COUNTDOWN 2020 (1 Viewer)

[tinman]

Maybe the Saints should keep an eye on track & field competitors!
We seem to have a clear preference, for the Shot Put, for our line!

 

[SaintLuke]

Maybe the Saints should keep an eye on track & field competitors!
We seem to have a clear preference, for the Shot Put, for our line!

I think we should have a shot put and discuss competition right after the Quarterback Challenge each day in camp.

 

[SaintLuke]

NICK EASTON

Easton played football in Lenoir, North Carolina at Hibriten High School. As a senior, he started as the center helping his team to a first-ever undefeated season. He earned All-State honors and served as a captain. He was a two-time All-Conference and All-County selection. Easton also lettered in track and field and was a standout in discus, earning conference and county titles. As a teenager he originally visited New Orleans with his church youth group for a community service project following Hurricane Katrina. Easton played for the Harvard Crimson football team from 2010 to 2014. He played in 24 career games for Harvard and was a first-team All-Ivy League, and first-team FCS North All-American selection. He started 10 contests as a senior in 2014. He also earned Academic All-Ivy League honors after majoring in economics. Easton had an interesting start to his NFL career. After going undrafted, he was signed by Baltimore as an free agent. He had a great preseason but didn’t stick with the Ravens as they traded him to the 49ers and then a month later he was traded to the Vikings where he played for (4) years. He has appeared in 33 games with 23 starts at guard and center over his NFL career with Minnesota and New Orleans. Last year was his first season with the SAINTS, and Easton played in ten games with six starts at left guard.

 

[CajunSaint08]

This may be the deepest offensive line depth and competition in Saint's history. There is a great mixture of solid veterans and rookies that are hungry to make the team. I foresee at least 3 going on IR to stash them away. Hate that we are not getting to see these guys in OTA's.

 

[SaintLuke]

We have no #61 on the current roster, so it is time to look back at a player who was with the SAINTS from the begining in 1967 until 1973,

DELANO ROGER WILLIAMS

Del was born in 1945 in the small town of Live Oak, Florida. His hometown is not too far away from Tallahassee so it is not surprising he played college football at Florida State.
Williams is a member of Florida State's All-Time team. In the 1967 NFL draft, the SAINTS selected Del as their third round pick. He played seven years in New Orleans as an offensive guard. Williams died way too early in life at the age of 39 of ALS, the same disease that impairs Steve Gleason.



Today is "Two for Tuesday" so we will also feature another #61 for the SAINTS,

JOEL HILGENBERG

HIlgenberg is from Iowa City, Iowa and just Like Del Williams he stayed close to home when it came time to play college football. Joel played for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was drafted by the SAINTS in the fourth round in 1984 . Joel played center & guard for New Orleans for ten years. He even had his brother Jay as a teammate with the SAINTS in 1993. Joel went on to be an assistant coach for the Packers for a few years. after his playing days were over.

 

[tinman]

I usually saw Joel 3x a week, he had a condo upstairs over the restaurant. That man could eat!

 

[SaintLuke]

Patrick Chuba Omameh Jr.

Omameh's parents moved to Columbus, Ohio from Nigeria in the early 1980’s. When Omameh was in fourth grade, he did not know what American football was and when he asked his father about it, his father brought out a soccer ball. One of the football coaches persuaded Patrick's parents to let him play, offering to take him to and from practice every day. On the first day of football practice, he wore sandals and a wristwatch. As a senior at St. Francis DeSales High School, he was selected as a 2007 Division II All-Ohio first team offensive lineman. He was a straight-A student recruited by the likes of Princeton, and MIT. Omameh decided to go to Michigan where he played from 2009-2012. By the end of 2012 he had 41 consecutive starts. Omameh was a first team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media. He earned his third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012. After going undrafted in 2013, he signed with the 49ers as a free agent. Before joining the SAINTS in July of last year. He previously played for the Tampa Bay, Chicago, Jacksonville, and the New York Giants. Last year he played in 14 games for the SAINTS and started (1) at left tackle.

 

[AARPSaint]

It's shocking that he grew up in Columbus but went to Michigan. That's the midwest equivalent of growing up in Baton Rouge and going to Alabama.

 

[SaintLuke]

GUS CUMBERLANDER

Cumberlander played high school football for the Cedar Grove High SAINTS in Ellenwood , Georgia. He was rated as a 3-Star prospect coming out of high school. He went on to play for the Oregon Ducks. As a redshirt freshman he played in eight games. He became known as a situational pass rusher in college. Last year with the Ducks he missed the last 9 games due to season ending injury. During his career at Oregon, Cumberlander appeared in 30 games with 23 total tackles including 8.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. The SAINTS signed him as an undrafted free agent and was willing to give him a signing bonus to get him to come to New Orleans. Congratulation Gus for being a SAINT again.
WARNING: Grab your eye protection before viewing the photos below, here comes those uniforms again.

 

[AARPSaint]

Warning noted and appreciated.

 

[WhoDat_SB44]

This has to be the deepest group of offensive lineman in Saints history. I see a ton of players that could legitimately make the roster.

