Former college wrestlers bond

Patriots rookie offensive linesman John Wise, far left, and veteran guard Stephen Neal both transitioned from college wrestling to professional football. Neal said he told Wise the best way to acclimate is listening to everything he’s told about the game and having an open mind.


By GLEN FARLEY

May 7, 2010

FOXBORO, Mass. —

It’s been nearly a decade since this college wrestler began to come to grips with pro football.

“Mike Vrabel kind of took me under his wing,” veteran New England Patriots guard Stephen Neal recalled. “I was out there in Columbus (Ohio) with him, we were working out, and he’s trying to tell me stuff and I’m (thinking), ‘OK. That doesn’t make any sense, but OK.’

“There were a lot of guys that helped me out. Joe Andruzzi was huge in helping me out. It was great to have all those people helping me out and if I can return the favor to John (Wise) or last year to Jermail (Porter), whatever I can do to help them, ask me any question. I’m not going to try to tell you what to do, but if you have a question I’ll try to answer it.”

Wise and Porter are Neal wannabes. Porter, the former Kent State wrestler, didn’t last long in New England, but he moved on to Kansas City where he is listed as an offensive tackle with the Chiefs.

Wise, who played a year of college ball as a defensive lineman at Western Illinois before transferring to Illinois where he developed into a wrestling All-American, signed with the Patriots late last month and took his first steps as an offensive lineman with the team at last weekend’s rookie minicamp.

Advice for rookie

“I’ve talked to John on the phone and he’s a great kid,” Neal said following a day at the team’s voluntary offseason conditioning program at Gillette Stadium. “If he’s a wrestler, he’s a hard worker. You love having that around. That gets contagious and people work harder and harder, and that’s a great thing.”

Neal’s advice to Wise?

Keep your mind open, mouth shut and most of all, make sure the spirit remains willing.

“I said, ‘Hey, man, just come out here and try to learn as much as you can. Just do what they tell you,’ ” said Neal, who originally signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in July 2001. “Because everybody knew a lot more about football than I did when I first got here.

“So I just kept my mouth shut and tried to do what they told me to do and work(ed) hard. They can see hard work. Even if you have bad technique, they can see you’re working hard.”

Programs in trouble

Neal is going to the mat for the program from whence he came, Cal State-Bakersfield, where he compiled a career record of 151-10 with a pair of NCAA Division I titles.

In February, the college was informed that, due to the California budget crisis, $1.4 million would be needed by May 21 to save the wrestling, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s golf programs for a period of two years.

Neal, who has been actively involved in fundraising efforts, reports that the Roadrunners’ wrestling team has raised $500,000. A dinner auction to raise money for the cause is set for May 15 at the Jam Events Center in Bakersfield.

“I’m not trying to save this for me, I’m not trying to save it for my coach (T.J. Kerr), I’m trying to save it for the kids — the kids that are wrestling, my kids, your kids, whoever wants that opportunity,” said Neal. “It’s not only wrestling, it’s men’s and women’s golf and women’s tennis. At some point, the kids in the community are going to want to be able to have that opportunity.”

To this day, Neal says that opportunity paid off for him, providing him with experience he relies upon from time to time in a sport where he has collected three Super Bowl rings.

“The biggest thing for me is when things don’t go the way they’re supposed to go, I can recover because I’m used to hand fighting and wrestling and getting off balance,” said Neal, who has appeared in 78 games in an injury-plagued career.

“So that’s the kind of stuff that you don’t teach: Don’t do the right thing so you can get in this (predicament). Just in case something bad happens, that’s when you have to use that experience.”

Jermail Porter Honored by Dapper Dan Club

Courtesy: Kent State Athletic Communications

February 22, 2010

AKRON, Ohio - Kent State Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy and former heavyweight wrestler Jermail Porter were among the 13 honorees at the Dapper Dan Club of Akron banquet on Sunday, Feb. 14 at The Tangier.

Kennedy was given the William Falor Award For Career Achievement, while Porter, was one of 10 athletes presented with an achievement award.

Under Kennedy's leadership, Kent State teams have won 87 Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships. Individually, Golden Flashes student-athletes have claimed 251 individual MAC titles while earning 84 All-America honors and 29 Academic All-America citations. In 2008-09 the Golden Flashes captured their fourth MAC men's (Reese) all-sports trophy. On the women's side KSU finished second in the Jacoby all-sports trophy standings - their 12th consecutive top three finish.

An Akron native, Porter finished sixth at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, becoming Kent State's first All-American in 23 seasons. As a senior he was named Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Year after winning tournament titles at the MAC Championships, the Southern Scuffle and the Body Bar Invitational. Porter's 119 career victories are the fourth most in school history.

Also honored with an achievement award was former Kent State cross country runner Jeff Howard. A four-year letterwinner (1989-1992) at KSU, Howard has coached Woodridge High School to four consecutive state championships in boys cross country. He is in his 12th year of coaching track & field and cross country at Woodridge.

