ALTA MOBILE _ This week at the Senior Bowl, we are searching for the next Andrei Iosivas. Dylan Laube, the bed-and-breakfast equivalent of Christian McCaffrey, is one player we ask if he’s the
During a playoff run, that small-school guy made a major impression this week on the stage of the best college all-star game, forced his way into the NFL Draft, and emerged as his team’s most productive rookie offensive lineman.
The Bengals’ Iosivas done the same last season. Even though Laube is unlikely to succeed for the Bengals, we still want to identify the next Senior Bowl Iosiva.
On Wednesday, Laube responded, “A hundred percent,” as if she understood exactly what you meant. “The wide receiver from Princeton. What
On Wednesday, Laube responded, “A hundred percent,” as if she understood exactly what you meant. “The wide receiver from Princeton. Which round was he in? The sixth. I am aware that he had a few touchdowns. You guys had stacked receivers, yet he still performed exceptionally well.
By all accounts after two days here, he is. NFL.com raved Wednesday that Laube “showed off his speed to turn the corner during a wide-flowing run on Tuesday and beat Washington State cornerback Chau Smith-Wade on a post corner as a wideout during one-on-one drills on Wednesday. He’s worked at his craft as a slot receiver, and it showed last season with 68 catches for 699 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.”
At a smidge over 5-9, 210 pounds, Laube is nowhere near the physical or athletic specimen of Iosivas, an All-American heptathlete. A solid player in the schoolboy capital of lacrosse on Long Island, Laube arrived here on the coattails of relentless production at running back for the University of New Hampshire, an FCS school tucked into the leafy anonymity between Boston and Vermont.
That’s where he modeled his game on McCaffrey, the 49ers All-Pro running back:
First in the nation in all-purpose yards and second in both total touchdowns and scoring. No. 3 in kick returns, No. 8 in combined kick returns and receptions per game. And, No. 16 in punt returns while compiling 2,095 all-purpose yards.
That’s where McCaffrey, the 49ers All-Pro running back, served as his game model:
Firstly in all-purpose yards and second in total touchdowns and scoring in the country. No. 8 in total kick returns and receptions per game, and No. 3 in kick returns. and No. 16 in punt returns with 2,095 yards of total all-purpose yardage.
Laube could have checked the Whitney Hancock Stadium scoreboard after practice on the first day and saw he was the second quickest player on his offense, after the National coaches had set him up all over the place in the backfield and in the slot.
Just ahead of Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey and behind North Carolina wide out Devontez Walker. Of course, McCaffrey’s younger brother.
“Crazy, right?” Says Laube. “The league’s best running back. His adaptability allows him to fill the current running back necessity in the NFL.”
Chase Brown, who the Bengals acquired from this game last year, is a back like that, and Tony Pauline, a draft expert, thinks the real test for him will come in Saturday’s
The Bengals already acquired a similar back in Chase Brown from this same game the previous season, and according to draft analyst Tony Pauline, the actual test for Brown will come on Saturday at 1 p.m. on NFL Network when he returns kicks as well as punts. Charlie Jones, a punt returner, was selected by the Bengals in the round prior to Brown.
Laube would seem to be out of the question at this point, but the Bengals’ East Coast scout Andrew Johnson conducted what is known as due diligence. Johnson planned an uncommon campus visit to Durham, New Hampshire, based on the footage he had seen in the spring and summer. This move was confirmed when Laube received an invitation to the Senior Bowl shortly after UNH’s season ended.
“Scorecarding those FCS institutions and
Many guys who begin their education in small schools are transferring to a higher level due to the growth of the NIL and transfer portal. Johnson has initiated the task, though, if they decide to move. And with little schools at his disposal, he has an abundance of knowledge. In Laube’s instance, he stuck at the one university that offered him a chance, New Hampshire, where he found his calling.
Johnson says, “You can tell it means something to him,” and she concurs that Laube is enjoying his week. “He is resilient. He is demonstrating that the situations are manageable for him. He is sprinting quickly. Well, he’s catching the ball. He’s doing a great job on return items.
But regardless of the size of the school, this is the constant.
