10 NFL Players Who Actually Never Played College Football

 

Kenny Nosay

February 29, 2024

When it comes to the NFL, only the best of the best, truly can compete in this league.  Most of the NFL’s talent comes from your typical Division One college, while other rare talent arrives from Division Two, Division Three, or NAIA colleges.  However, every so often there comes along a rare player who does not follow the typical path into the NFL.  It is the rare few who impact the sport without playing a single snap of college football. 

Here are 10 players who made it in the NFL but skipped the college route:

Ray Seals

Seals is a former defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, from 1989 until 1993.  Seals managed to find his way onto an NFL roster with never playing college football.  Before joining the Bucs, in 1988, Seals played for the Syracuse Express, in the Empire Football League.  Seals brought his talent to Tampa the following year.  In 1994 Seals joined the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he got to play in Super Bowl 30.  Seals finished his NFL career in 1997 with the Carolina Panthers.  Overall, Seals made the best of his time in the NFL and proved anything is possible.

Stephen Neal

Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 2005. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Neal is a former offensive guard who played 10 seasons for the New England Patriots.  He was on the rosters that won Super Bowls 36, 38, and 39, respectively.  Before all of that, Neal was actually on the wrestling team at California State University Bakersfield, a college that does not even have football.  Neal had an outstanding wrestling career in college, winning two gold medals at the NCAA Division One championships and gold medals at the World Wrestling Championships and Pan American Games.  Neal originally signed with the Patriots in July 2001 until he was released in August 2001.  He then had a brief stop with the Philadelphia Eagles before rejoining the Patriots in December 2001 where the rest is history.  He helped protect the GOAT of all quarterbacks, Tom Brady during his time in the NFL.

Antonio Gates

Gates is a soon-to-be Hall of Fame tight end who spent his entire football career playing for the San Diego/ Los Angeles Chargers.  Before embarking on his, Hall of Fame caliber, football career, Gates was on the hardwood, playing college basketball, at Kent State University.  During his junior year at Kent State, Gates helped the Golden Flashes appear in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, where the team made a run to the Elite Eight before getting knocked out by the three-seeded Pitt Panthers.  After college, Gates was told was too short for the NBA and then decided to give the NFL a try.  He tried out for the Chargers, where he became part of history.  Gates became an eight-time Pro Bowler with the Bolts and was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.  Talk about one heck of a career.

Brandon Aubrey

Aubrey is the placekicker for the Dallas Cowboys.  But before Aubrey took his talent to the football field, he was a soccer player, who played college soccer at Notre Dame.  Aubrey then signed with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer in 2017.  He then was on the MLS Next Pro League, for two seasons with Toronto FC II and Bethlehem Steel FC.  After his soccer career ended, his wife encouraged him to give field goal kicking in football a try, after watching a game where the kicker missed making a field goal.  After years of coaching, Aubrey was drafted in the USFL Draft by the Birmingham Stallions, where he played for two seasons until he joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2023.  During the 2023 season, Aubrey made 36 of 38 field goals and 49 of 52 extra points.  Not bad, for a guy who started out as a soccer player.

Sav Rocca

Rocca is a former Australian rules footballer, who spent 15 years in the Australian Football League, before taking his talents to the NFL, as a punter.  Rocca played for the Collingwood Football Club and the North Melbourne Football Club Kangaroos and was a seven-time leading goal kicker with Collingwood, and a three-time leading goal kicker in North Melbourne.  Rocca joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007 and earned the honor of, the Oldest Rookie of the Year, at the time.   Rocca later joined Washington, from 2011 until 2013 and finished his brief NFL career with 517 punts.  Rocca rejoined the AFL in 2015 with the Carlton Football Club, as a mentor for new athletes, and became a coach with the team from 2016 until 2020.  What a career for this Australian footballer!

Michael Lewis

Lewis is a former wide receiver and kick returner for the New Orleans Saints, from 2000 until 2006.  Lewis never played college football. In fact, he only played one year of high school football, as he had to help support his family, during this time period.  Lewis’ football career began while working as a truck driver, when a friend of his introduced him to flag football.  From there, Lewis then pursued playing semi-professional football and played with some arena league teams, until the Philadelphia Eagles gave him a call. 

