Undrafted college players…the ultimate scouting challenge for the Eagles…

Mark Herzlich, OLB prospect from Eagles’ backyard in Wayne, PA… At 6-4, 250, and a veteran starter for Boston College, Herzlich is a cancer survivor… and a local fan favorite for being invited by the Birds to make this team in 2011…

Ah yes, the unexpected…the Undrafted Rookie free agent signing that could upset JB’s MACH 10 applecart…

I can imagine it sucks being undrafted… anyone who’s ever failed to make a cut can relate to that… but Herzlich represents the best chance scenario for turning that negative into a positive…

With the NFL lockout back in effect the real losers are the undrafted rookies— who now cannot sign with a team until the lockout is lifted. Being undrafted used to be a little bit of an advantage for these guys…a lot of times it is better to not be drafted in the sixth- or seventh round so you can choose your offer of destination with the best chance of making a particular team. That advantage has been temporarily suspended for the undrafted…

Meanwhile, as Ken Gordon of the Columbus Dispatch says so well, “School is over”… and the scholarship checks have quit coming. Thirty-two NFL teams have bypassed you in the draft, and thanks to a lockout, nobody can sign you to a free-agent contract.

Cue the country music song, because it’s a tough time to be an undrafted former college player.

“It’s an uncertain situation right now,” Dexter Larimore, a former Ohio State defensive tackle, said last night. “It’s a grayer situation than normal free agency, which was a gray area anyway.” Larimore is in the same boat as former teammates who went undrafted, such as Dane Sanzenbacher, Brandon Saine, Justin Boren, Devon Torrence and Bryant Browning.

The NFL’s lockout was briefly lifted on Friday, in time for a few first-round draft picks to visit their new teams and perhaps get a playbook. They were the lucky ones, because once an appeals court sided with the league’s owners that night, all contact with players was once again forbidden.

The case is expected to be heard in courts again early this week.

The situation affects all rookie players, drafted or not. Ohio State’s Brian Rolle was taken by Philadelphia in the sixth round and keenly felt the lockout’s bite soon afterward.

“It’s heartbreaking to be drafted and not be able to go to camp,” he said. “You think about (getting drafted) all your life, and you’ve seen guys get picked, and then the next day they are taking pictures at the team’s headquarters. (Thursday and Friday) you saw guys doing it.

“But they put the lockout back in, which means the guys picked after, it was unfortunate that they can’t take part in something like that. It is real confusing.”

But as Rolle added, “We all know I’m an Eagle now.”

That makes a big difference. If they know a player on their NFL team – such as former Ohio State safety Kurt Coleman with the Eagles – someone like Rolle can at least start to learn some concepts or vocabulary.

Former NFL coach Jon Gruden advised drafted rookies to spend their lockout downtime wisely.

“The first thing I’d do is find a projector and I’d find somebody that can get me game film of what I’ve got to learn,” Gruden said. “Not only do they have to get in great shape, but they’ve got to learn the specifics of what defense they’ll play in, what offense they’ll play in. There is a tremendous amount of football that needs to be learned.

“So I’d encourage all of them to stay in shape, find a projector and start studying film, because the great players aren’t locked out.”

First-round picks such as Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward are less concerned than others. Their draft status ensures them a spot on the roster almost no matter what, and if finances are an issue, agents might be more likely to loan them money to get them through the lockout because of the lucrative contract yet to come.

Maybe that’s why Heyward, taken 31st overall by Pittsburgh, felt comfortable enough to joke that if the lockout continued for long, “I’ll come back (to OSU) for a fifth year. I’d love to do that.”

But the undrafted players can’t say that. They all face uncertainty, and some might face financial strain.

“You’re sitting here at the end of April and your bank account is dry,” said Jim Cordle, a former OSU offensive lineman who was undrafted in 2010 but signed with the New York Giants and spent the season on their practice squad. “You don’t know if or when you will ever sign with a team, so what are you going to do? Hold on and try to live out the dream, or jump into the work force?”

The longer the lockout goes on, the tougher the road to a roster spot gets for undrafted free agents. They already are the lowest on the NFL’s totem pole, but without being able to go through any mini-camps or offseason workouts, it might be next to impossible for them to catch on in the fall.

“It’s an unbelievable disadvantage,” Cordle said. “Rookie free agents are the first ones gone, anyway.”

Cleveland-based agent Neil Cornrich said he is advising his clients to stay in school (if they have not graduated) and keep working out.

That’s exactly what Rolle plans to do. He is on track to graduate in June.

“I am going to continue what I’ve been doing, which is going to school to get my degree, and continue to keep working hard – everything that ‘B-Rolle’ always does,” Rolle said. “I know what my purpose is now. I know I have an organization that I’m now a part of.”

Not everyone can say that, though. The undrafted are adrift like never before.

“Once I get to a team, I still think I can do things,” Larimore said. “It’s just kind of a matter of getting somewhere.”

It’s messed up.

These are the top 115 undrafted players still left in 2011 — you can link to this list and about 40 players more at Eric Galko’s Optimum Scouting.com :

Meanwhile, just as a cautionary sidebar, Mark Herzlich was selected with the 51st overall pick in Monday’s United Football League draft. He went to the Omaha Nighthawks. The UFL has proposed that undrafted rookies like Herzlich prepare themselves for the NFL by playing in their league until roughly October. By that time, they will have gained some pro-style football experience and would be theoretically more prepared. But needless to say, players like Herzlich’s best bet, if possible, is still to get into an NFL summer camp.

A RARE COMPLIMENT TO ESPN STAFF re. the BIN LADEN announcement… by Ben Koo and Joe Buck…special to Eagles Eye…

“In 2010, ESPN pulled back the curtain on some of the behind-the-scenes scrambling that sports broadcasters endure when unexpected yet monumental news breaks during a live sporting event. Last night Dan Shulman and ESPN were pressed into action on this front as millions watching Sunday Night Baseball were informed of the news of Osama Bin Laden’s capture and death. Many people have praised how the matter was handled, and it is in fact how we caught wind of the historic news…”

“Shulman and the Sunday Night Baseball team today were put into a pressure situation and did a commendable job making the announcement. Shulman set the tone, saying that he was about to anounce something serious, and gave us all a couple of seconds to pay attention, quiet down, or turn the volume up… His announcement was concise, informative, and with a call to action to flip to another channel (straight News)… In our opinion, he really did a great job urging the public to turn the channel— despite 
the fact the showdown between the Mets and the Phillies was tied and about to go into extra-innings on his own network…”

“Unexpected announcements are not easy, especially when you know it will stir up a lot of people.  Dan Shulman’s moment was last night… and it was done with class and grace that enjoins him with names like McKay and Cosell…  Certainly a tip of the Hatlo hat to him and ESPN for a job well done…”

Well said, Ben and Joe… I also got my “Bin Laden Gone” fix from the ESPN telecast of the Phillies game… another amazing example of the interface of sports entertainment with the historic reality of our lives.