http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/05/rutgers_product_jamaal_westerm.html Rutgers Product Jamaal Westerman Impressing At New York Jets Rookie Minicamp by Dave Hutchinson/The Star-Ledger Saturday May 02, 2009, 8:15 PM William Perlman/The Star-Ledger The Jets, Bears, and Texans had expressed the most interest in signing Jamaal Westerman leading up to the draft.Former Rutgers defensive end-turned-linebacker Jamaal Westerman took roughly $12,000 less to sign with the Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent rather than accepting an offer from the Texans. It may be the best $12,000 Westerman never had. As Day 2 of the draft drew to a conclusion last Sunday night, and in the moments afterward, Westerman's disappointment of not being selected quickly disappeared as a number of teams tried to sign him. The Jets, Bears and Texans had expressed the most interest in him leading up to the draft. Throughout the pre-draft process, the Scarlet Knights' second all-time sacks leader (30 1/2) had been intrigued with new Jets coach Rex Ryan and his intimidating defense. "I thought this would be the best place," Westerman said in between practices Saturday on the second day of the Jets' three-day rookie minicamp in Florham Park. "I like what coach Ryan is doing. I like the defense." It appears to be a match made in football heaven. After playing with his hand on the turf at Rutgers, Westerman is now a stand-up linebacker in the Jets' 3-4 scheme and looks like a natural. "He definitely has a chance," Ryan said. "He's a guy that we really went after." In fact, in his first four practices at his new position, Westerman has been more impressive and instinctive than 2008 first-round pick Vernon Gholston, who made a similar switch last season. The 6-3, 260-pounder looks at ease dropping back in pass coverage and, of course, he can get after the quarterback. In Ryan's scheme, the ability to be able to disguise who is rushing the passer and who is dropping in coverage is the key. Thus, you must be able to do both. You must also be a quick study because Ryan is constantly changing his defense to take advantage of an opponent's weakness and his players' strengths. "A lot of times when you have a defensive lineman transition to a linebacker spot, it's difficult and the biggest part of it a lot of times is the mental part," Ryan said. "You start talking coverages and that's totally foreign to a lot of those guys. But with (Westerman), he has picked it up better than any of the other linebackers. "I'm like, 'Hey, this guy is pretty sharp.' And obviously, he has some physical traits we really like. He loves to play, a passionate guy, was well-coached, a physical player. I think when the pads come on he's actually going to raise his level." Westerman, a three-year starter at Rutgers, said he dropped back in coverage at times in college. "I feel I'm picking up on things well," Westerman said. "But just being able to react and be able to make some of the calls, I have to really work on that." Westerman, a native of Ontario, Canada, had a disappointing end to his Rutgers' career. He played the final four games of last season with a torn left biceps (he was injured against Pittsburgh) and missed the Scarlet Knights' bowl game. He finished with 33 tackles and six sacks in his senior season. That, however, wasn't enough to get him drafted, but Westerman refuses to curse his misfortune. He underwent surgery in December and then trained at the TEST Sports Club in Martinsville. Determined to catch the eye of NFL scouts, he fought his way back in time to participate in Rutgers' Pro Day last month. "I worked very hard to get myself in condition," Westerman said. "Was I disappointed to not get drafted? Yeah. A little. But now it's time to show people who I am and what I can do. "I don't know how much the injury hurt me. But that doesn't matter any more. That's kind of how I look at it. You can look back on things and think 'what if.' But I was out there playing hard and I got hurt. I'm just going to come out here now and give it my all."
That part really stuck out to me. Great article. I am really rooting for this guy. Smart move to leave $12,000 on the table now in order to be coached by Rex.
Sounds like paying Gholston millions to suck would be a wash if this guy shows 1st round ability. Good work Rex Ryan!
Westerman was really good at Rutgers and if his pass rushing abilities from the DE spot translate to the OLB spot then he'd be a great situational guy at the very least. I'm not sure if he can cover but he should be able to rush the passer Hope he makes the team!
I highlighted this guy in the UDFA thread as the one to watch, he has the versatility that the coaching staff love. Was pulling for him before this weekend, and after reading about him impressing this weekend I'm pulling for him even more. Untapped potential :up:
Westerman is from Canada so now the Jets will get all the Canadian fans. That would be really cool, if Phil Hartman was still alive.
i like the fact that the Jets are becoming a team people want to play for. I know that wasn't the case for a long time.
Readily admit that I was cautious about the Gholston pick and was as underwhelmed as anyone at his contributions as a top-6 draft pick rookie, but he also did not even participate in these rookie camps last year because of that glitch with Ohio State-- so calling Westerman further along than Gholston at this point is a bit misleading even though it may be true. Lets hope they both work out and form a badass OLB combination over the next 5 years or so; unlikely but stranger things have happened.
This kids got a great head on his shoulders. I talked to him a couple times here at RU and he's the coolest and funniest kid. He seems like he's on the right track to make the squad.
An undrafted DE to LB who is getting paid nothing and he is better than a #6 pick who is getting paid one of the teams highest salaries to ride the pine.
he definitely doesnt sound Canadian......he won draw Canadian fans though, nobody will know who he is....if the Jets wanted Canadian fans, they'd sign Jesse Lumsden.
He might have been born in Jamaica....alot of people in the Toronto area have come here from Jamaica and he is from Brampton which is a big time multicultural city. By the way, with respect to him looking better than Gholston....we need the coaches to come to their senses and let Gholston play DE and use his speed off the edge to go after the QB. It was probably a bad pick in the first place, but we are stuck with him and if there is a way to use him at all in our D, put him in that position. Ask the guy to add 10 llbs or something, I dunno, but putting a multi-million dollar square peg in a round hole is just stupid after a while...
we'll have all the canadian fans we can handle when we play the bills in canada this season.... as far as VG, our fn punter has shown more LB instincts than VG.
I'm going to be honest, I've never heard of this guy until now. I've been looking for video on him since we picked him up via UDFA. This is the closest thing I have found on him, play wise. If anybod else has a link or video they could share on this guy, that would be awesome. [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Poq-lVMubY[/YOUTUBE] Sack at around the 1:48 mark. He looks gifted, not a very good clip though.