Formed in 1959, The Dapper Dan Club of Akron holds annual banquets to recognize outstanding sports achievement, while raising money for local youth charities.

Patriots’ Porter wrestles with an all new field

Former Kent State wrestler looks to make transition to NFL
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By Glen Farley

May 1, 2009

FOXBORO —
Jermail Porter is well aware that the New England Patriots have gone to the mat for his type before.

“I watched a lot of wrestling film on Stephen Neal, first and foremost, because he was probably the greatest college heavyweight of all time, even internationally,”Porter said between Friday’s double session on the opening day of the team’s rookie minicamp on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.

“So I watched a lot of film on him and this is the avenue he took. It seemed like this could be a possible transition for me as well.”

Like Neal eight years before him, Porter is attempting to make the transition from collegiate wrestler to professional football player.

“I’m learning,” said Porter, who has gone from All-America heavyweight wrestler at Kent State to a rookie free-agent offensive lineman in the Patriots’ rookie minicamp. “It’s a different world for me.”

It truly is an all-new world to the native of Akron, Ohio.

“Very new,” he said. “I didn’t play high school or college, obviously. I didn’t even play peewee because I was always overweight for the weight limit. And I end up wrestling. Go figure. I have no experience. This is all new to me. It’s a whole new world.”

A whole new world Porter was anxious to explore.

“This is something I wanted,” said Porter. “I’ve been thinking about this since my junior season of college. I wanted to pursue this after college. I just wasn’t sure where to start.

“Fortunately, some people pointed me in the right direction so here I am.”

The right direction ultimately being Foxboro, where Neal, who, like Porter, employs Neil Cornrich as his agent, has found a football home.

It was 2001 when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick brought Neal in from Cal State-Bakersfield where he’d won two NCAA Div. 1 wrestling titles. Three years later, after a couple of lengthy stints on injured reserve, Belichick had himself a starting right guard.

“With Stephen, we started him on the defensive side of the ball and eventually moved him back to the offensive side of the ball,” Belichick reflected on Friday. “We just have to see how it goes (with Porter). Right now, he’s working on offense. We might flip him over. We’ll see how it goes.

“We’re just kind of taking it day by day and see how he does in different drills, different situations and just take it one step at a time. (We) really haven’t any expectations other than as long as he’s improving, we’ll keep working with him and see where the best fit might be.”

In the coach’s opinion, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Porter may fit in New England.

“He’s certainly a good-looking kid,” said Belichick. “(He’s) got a good frame, got good balance. We know that from wrestling.”

Porter, who compiled a 119-43 career record at Kent State and placed sixth at this year’s NCAA Championships, believes lessons learned on the wrestling mat can translate to the football field.

“Leverage, balance, footwork — all that kind of stuff so far, as far as I’m learning, all transferred over,” said Porter. “It’s very much a part of football as it is in wrestling.”

That aside, Porter realizes he will have to make major strides in order to pin down a job in pro football.

“Coach ‘Scar’ (offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia) and all those guys are very patient with me,” said Porter. “I’m learning. I’m the most inexperienced guy out here so I’m learning every second.

“I’m maybe like five percent in there. My body’s there, but I’m catching on. I feel more informed. I know more now through this first practice than I did before I came in here. (I’m) trying to work hard and learn more.”

No experience necessary: KSU's Porter going to Patriots

By Jonas Fortune

April 27, 2009

Just one month ago Kent State senior wrestler Jermail Porter earned All-American status at the 2009 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, The first Kent State wrestler to do so since 1986.

It was what happened the week leading up to the finals though that changed his future.

Kent State assistant football coach Larry McDaniel approached the former Firestone High School graduate about playing professional football after his college-wrestling career ended.

''It was unexpected for me,'' Porter said in a phone interview. ''It's a new adventure.''

Apparently the New England Patriots had the same thoughts about the 6-foot-6, 312-pound heavyweight. Porter has reached an agreement with the Patriots as a non-drafted free agent, and potential offensive lineman.

The deal is not official yet, as Porter, who is waiting for the contract to be mailed to him. He is already scheduled to participate in the Patriot's rookie camp Thursday through Sunday.

The Patriots could not be a better fit for Porter, who said he has always been interested in playing football, but never played for an organized team; college, high school, or otherwise.

Patriots starting guard Stephen Neal is a former college wrestler, who did not play college football. Neal won two NCAA titles at Cal State-Bakersfield and won the Dan Hodge Award, Wrestling's Heisman Trophy, in 1999.

''It is one of the things I am so excited because they have such good teachers there,'' Porter said.

It doesn't hurt that he and Neal share the same agent in Neil Cornrich.

For the past several weeks Porter has been working with the Kent State football staff in preparation for the draft.

''The training wasn't that different, just fine tuning the mechanics from wrestling to football,'' Porter said. ''Most of it is stuff I am already equipped to do from wrestling.''