Unfortunately, Lewis’ time with the Eagles was short as he was cut before the regular season began, but the Saints signed Lewis at the end of the 2000 season.  In 2002, Lewis had his best season in the Big Easy, as a kick returner with 1,807 yards, scored two touchdowns, as a punt returner with 625 yards and scored a touchdown, and earned himself a trip to the Pro Bowl.   Lewis later played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2007 and became a team ambassador to the Saints in 2009 (which he still holds today).  The Saints presented Lewis with a Super Bowl 44 ring for his contributions to the team.  An amazing story!

Efe Obada

Obada is currently a defensive end for the Washington Commanders, and he also never played a snap of college football, in his life.  Obada was born in Nigeria and raised in the Netherlands and England, where at one point Obada and his sister found themselves experiencing homelessness.  Obada was able to turn that around and support his family, by working as a security guard.  Obada’s football career began when he played for the London Warriors of the BAFA National League in 2014. 

After his year with the Warriors, defensive football coach Aden Durde helped Obada land a workout with the Dallas Cowboys.  Obada eventually joined the Cowboys’ practice squad.  He bounced around the league in 2016 until finding a home with the Carolina Panthers from 2017 until 2020.  Obada later joined the Buffalo Bills in 2021 and then signed with the Washington Commanders in 2022.  Obada’s story is one of triumph over adversity, which should be made into a movie!

Rico Gathers

Unlike a lot of people on this list, Gathers was drafted into the NFL Draft.  Gathers started his athletic career playing college basketball for the Baylor Bears.  He averaged 11.6 points per game, 11.6 rebounds per game, 1.2 steals, and one block per game as a junior power forward on the team.  Gathers informed then-Baylor football coach Art Briles of his interest in joining the football team, but changed his mind and declared for the NFL Draft after the Bears lost in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament to the Yale Bulldogs.  Gathers got drafted in 217th overall, in the sixth round of the NFL Draft- to the Dallas Cowboys.  Gathers played for the Dallas Cowboys from 2016 until 2018 and had a brief stop with the Cleveland Browns in 2019.  Unfortunately, injuries and off-the-field trouble kept Gathers’ action limited in the NFL.

Vince Papale

Papale was the subject of the Disney biopic “Invincible” starring Mark Wahlberg and has an amazing back story.  Papale attended college at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia and was on a track scholarship.  The Hawks haven’t had a football team since 1939.  Papale won a United States Track and Field Federation college pole vault, as a junior, at Madison Square Garden, with a vault of 14 feet and six inches.  Papale changed direction and his professional football journey began with stops in minor league football teams, like the Aston Green Knights of the Seaboard Football League, and then the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League for two seasons. 

After his stint with the Bell, Papale joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 and became the oldest rookie, at the time, at 30 years old.  Papale played for the Eagles for three seasons before a shoulder injury derailed his career and he became a broadcaster for eight years before transitioning to a commercial mortgage banker.  Talk about one of the most incredible sports stories out there.

Eric Swann

Swann was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, but there was a catch, like the rest of the list, Swann never college football.  Swann was supposed to play college ball at North Carolina State University but was ruled academically ineligible at the time.  Instead, Swann chose to go the semi-professional route by joining a team called the Bay State Titans in Lynn, MA.  After his time with the Bay State Titans, Swann was drafted sixth overall in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Phoenix Cardinals.  Swann became a two-time Pro Bowler during his time in the desert and his brief season with the Carolina Panthers.  He racked up 46.5 sacks, three safeties, eight fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.  Not bad for a guy that never played collegiate football.

 

Stephen Neal on Tom Brady

 

https://x.com/FloWrestling/status/1756453748111519880?s=20

The best world-class wrestlers are on another level: Stephen Neal

 

1. Post author:Tom Shanahan
2. Post published:April 11, 2023

 

PHOTO: LSU’s Angel Reese (10) and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark lifted their sport in the 2023 NCAA women’s Final Four, but the discussion later shifted to taunting.

