FLOWERY BRANCH — Trey Lewis had to make it to the NFL before he played football before a crowd of more than 10,000.
At least Lewis, a Falcons defensive tackle from Washburn University, was drafted. Cornerback Brent Grimes was named to the Pro Bowl last season, but not before beginning his career as an undrafted free agent out of Shippensburg University.
Lewis and Grimes came to the Falcons before the current regime led by general manager Thomas Dimitroff, but the team has continued to mine small colleges for diamonds in the rough. Players such as defensive ends Kroy Biermann (Montana) and Lawrence Sidbury (Richmond) have since made the roster from non-traditional football powers.
Another group of small-college players will get a final chance to impress Falcons coaches and management Thursday night in the final exhibition game, against the Ravens at the Georgia Dome.
Undrafted free-agent rookies such as cornerback Kamaal McIlwain (Newberry), safety Matt Hanson (Rhode Island), offensive lineman Paul Fenaroli (Stony Brook) and defensive lineman Tom McCarthy (Yale) will be among the players getting a look before final roster cuts next week.
They have long-shot dreams, but there is precedent.
“We are a team philosophically that believes 100 percent in the idea of being able to land that top-notch athletic prospect, albeit somewhat under-developed, at some of the smaller schools or Division II and III schools throughout the country,” Dimitroff said.
“We do a lot of research on the small-school side. We make sure we cover the country diligently. As we do with players from top-notch schools, we make sure we have three-plus scouting looks at these players at smaller schools that we deem legitimate prospects.”
Some NFL teams concentrate on scouting traditional football powers first before turning their attention to smaller schools.
According to Dimitroff, the Falcons are “very, very particular” that scouts are aware of all prospective players in their regions.
Being discovered is the easy part. For a small-school player to make an NFL roster is another story. Lewis said he was at a disadvantage during the draft process.
“It’s a lot different than some of the D-I guys,” said Lewis, who attended the 7,200-student school in Topeka, Kansas, whose most notable alumnus is former baseball player Davey Lopes.
“Coming out of Washburn, there was no one ahead of me to see how it was done. I didn’t really understand that after your season you go into training for the [scouting] combine. After the combine you go straight to [minicamp] practices. It was different learning all that and not having anyone to look up to who has done it before.”
Small-school players get limited opportunities to showcase their talents during practices and games.
“I always had confidence that if I got a shot, I knew I could play at this level since the first day I came out here,” said Grimes, who attended the 8,300-student school in Pennsylvania. “I just needed an opportunity. When I was presented an opportunity, I made the most of it.”
Dimitroff said small-school players have not faced the talent level at top-tier colleges or conferences. However, they might be under-developed or, in Grimes’ case, a late bloomer. In the end, elite athletic ability and speed are what scouts look for.
The Falcons will continue to search.
“We’ve always stressed the importance of acquiring talent throughout the draft, not just at the beginning of the draft, but the middle and the end as well as college free agents,” Dimitroff said. “A lot of times there are players at these smaller schools who have been overlooked for some reason that have a lot of talent and a lot of upside. We are very particular to make sure we dot our i’s and cross our t’s.”
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