ON THE HUNT: James Hunt, who visited his son Jalyx last week after flying in from Norman Beach, Florida, is well-versed in Iosivas. Jalyx Hunt, who came to us via Houston Christian and the Ivy League, actually faced Iosivas as a reserve safety at Cornell before making his appearance as an edge rusher. Hunt would be even more intriguing if Iosivas was seen as a project, but it wouldn’t make it any less fascinating.
“We’re really happy. Tonight my wife is arriving by plane. It required a lot of labor. James Hunt claims on Wednesday that “he had a process.” He was a touch tight yesterday. He was a little more carefree today. He has never engaged in any dirt-playing. This year, they shifted him to linebacker, and
Christian Sarkisian, a scout with the Bengals who primarily covers the Central time zone, picked up on the news fast. There are numerous tiny schools in his neighborhood. He is now enrolled at Southeast Missouri State. Georgia State is the team he chose. While traveling through Houston, he stopped by the little college that was rebranding from Houston Baptist to Houston Baptist, where Hunt was leading the team to its first football championship and being the first player from the institution to be invited to the Senior Bowl.
After observing Wednesday’s effort in the end zone, Sarkisian describes the player as “really tremendous.” “An athlete competing in the Junior Olympics. leap high. This week, he is competing against the best opposition he has ever seen, so every drill that he does in the competition area is significant.”
After the American team practice, Hunt was delightfully stretching up into the fans to sign autographs and he inquired what Princeton’s jersey number was for Iosivas. He claims he transferred because he believed his chances of making the NFL were higher. He loves to rush the passer, even though he knows he needs to gain ten more pounds to reach 260. He thinks he’s demonstrated enough this week to prove he belongs.
This week, anything small can be a victory. Hunt gestures to a play from practice on Tuesday.
“I made a stretch (play) bounce back inside,” Hunt explains. “In between the tackle and tight end. I forced him to cut back inside by fighting up the field on a double team.”
Hunt was enticed to
Because Cornell was a Division I university offering an Ivy League degree, Hunt was drawn to it. which is an additional objective.
Hunt declares, “I’m going back to get the degree.” “I spent too much time at Cornell not to get it.”
POWERHOUSE: Not all small colleges are on NFL draft boards, but there are few that are. Similar to South Dakota State, who are enjoying a 29-game winning streak and consecutive national championships. Sarkisian has Teddy Roosevelt-like knowledge of the Dakotas. He was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of 2021 out of North Dakota State, where he was a first-round pick of Cordell Volson. He is currently writing a book on Isaiah Davis, the 6-0, 220-pound running back for South Dakota State, who is playing this week.
His dad got him a neck roll and No. 40 when he was five years old, channeling Bucs fullback Mike Alstott. That’s how he started playing for the Buccaneers in Pee Wee. He had to wear it the entire time he attended Westhampton Beach High School due to superstition. He was one of the fortunate locals who had the opportunity to run routes for Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who also lived in The Hamptons.
“I spent three years doing it. Fantastic person,” adds Laube. “If it was 7:30, by 7:45 the place was packed and he’d go around and sign and say something to everybody.”
Here’s Laube, a man who bravely and effortlessly manages his stammer while conducting the most interviews of his life. Not only is he catching the ball, but he’s doing it just as well. This is a man who received no attention from anyone at those camps. Who was staring at a 5-9, 185 pound person?
He gave New Hampshire a try, and it ended up being the ideal location for him. He suddenly seems like the first New Hampshire player drafted in eleven years, the third this century, and the first to participate in league play since safety. After 12 seasons of play, Corey Graham retired six years ago.
Laube is also attempting to become the first player from offensive lineman Sean Farrell’s 1982–1992 run to make it to the NFL, and the third player from his high school to do so.
Coming from a tiny place where not many guys make it out, the NFL means a lot to me. For my family and me, it’s an amazing experience,” Laube remarks. “I believe that many people, who attended tiny schools, were misinformed. Hey, I did fairly well running the ball for my level. Is it possible for me to escape at this speed? I believe I’ve conveyed that.
Luke McCaffrey explains, “He was the first guy I met at the airport when I landed here.” It was a pleasure to meet him. You can tell that he’s out there balling and tearing up the field even though we’re on the opposite end.”
According to Laube, the document is still pending.
“There’s one more day of practice,” he announces. “Let’s start from there.”