 

Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report

 

By TOM SHANAHAN

 

We should be still awash in the glow surrounding the 2023 LSU-Iowa NCAA women’s basketball title. The parallels with the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State men’s championship deserve more discussion.

When Michigan State’s Magic Johnson faced Indiana’s State’s Larry Bird, the showdown captivated the nation. The 24.1 TV audience rating remains a record (as does Michigan State’s record TV audience of 33 million against Notre Dame in the 1966 Game of the Century).

In the aftermath, network broadcast rights soared. Final Fours were moved from 15,000-seat basketball arenas to 60,000-plus football stadiums. The men’s game has never looked back. Seth Davis, the acclaimed sportswriter and CBS studio host, wrote a 2010 book about the game’s impact: “When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball.”

So, what might LSU and Angel Reese defeating Iowa and Caitlin Clark mean to the women’s basketball’s future? The game drew a record ESPN TV audience of 9.9 million, including a peak audience of 12.6 million.

Sadly, though, the blame game overtook discussions of exciting progress in women’s game credibility. Reese was unfairly singled out for taunting Clark. The social media world jumped on Reese, even though two days earlier in the semifinals Clark used the same fake wrestling taunt against her vanquished opponent, South Carolina.

But don’t blame Reese or Clark.

Blame John Cena, who acts out fake wrestling scripts, for popularizing a taunt of waving his hand across his face to say, “You can’t see me.”

When did unsportsmanlike behavior become cool?

Fake wrestling – please don’t call it pro wrestling – has sunk its ugly tentacles into legitimate sports. Fake wrestling is the Kardashians of the sports world – popular and profitable but shallow.

The other Magic-Bird parallel, of course, was the elephant in the room.

Reese is Black and from a city background, Baltimore. Clark is White and from a farm state, Iowa. An uncomfortable Black vs. White conversation emerged because, well, this is America. Reese got trapped into a villain’s role.

But it didn’t have to be that way. Magic is Black and from the city courts in Lansing, Michigan, while Bird is white and from the countryside, French Lick, Indiana.

Yes, the comparisons are different since Magic’s effervescent personality and Bird’s dour avoidance of the media were both well-known from a season of national coverage. Magic and Bird were wary of each other in college but only because they didn’t know each other. They became great friends and rivals in the NBA.

So far, we’ve only just met Reese and Clark. We don’t know enough about their personalities. They’ll probably like each other if they meet – they’ll learn just as Magic and Bird they share plenty in common despite different backgrounds.

When Reese and Clark next meet they should mimic Cheryl Miller, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Candance Parker, Brittany Griner or others. Not John Cena. He wouldn’t survive 10 seconds against a legitimate world-class wrestler.

Or take a page from LeBron James.

Remember the 2015 NBA finals when James, then playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, warmed up before Game 3 of the NBA finals against Golden State? James saw Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown sitting courtside and bowed to him.

There is so much cruel irony to fake wrestling’s popularity overtaking the women’s Final Four storyline. Legitimate wrestlers toil in anonymity while scraping up funds to pursue their dreams of Olympic glory. Fake wrestlers make their money acting out scripts written on the backs of a sport dating to the original Greek Olympics.

Stephen Neal, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, was a two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion, winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy (college wrestling’s Heisman) and the 1999 World Wrestling Championship freestyle heavyweight gold medal in Ankara, Turkey, before he took up football.

When Neal joined the Patriots, his teammates asked him if he wanted to go into pro wrestling. Sportswriters learn early legitimate wrestlers don’t think that question is funny. Neal responded he wasn’t into acting. Neal’s teammates, legitimate athletes, didn’t understand the absurdity of the question. They didn’t ask Tom Brady after filming his first commercial if he planned to go into acting.

