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Home  Georgetown No Regrets, Former Georgetown Football Player Alex Buzbee Pursues His NFL Dreams
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No Regrets, Former Georgetown Football Player Alex Buzbee Pursues His NFL Dreams |
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Written by Mike "Mex" Carey
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Thursday, 02 August 2007 |
For as long as he can remember, this is the time of year he gets ready for preseason football camp. The summer is spent on building your strength, conditioning your body and preparing for the rigors of two-a-day practices as the season grows nearer.
This past Friday, however, former Georgetown All-American defensive end Alex Buzbee was not wearing the Blue and Gray of the Hoyas. On that day, Alex Buzbee (C’07) woke up and donned a Burgundy and Gold jersey of the National Football League’s Washington Redskins.
It has been a long road for Buzbee, one that is still not at its end and a road that still does not have an end in sight. But he’s at the start of the road and for Buzbee, that’s what matters most.
As NFL training camps open this weekend, Buzbee is attempting to become the first Georgetown football player to make his way to the league since Jim Ricca was on the Redskins roster in 1951.
“I’m fired up,” Buzbee said during a recent visit to his old haunts at McDonough Arena. “At the very least, it’s going to be an awesome experience, something that very few people get the chance to experience, especially coming out of a small school like me.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal and I’m going to have a blast with it. I’m going to give it my all.” His all is something that most Georgetown fans know that Buzbee has always given. During his four years on the Hilltop, Buzbee made a name for himself as one of the fiercest defensive ends in the Patriot League.
Teaming up with former defensive end Michael Ononibaku (B’06), the duo led a Georgetown defense that was among the toughest in the conference.
In his final year at Georgetown, Buzbee was one of the brightest lights for the Hoyas. He earned first team All-Patriot League honors and earned All-American accolades. Like many Georgetown graduates, he had options. But Buzbee wasn’t necessarily looking for a normal workday. Through his four years of playing football, he kept the dream of pursuing a professional career alive. So when time came for him to prepare his resume and look for jobs, Buzbee went to the weight room.
“I trained my butt off with Augie [Maurelli, Georgetown’s strength and conditioning coach] right after the season,” he said. “A lot of my buddies were out partying and enjoying senior year. I had to cut back on that and really sacrifice.”
So instead of relaxing and hanging out with his friends, Buzbee was at Yates Field House with Maurelli going through workouts so that he would be prepared to show professional scouts what he could do.
It’s not an easy process for someone like Buzbee, who played football at a smaller level than most young men who dot NFL rosters. He secured a professional agent who helped him set up with workouts in front of scouts and, with the help of the Georgetown coaching staff, arranged for workouts at Georgetown.
It was during those workouts in front of scouts that Buzbee – who stands at 6-3 and weighs nearly 265 pounds now, just shy of 20 pounds more than during his playing days as a Hoya – started to open some eyes.
He, along with senior teammate Derek Franks (C’07), was invited to a rookie mini-camp by the Redskins. He impressed the coaches and they told him that if it didn’t work out with the draft, they would love to have him come back for their free agent camp.
Draft day for the NFL came in late April and while he was hopeful for a chance to hear his name called, he wasn’t holding his breath. “I was writing a paper in the library during the draft and getting calls all day from people,” Buzbee recalled. “I remember I was trying to get work done and ended up having to leave the library (due to the distractions).”
One of the calls he did get was from Redskins defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Greg Blache, who told Buzbee that he was very impressed with him and that while they were not going to draft him, he hoped that it could work out for him to come to the team’s free agent camp.
“That was a good feeling,” Buzbee said. “It was very positive. For him to call me on draft day meant a lot. I don’t know if he’s calling many other guys, but at least he knew me and called me on draft day to say he liked me.”
When he arrived at the team’s training facilities in Ashburn, Va. soon after, Buzbee was one of many just trying to find a spot. The rookie defensive linemen – there were about 15 players – were told by Assistant Head Coach Gregg Williams that there was one spot available.
“I didn’t feel intimidated after the first snap,” Buzbee said. “We met that first day and I was sizing the guys up. There were a couple of guys bigger and a few smaller and that always happens. Then, you get that first snap, and I came off the edge blazing and had a real good pass rush. From that point, I knew I could at least play with the rookies.”