OT- Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, James Hurst, Ethan Greenidge, Calvin Throckmorton, Derek Kelly, Darrin Paulo

OG/C- Cesar Ruiz, Eric McCoy, Nick Easton, Will Clapp, Cameron Tom, Patrick Omameh, Adrian Magee, Jordan Steckler

That’s not to say that a lot of those guys could play either inside or outside too.

It will be interesting to see who makes the last backup spot. I think Easton and Clapp have two of them for sure. I see Hurst, Greenidge, Throckmorton, Tom, Omameh, and Kelly as the top guys. It will likely be someone that can play tackle, so I think Hurst, Greenidge, Throckmorton, Omameh, & Kelly may have the upper hand. Unless we keep 4 then Tom and Magee May have a shot, but Magee played some tackle as well at LSU. Two or three of them may make the practice squad as well

Both the offensive and defensive lines are the deepest I’ve ever seen going into a Saints season

 

[SaintLuke]

ANTHONY CHICKILLO

Chickillo played high school ball at Gaither High School, and Braulio Alonso High school in Tampa. As a senior, he had 140 tackles, 18 sacks, and was named the MVP of the 2011 Under Armour All- American game after he recorded 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. He was rated as a four-star recruit by some and a 5-star recruit by others before he went to the University of Miami to play his college football. His father and grandfather also played college football at Miami. He began his freshman season as a backup before becoming a starter. After three games, he became a starter and would start the next 47 games through his senior year. He finished his career with 170 tackles and 15.5 sacks. As he prepared for the draft scouts were divided on what position he was best suited for and many classified him as a tweener. He was drafted by the Steelers in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL draft. Before joining the SAINTS this offseason he played in 65 regular season games with nine starts while also being a contributor on special teams. During his time at Pittsburg he has had 89 tackles and 7.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles on defense. On special teams he has made 29 stops, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries , and one blocked punt recovery for a touchdown.

 

[B_doggman47]

I just want to thank you again St. Luke for doing all this. It's like I can hardly wait for the next day to see who's next. Thanks again.

 

[SaintLuke]

NOAH SPENCE

Spence was born in Philadelphia, PA and went to Bishop McDevitt High school in Harrisburg. During his junior and senior years he had 204 tackles and 35 ½ sacks. He was named the Gatorade Football player of the Year for Pennsylvania his senior year and was a 5-Star recruit . He choose Ohio State as the place to play his collegiate football. Spence played in 12 games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2012 and had 12 tackles and one sack. As a sophomore in 2013, he started 13 games and recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks. Spence transferred to Eastern Kentucky in 2015. In his lone season at Eastern Kentucky, he had 63 tackles and 11.5 sacks and was the Ohio Valley Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year. At the end of that season he decided to enter the 2016 draft. Spence was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round. In his rookie year he played in all (16) games with (3) starts. In his second year he played and started in the first (6) games but was injured and placed on IR. He didn’t make the Tampa Bay team coming out of preseason last year and was waived but signed by Washington a month later. He played in seven games in Washington last year where he recorded one sack, two QB hurries and three total tackle but was waived in November. The SAINTS signed Spence in December of last year but was inactive the rest of the season for New Orleans. The SAINTS resigned him to compete for a roster spot this year but he suffered an ACL injury and has been placed on the reserved/non-football injury list.

 

[SaintLuke]

DEMARIO DAVIS

Davis was born in Collins Mississippi. When he was growing up he had a cousin who was a starting quarterback in the NFL. That quarterback was the late Steve McNair who played for the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. Davis went to Brandon High school where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. In football he played mostly wide receiver as a sophomore and junior. As a senior, he recorded 81 tackles, six interceptions and one sack, while also receiving over 30 passes for 386 receiving yards with four scores. He was also a starter on the Brandon basketball team and competed in the high jump with the track & field team. He went to college at Arkansas State and played in 48 career games, starting the final 37. It was there he made 230 career tackles, seven sacks, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, including one returned 53 yards for a touchdown. He also had four interceptions, including one for a 75-yard TD return He was a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and he earned a bachelor's degree in communications. He was named to Arkansas State's Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll multiple times. Davis entered the NFL in 2012 when he was selected in the third round by the New York Jets. In his rookie year he played in all 16 games with three starts. He finished second on team with 16 special teams tackles, also recording 33 defensive tackles (21 solo) and one fumble recovery. Davis has been in the league for eight years, playing (5) of them with the Jets, (1) with the Browns, and (2) with the SAINTS. Since joining New Orleans in 2018, Davis has made an instant impact to the defense and the team as a leader. He was immediately voted as a team captain. After the addition of Davis to our defense, the unit has ranked second and fourth in opponent rushing yards per game, also ranking sixth in opponent third down conversion rate last year. He has led the Saints in stops for the second straight season. Last year he was selected as an Associated Press first-team All-Pro, after making 111 tackles, four sacks, an interception and a career-high 12 passes defensed. For his career, Demario has appeared in 128 games with 114 starts, recording 881 tackles (590 solo), 22.5 sacks, two interceptions, 33 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and 24 special team stops. Davis has not only contributed on the field he is also known for the many contributions he is making to the community back in Mississippi, New York, and in the New Orleans area.