And for fake wrestling enthusiasts reading this, don’t toss Brock Lesnar’s name into the ring for credibility. For one, Neal beat Lesnar in the 1999 NCAA final to finish an unbeaten season. Neal moved onto a 10-year NFL career. Lesnar won his NCAA title in 2000, but when he tried to cross over into the NFL, he was cut by the Minnesota Vikings. Then, he cashed in on fake wrestling. The best world-class wrestlers are on another level. Nobody compares Tom Brady with his backups.

The taunting imbroglio also ensnared the First Lady, Jill Biden. She attended the final and was so enthralled with the performances she naively suggested both LSU and Iowa visit the White House. Her focus was on viewing the 2023 Final Four as a transformative moment.

She didn’t understand runners-up don’t share the stage with champions. And no doubt Larry Bird would have scoffed at an invitation to join Magic’s White House stage as a friend or a foe. The First Lady’s office issued a clarification. It was a mistake inflamed by the blame-game backlash.

Remember that Reese and Clark are college kids. They’ll learn with time life turns around to bite you from behind. But maybe, hopefully, they’ll avoid stooping to mimic fake wrestling taunts.

Former NFL football star Stephen Neal addresses Bulldogs

 

By ODETT OCHOA | Sports Writer

Nov 15, 2022

Former New England Patriot guard and world champion freestyle wrestler, Stephen Neal (far left), poses with Calexico High School student-athletes after a guest speaker event at Varner Gym, Nov. 7, in Calexico.

Former New England Patriot guard and world champion freestyle wrestler, Stephen Neal (far right), shows his Super Bowl rings to Calexico High School student-athletes during a guest speaker event at Varner Gym, Nov. 7, in Calexico.

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CALEXICO — The Calexico Bulldogs hosted former NFL guard, two-time NCAA National Champion, and world champion in freestyle wrestling, Stephen Neal as a guest speaker.

Neal shared his experiences competing at California State University Bakersfield as well as the importance being a multi-sport athlete played in his football career. Neal discussed the new opportunities and advantages that arise from trying new sports, and emphasized the vital role that "attitude, effort, and preparation" play in achieving success.

“I hope the students understand that you can accomplish anything,” said Neal. “Having them find some skills outside of their main sport, and become a better, total athlete, would be a win.”

Neal is one of the few players who did not play college football before entering the NFL.

“It was cool to learn what it was like to compete at the highest level in both the NFL and wrestling,” said Calexico Bulldog junior Ivan Marquez.

As this season will be Marquez’s first year on the wrestling team, the junior took notes from Neal and is hopeful that preparation and hard work will equip him with the tools necessary to face opponents this season, he said.

“He taught us that even though your opponent may appear big and strong, you can defeat them if you work hard and prepare," Marquez said. "You can achieve whatever you set your mind to.”

First-year Boys' Wrestling Head Coach Juan Lopez developed a friendship with Neal, and believed it would motivate and inspire his student-athletes to consider the benefits of challenging themselves through sports.

“One of the goals was motivating kids to try the sport,” Lopez said. “Hopefully they will love it, but at least this way you make them aware of the sport and its benefits.”

Originally from Calexico, Lopez spent 14 years helping in the Poway high school wrestling program, where he met Neal.

After moving back to the Imperial Valley in August, Lopez said he is looking forward to creating safe, healthy environments where athletes can compete and thrive.

“Consistency," the coach said. "I want to be able to provide consistency and give them a place where they can wrestle, but also, create a space where they can grow, be challenged, and be proud of themselves.”

As a coach, player, and parent, Neal gave one piece of advice to students.

“We all have the tools to do something great,” Neal said. “Take one day at a time, and think of what you can do each day to improve.”

The Calexico Bulldogs will take the wrestling mat on Saturday, November 19, at the Brawley Union High School JV Boys; Wrestling Invite.

Neal honored at CSUB, where he grew beyond ‘just being a champion’

 

By HENRY GREENSTEIN hgreenstein@bakersfield.com

Feb 11, 2022

Former CSUB wrestler and NFL football player Stephen Neal shares how much CSUB helped help as he is inducted into the university's Alumni Hall of Fame on Friday night.

