:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/8010637/20120722_gav_aq3_061.jpg)
The Eagles signed a defensive end named Xavier Brown yesterday. In all likelihood, he's just a camp body that will take some snaps at DE while Trent Cole and Jason Babin heal up. But his journey to the NFL is really impressive.
He went to college at LIU Post, a Division II school that has less than 4,500 undergrads. He had 24.5 sacks there but still, the prospects of getting any football job from a college at that level that is low, but Brown signed on with the Chicago Rush of the Arena League. He led the Rush with 6 sacks before being traded to the New Orleans VooDoo where he added another 4 sacks to bring his season total to 10.
Then, the Philadelphia Eagles came calling. Most of the guys on this team went to elite football schools and took a pretty direct route to the league. Even a guy like Phillip Hunt, who also came from CFL, went to Houston. So NFL scouts would have at least seen him.
But for Xavier Brown to get an NFL job, even if he doesn't make the final 53 man roster, is a pretty great accomplishment.