A few days later, Buzbee was invited to play with the veterans too. He was offered the chance to sign a rookie free agent contract, an offer he was not going to pass up.
Buzbee said that his one of his old roommates at Georgetown, former men’s basketball player Kenny Izzo, has a picture of him signing his first professional contract.
Signing a contract, however, was not a guaranteed spot on the Redskins roster. The opportunity it did give him was the chance to participate in OTAs – Organized Team Activities – which gave him yet another chance to impress the brass in Washington.
“It was the same feeling all over again when I went with the vets after I signed,” Buzbee said. “I was asking myself, ‘Am I going to be able to handle this?’
“I went up against Kelvin Armstrong, I think he’s the backup tackle, on the very first pass rush. I didn’t blow by him, but I did get some pressure and I was like, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
The biggest difference that Buzbee noted from the college game to the pro level was the speed of the game. Studying film and learning the playbook was not much different than anything he’s done before, but the game moves at a much quicker pace.
“We watch film and we make corrections and we install a new play pretty much every day,” he said. “It’s obviously a lot faster of a pace. The game is still the same as far as roles, but they play it a heck of a lot faster. They’re always running to the ball, they’re always flying around and that’s something I can use to my advantage. If I can run like a madman and use my hustle every play, they’ll like that.”
Since the team’s mini-camp ended in May, Buzbee has finally had a chance to settle down. He spent three weeks back home in New Jersey visiting family and friends and returned to the District to continue his preparations for the opening of training camp.
During that time, Buzbee has also seen the business side of football. He’s fully aware that teams constantly make additions and subtractions to their rosters on an almost daily basis, including the Redskins, who have released players who were signed to contracts just like him.
“It is a business,” Buzbee said. “It’s funny that football is such a team sport and you have to rely on the guy next to you to play and do well and succeed, but at the same time, you want to get paid. It’s a business and everyone is fighting for themselves. At the same point, it can be cutthroat. I want to see guys do well, but at the very least, I want to go out there and compete and show what I can do.”
Camp will allow him that opportunity. But he has been able to enjoy one aspect of professional life – the off-season. Since he was signed to a contract, Buzbee has lived with another rookie – fullback Pete Schmitt, out of Wisconsin-Whitewater – in an apartment complex the team provides. He’s spent his days working out and getting ready, while also taking the opportunity to golf – for free – at a local course.
“It’s been a great experience,” Buzbee said. “Just for the summer, you’re hanging out, they gave us a nice apartment and you’re in there training with the guys. Not a whole lot of vets stick around, so you’re in there with the rookie and a few of the vets, like Andre Carter, who’s a workhorse. He was there all the time.”
Being around the team during the OTAs and the summer has also shown Buzbee that in a lot of ways, football is still a game. The veterans tend to stick to themselves, but he has been welcomed.
“When you’re a rookie, you stick with the rookies because you’re all in it together,” he explained. “Everyone’s out to get you, you have to take extra reps and there’s more scrutiny. You really have to earn your keep with the older guys. I’m just staying quiet and I’ll let that come to me.”
Buzbee realizes the reality of the situation he is in. He’s on the roster, and that’s more than most can say. But he still has a great deal of work ahead of him. He’s one of 80 or so players competing for a spot on the 53-man active roster. Then there are eight players on the practice squad. That means there will be about 20 players left on the outside looking in.
“I don’t think about the odds at all,” Buzbee said. “I can’t worry about what other guys are doing. I just have to go in and focus on what I can do and play my best.
“If I get released, I want it to be because I’m just not talented enough to play at that level, not because I didn’t hustle or I’m not in shape enough.”
Should he make the Redskins roster, Buzbee would do something no Georgetown football player has done in more than 50 years. And if he doesn’t Buzbee, who earned a degree in government, won’t regret his decision.
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of,” he said. “I knew right after the season, I could go job hunting or I could pursue football 100 percent. That’s what I wanted to do and I took a risk doing that.
“I’m hard on myself and I always want to succeed. If this ever doesn’t work out for whatever reason, I’ve got plenty of options. If this doesn’t work out, I’ve got a Georgetown degree waiting for me. Knowing that is awesome and I can go pursue this with all my might and with no regrets.”
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