• Rod Thornburg / For The Californian

Stephen Neal's atypical, profoundly successful athletic career brought him plenty of honors: a pair of unbeaten college wrestling championships at Cal State Bakersfield, a Dan Hodge Trophy, a World Wrestling Championship win — all before he became an NFL starting lineman and won three Super Bowl rings.

But as he's quick to point out, his capacity for self-motivation — which helped him win all those awards, and which he honed at CSUB — was never tied to external accolades.

"It was never about just winning the championship," Neal said, "it was about accomplishing other goals.

"My senior year, my goal was to pin every single opponent I had; I fell short. Then it was to get bonus points for every single opponent; I fell short twice of that. Then it was not to give up a takedown; I actually accomplished that, but I gave up a reversal."

One honor the Roadrunner legend will accept unreservedly: his induction into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame, carried out Friday night at the school's Doré Theatre. The class of 2022 also features local hospital executive Terri Church, English professor Paula Parks and United Farm Workers vice president Connie Perez-Andreesen.

Neal has retold many times the story of how CSUB won his heart by showing him a hard-nosed wrestling practice when he toured the school rather than taking him out for fun and frolic. It was at such practices that he became the multiple-championship-winning wrestler, but also learned from people like assistant coach Darryl Pope, who would "push (him) past just being a champion."

The school also prepared him to take his eventual left turn into professional football, CSUB president Lynnette Zelezny noted. 

"Even though we didn't have football and it was probably a passion of his his whole life," Zelezny said, "he used the opportunity with wrestling to master his skills ... If you want to take advantage of opportunities here at CSUB, the sky's the limit."

The grind of professional football was familiar to Neal. But on a football field, unlike on a wrestling mat, other people — in his case, a young quarterback named Tom Brady — would pay for his own errors.

"If I do something stupid in football," Neal said, "the little baby giraffe back there is getting slammed."

Neal won three Super Bowls as a guard with the Patriots, but only got to play in the third win at the culmination of the 2004 season. Finally, Neal felt like he really contributed.

"In wrestling, you only get a medal if you win," he said. "And so to get those (first two) rings and not play, and finally get to do that, it was exciting for me and for my family, kind of validated that I do belong here."

Neal has stayed involved with CSUB wrestling through turbulent times for the program, including budget cuts in 2010 that threatened the team's survival. With funding stabilized, Neal said he's optimistic about the future of the program that shaped him.

"We drove around the campus with my kids and I was showing them the 2.7-mile course we used to run three times a week," Neal said. "To get honored here just means so much, because this is kind of where I went from a no-name person coming from San Diego to having a little bit of recognition throughout the country."

Inductees announced for 2022 CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame

 

By CHRISTINE BEDELL For The Californian

Nov 21, 2021

 

The CSUB Alumni Association will honor graduates who have expanded local access to health care, closed achievement gaps among Black college students, thrilled us on the football field, and led the nation's largest farmworker union by inducting them into its Hall of Fame.

The 2022 CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame class includes nursing administrator Terri Church, educator Paula Parks, retired NFL star Stephen Neal and farmworker union leader Connie Perez-Andreesen. They will be honored during an event in February that kicks off Homecoming Week and raises money for alumni programs.

A campus committee of CSUB alumni, faculty and staff selected the four inductees during an incredibly competitive process that involved a record-number of nominations. The inductees will bring to 68 the number of Alumni Hall of Fame members out of nearly 60,000 people who have graduated from the university.

"This is an outstanding group of alumni," said CSUB Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Hendrick. "They represent diversity among CSUB graduates, advocate for underrepresented communities, empower through education, have reached the greatest heights in professional sports and led our community through the worst health crisis of our lifetime. We are honored to welcome them into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame."

Here's more on the 2022 class:

Terri Church

CSUB degrees: Bachelor of Science in nursing, 1990; Master of Science in nursing, 1999

Terri Church has helped oversee an extraordinary expansion of local health care options as chief nursing officer at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital including for children and those battling cancer, strokes and catastrophic burns.

