Hello, my name is ...
Posted: Saturday February 20, 1999 04:44 PM
This is the fifth in a series of weekly diaries from some of the top
prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. Look for another entry each day, with
a new entry from Jimmy Kleinsasser every Friday at CNNSI.com.
Most of the time you hear about me, you hear the words "small school"
shortly after. That's OK, though -- North Dakota is a small school, but
it's home for me.
People might know where we are on a map, but probably don't much more about
us. I'm from Carrington, a small town of about 3,000, located about 2 hours
southwest of school. I like a little fishing and hunting when I'm not busy
with football.
Phil Jackson played college ball at North Dakota, and he's probably the
biggest name to come out of Grand Forks. We're primarily a hockey school --
we have the No. 1 team in college hockey right now and five national
championships in the rafters. Before you ask, I am not a hockey
player. At 6-foot-2 and 274 pounds, though, I am a menace on skates.
The Fighting Sioux have sent a few players into the NFL -- Jim LeClair was
a linebacker for the Bengals and Dave Osborn was a running back for the
Vikings, but they were both in the '70s. There aren't any UND grads in the
NFL right now, but hopefully, that will change soon.
For the last two months, I've been working out in Dallas to get ready for
this weekend's NFL combines in Indianapolis. The weather has been beautiful
here -- I call home and hear about blizzards and zero-degree weather, but
for me, 50 degrees has qualified as chilly lately. It got into the 80s the
other day.
I went to Dallas on the advice of my agent, Jimmy Sexton. He's a good
family guy who also represents Reggie White, Jason Sehorn, Aaron Glenn and even
Scottie Pippen. I've had time to see some of the city -- a friend and I
went to Dealy Plaza, where the Kennedy assassination took place, and saw
the book depository as well. We rented "JFK" that night to see where
everything (supposedly) took place.
Back to football, I'm hoping I can show teams I can fill a need as a
blocking tight end, but also get out and catch passes when they need me to.
I'm hoping that's what might separate me from the other tight ends in this
year's draft.
I've already been through a lot of tests. Lots of weird questions -- they
ask you to respond to statements like "I sometimes break things." One team
brought in an optometrist and had a guy throwing beanbags at me while I had
these weird goggles on. I figure, hey, you've got to do it. You're looking
for a job.
I guess people are finding out a little more about me every day, and I
hoping they're finding out that I'm a good player, a hard worker who can do
things on the field. As for where I'm from, I'm finding that football's the
same, no matter where you go.
Jimmy Kleinsasser is expected to be one of the first tight ends selected
in the 1999 NFL Draft in April. Check back each Friday for another draft
diary from him at CNNSI.com.
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