-AA record set by another obscure Mississippi Valley State receiver by the name of Jerry Rice."
we added an arena league WR?
I'm sure he's just another pair of camp hands. Unless a miracle occurs and he channels Jerry Rice, he'll be gone before you know it.
ahhhh but he was a stud in the Arena league!
http://www.orlandopredators.com/...&
ATCLID=1405420
.
Strange timing to add this guy to the roster. Here is a link to a copy of his Jan. 27 arrest report for DUI.
BAC of .22 ouch!
http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/pub/...isp/
bn=08005647
Is there any kind of track record for WR studs from Arena League that have had success in the NFL?, I doubt there is much.
but hey, he does have some superbowl bling from his practice squad days with the patriots.
6'5 nice...
Great looks like he will fit right in. I guess the Hawks are defintely going to need a team driver now!
Only success story that comes to mind is Oronde Gadsden. He had a similar profile to this guy in that he was on the big side (and presumably slow to go along with it), plus played in a 1-AA college program. Gadsden had great hands and a knack for making clutch catches in a crowd, and I'm sure Gessner would need to possess some of those qualities to have any chance.
damn, 6'5" 215 with a BAC of .22!? I wonder how many he had to put down for that.
The arrest report has him listed at 240 lbs.
As for a team driver, I understand Koren Robinson is available.
Just the kind of signing I expect from Ruskell until training camp starts when we can put on the pads and play catch with defensive backs giving us game like conditions. At that point, we'll get difinative answers on our four young guns and determine if they are worthy of roster spots.
All WR's signed like Gessner can compete equally for a job but we haven't locked ourselves into any definate course of action yet with these type of signings. After training camp starts is the time I expect we will go looking for a WR where we might offer a signing bonus or do a trade if we believe that we still haven't got the talent on our roster at that point to fill all our positions at WR.
I like this signing. It gives us another receiver to work with in camp without any obligations yet you just never know when some guy (like Kurt Warner did) is going to come out of the arena league or some other obscure corner and impress the crap out of you. Although tougher to find because players are analyzed much more thoroughly that they used to be, there are still guys every year that come out of the woodwork and make you wonder how no one ever noticed that they could play football before. One thing Tim Ruskell does is not look so much at measureables but watch film and determine if the player makes plays. In other words, can he play football not is he the right size and shape.
Tim Ruskell just finds talent. He and his scouting staff turn over every leaf and even during the season give tryouts on a regular basis to hopefuls just to make sure they don't overlook someone who has NFL talent. He also likes to keep a list of every player that's available should they need a replacement due to injury.
Every once in a while, Ruskell finds a gem in the rough in some dark corner where no one else looked. Every time he does that, he gets one more notch up on everyone else in the league who didn't add another useful cog to their wheel. Just think, if he can find one useful player every year outside the draft and veteran free agents, that's almost an entire offense or defense every decade he adds to his team for free.
There's your answer wes... 15 lbs worth...
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