She’s also been a passionate advocate for nursing education, and thoughtfully balanced the care of patients with the emotional toll it took on nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Church earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from CSUB in 1990 and 1999. Her career includes 26 years at San Joaquin Community Hospital, where she rose to vice president of patient care, and two years as director of nursing at Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center before moving to Bakersfield Memorial in 2008.

During her time there, the hospital has opened a 100-plus-bed patient tower, an outpatient infusion center for cancer treatment, and Kern County’s first comprehensive pediatric program. It has expanded its heart care, become a certified primary stroke center and partnered with the Grossman Burn Center to open a burn-service line.

Church encourages nurses to pursue advanced degrees, mentors young nurse leaders and collaborates with the CSUB and Bakersfield College RN programs. She oversaw implementation of the Versant RN New Graduate Nurse Residency Program in 2009, which has produced 676 clinically competent nurses, improving patient care and growing the nursing leadership ranks.

Her leadership has been recognized by Kern County’s chapter of the Association of Nurse Leaders, the Bakersfield College Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee and the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society. She’s also received the CSUB Nightingale Award for excellence in nursing.

Stephen Neal

CSUB degree: Bachelor of Science in physical education, 1999

Stephen Neal is the most accomplished and decorated athlete to ever graduate from CSUB, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion during his college years who went on to win three Super Bowl rings as an offensive lineman with the New England Patriots.

Neal’s commitment to CSUB wrestling since graduating with a physical education degree in 1999 has never wavered. He’s not only supported the program financially but trained student-athletes, coached camps and started an endowment.

At CSUB, Neal was one of the nation’s top wrestlers with a 156-10 record in four All-American seasons; he was undefeated his final two seasons.

In 1999 he won his second NCAA title in a row as a heavyweight, the Dan Hodge Trophy (the Heisman of wrestling), and the World Wrestling Championship. He holds CSUB career records for most wins and most pins (71) and was a four-time Pac 10 Academic All-Conference selection.

Non-college football players rarely make it into the National Football League, but Neal did. The Patriots signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2001, kicking off a 10-year career there that included seven years as a starting offensive guard.

Neal, 45, played for and protected two of the greatest of all times in their field, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. With them Neal won his three Super Bowl rings, in wins over the St. Louis Rams in 2002, Carolina Panthers in 2004 and Philadelphia Eagles in 2005.

He has never forgotten where he came from, once telling a reporter he continues to support CSUB wrestling because it gave him his original “platform to compete.”

Paula Parks

CSUB degree: Master of Arts in education, 2001

Paula Parks is a journalist-turned-Bakersfield College English professor who founded and coordinates a campus program that closes academic success gaps among Black students, uplifting individuals, families and communities.

Parks has also been facilitating local conversations on race, in part sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the importance of diversity and inclusion in higher education.

Parks educated newspaper readers before students. With a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UC Irvine and master’s in journalism from Columbia University, she secured an internship with the Los Angeles Times that led to general assignment reporting and editing jobs at small newspapers. Then she launched a freelance career, selling stories to The Times and national magazines including Ebony, Black Enterprise and Heart and Soul.

When her family moved to Bakersfield, Parks began teaching at BC and fell in love with academia. She earned a master’s in education from CSUB in 2001 and doctorate in higher education from Capella University in 2014. While teaching she has participated in a variety of committee work to improve student success at BC and in 2015 founded the Umoja African-American Success Through Excellence and Persistence program, which has expanded in size and success each year.

In 2016, Parks was a finalist for BC’s Samuel McCall Teaching Award and named educator of the year by Bakersfield’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She’s a founding member of UC Irvine’s Black Alumni Chapter, former board member of the Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, and has mentored students in the CSUB 'Runner Alumni Mentor Program.

Connie Perez-Andreesen

CSUB degree: Bachelor of Science in business administration, 2000

Connie Perez-Andreesen is the daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers who rose in the field of accountancy before taking on day-to-day management of the nation’s largest farmworker union.

With both time and treasure, Perez-Andreesen has generously supported CSUB. She serves as vice chair of the CSUB Foundation Board and on the President’s Latino Advisory Council. She and her husband, Joel, recently committed $150,000 to the campus’ Center for Social Justice and Roadrunner Scholarship Fund.

Perez Andreesen, 45, earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on accounting from CSUB in 2000. At a Kern County-based regional accounting firm, she worked her way up from staff accountant to one of only two Latinas to make partner.

In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Perez-Andreesen to the State Lottery Commission, where she served as vice chair and chair of the audit committee. Her community service also includes volunteering on the Bakersfield City Council’s Public Safety/Vital City Services Oversight Committee, Latina Leaders of Kern County board, the Bakersfield College Foundation board and as co-chair of B3K Prosperity.

Perez-Andreesen recently served in a partnership between Kern Medical, the Cesar Chavez Foundation, the UFW and the Latino COVID Taskforce to take vaccine clinics to underserved communities. She joined the UFW as controller in 2017 and was appointed chief administrative officer and national vice president in November 2020.

She’s been recognized as a businesswoman of the year by the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latina of Influence by Hispanic Lifestyle, Woman of Excellence by the National Latina Business Women Association Los Angeles, and as an experienced leader by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Christine Bedell is the senior alumni engagement specialist at Cal State Bakersfield.

Top 50 Patriots Under Bill Belichick: No. 31-40

 

By Tom E. Curran • Published July 1, 2021 • Updated 2 hours ago

 

Want to talk about overlooked, underrated, never-in-the-limelight positions that matter a lot?

 

No?

We’re going to do it anyway because we are into a string of players on the Top 50 Players of the Bill Belichick Era that are lunchpail, Regular Joes who will just punch the clock day after day.

31. Ty Warren

Years in NE: 8 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: 24

First up, Ty Warren. The 13th overall pick in 2003, Warren missed one game in his first five seasons. For a 3-4 defensive tackle to take that kind of pounding on a weekly basis and play at the level Warren did throughout cannot be overstated. Plenty of players got more accolades -- Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour in particular -- but Warren was nearly as vital to the success of the front-seven as those would-be Hall of Famers.

32. Joe Thuney

Years in NE: 5 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: N/R

We have Warren’s offensive mirror image at 32. Joe Thuney. He started every single game in his five-year career, won a pair of Super Bowls protecting Tom Brady and opening holes like a madman in 2018 (as did many others) and then chased huge free-agent riches in Kansas City. He played 5,486 snaps in his five years with the Patriots. Almost 1,100 per year. Hello.

33. Joe Andruzzi

Years in NE: 5 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 3 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: 32

The Triangle of Toughness continues with another guard, Joe Andruzzi. We related this story in 2015 the first time we did this list. Andruzzi went from being listed as “out” on a Wednesday with a leg injury that had him on crutches to “active” on Sunday and going wire-to-wire in that unforgettable 29-26 win over the Chargers in OT.

“After what Joe did two weeks ago, it's hard to even put him on the injury report,” Belichick said back then. “It looks like if he's walking, he's playing. He came back from a back injury [in training camp] sooner than people thought he would. He played with a back brace and looked uncomfortable doing it, but he did it.

“When you talk about leadership, you can't get any more leadership than he has shown by playing with these injuries,” Belichick added. Some guys give a team speech, but to go out there when things aren't going well for you, that shows leadership, a commitment to the team and your teammates. He's a pretty impressive guy.''

34. Stephen Neal

Years in NE: 8 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 1 | SB appearances: 2 | 2015 rank: 31

Also impressive? The guy behind Andruzzi, Steve Neal. He played on the side opposite Andruzzi and won a pair of Super Bowls. He’s this high on the list because when we talk about the players who went the furthest and are the most emblematic of what the Patriots “You Create Your Role” mantra is all about, it’s Neal. "They don't come any better than Steve Neal,” Belichick said when Neal retired in 2011. “In terms of improvement and development as a player, Steve may have accomplished more than any player I have ever been around. His toughness, intelligence and competitiveness were at rare levels and all contributed to him going from being a champion in an individual sport (wrestling) to being an integral part of championship teams.”

35. Danny Amendola

 

Years in NE: 5 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: N/R

Now here’s an integral part of two championship teams (shoulda been three). Danny Amendola is at No. 35. In his final four playoff games with the Patriots -- SB51 and the 2017 playoffs -- Amendola caught 34 of the 44 passes sent his way for 426 yards and three touchdowns. He made sure the Patriots got to SB51 with his late-game heroics in the AFCCG against Jacksonville and he did all he could in the Super Bowl with eight catches for 152 yards. After the win over Jacksonville, Belichick said this about Amendola: “Danny’s a tremendous competitor, made some big plays for us. I thought, as usual, he handled the punts great and he had the last punt return that really set us up for the final touchdown. Danny’s such a good football player. When you look up ‘good football player’ in the dictionary his picture is right there beside it. It doesn’t matter what it is. Fielding punts, third down, big play, red area, onside kick recovery -- whatever we need him to do. He’s just a tremendous player, very instinctive, tough, great concentration.”

36. Malcolm Butler

Years in NE: 4 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 1 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: N/R

And why is Amendola -- and a whole lot of other players from the 2010s -- one ring lighter? Probably because the guy at No. 36 was on punishment and not allowed to play defense against the Philadelphia Eagles. Malcolm Butler made the greatest play in Patriots history (edging the Snow Bowl 45-yarder) against Seattle in the Super Bowl. Then he was on the receiving end of the most mysterious and still unexplained benching in Patriots history. Between those games, Butler became a Pro Bowl-level corner.

37. Jerod Mayo

 

Years in NE: 8 | All-Pro: 1 | Pro Bowls: 2 | SB wins: 1 | SB appearances: 2 | 2015 rank: 26

Jerod Mayo was a Pro Bowl-level linebacker. He was actually an All-Pro, led the NFL In tackles in 2010 and was the near-unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008.

And when the team tottered toward dysfunction in 2009 with a slew of veterans who weren’t really feeling it with Bill Belichick, it was Mayo that Belichick heaped the leadership demands on. And he delivered.

"I would say he’s really the guy that the team probably revolves around more than any other player,” Belichick said during the 2014 training camp. “Not that there aren’t other players that are instrumental in that. But I think that he really touches pretty much everybody. Not just the defensive players, but all the guys. Not just the older guys, but the younger guys. He’s got a great work ethic, great presence on the football field, and great personality. In a very good way, professional but he also has a good rapport with all the players and coaches. As respected as any player in the locker room. One of the best overall team leaders, players, kind of our glue/chemistry guy.”

38. Nate Solder

Years in NE: 7 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 4 | 2015 rank: 36

Right behind Mayo at No. 38 is Nate Solder. The Senator Phil Perry says Solder’s too low on this list. And maybe he’s right. Solder won two rings with the team (2014 and 2016) and protected Tom Brady’s blind side from 2012 through 2017 (he played right tackle his rookie year). Steady, workmanlike, tough and about the sweetest 6-foot-8, 320-pounder you could meet, Solder actually could be a bully on the field when the occasion called for it. Very good player.

39. Kyle Van Noy

Years in NE: 4 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: N/R

40. Trey Flowers

Years in NE: 4 | All-Pro: 0 | Pro Bowls: 0 | SB wins: 2 | SB appearances: 3 | 2015 rank: N/R

We have more meat-and-potatoes at 39 and 40 with linebacker Kyle Van Noy and defensive end Trey Flowers. Both were inspired pickups by Belichick -- Van Noy at the 2016 trade deadline, Flowers in fourth round in 2015 -- and both were big-game beasts in the Super Bowl wins over the Falcons and Rams. Flowers had to take the free agent money he had dangled at him in 2019 but his best move for the future would be getting back to Foxboro where he was one of the most effective defensive linemen in the league.

Editor's note: Tom E. Curran's Top 50 players under Bill Belichick, 2.0, will be released all this week right here on NBCSportsBoston.com.