Wednesday, September 03, 2003

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Duquesne Coach Greg Gattuso first noticed it midway through Leigh Bodden's sophomore season.

The Minnesota Vikings couldn't believe what they had watched when they timed Bodden in the 40-yard dash this past winter.

The Cleveland Browns were impressed with what they saw of Bodden during training camp in August.

Bodden, 6-feet, 210 pounds, earned a spot on Cleveland's 53-man roster as a third-string cornerback and special teams player. He is the first player from Duquesne to make an active NFL roster since Al DeMao finished a nine-year career in 1953 as a center-linebacker for the Washington Redskins.

Bodden, a two-time NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major II All-American whose 28 career interceptions was two shy of the I-AA career record, was one of four free agents to stick with the Browns.

Former Duquesne fullback Josh Rue, a 6-3, 245-pound free agent and graduate of Gateway High School, was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' five-man practice squad. Rue didn't play for the Dukes in 2002 because he didn't meet NCAA academic standards.

Former Duquesne receiver Jeremy Conley (Allderdice) signed as a free agent with the Steelers and was released in the spring.

Bodden and Rue became the 44th and 45th players from Duquesne to reach the NFL. The previous 43 played between 1933 and 1953 when the Dukes played big-time football.

Duquesne, which competes in NCAA I-AA Mid-Major, doesn't offer football scholarships. There were four players from that level on NFL rosters last season -- center Hank Fraley (Robert Morris) with the Philadelphia Eagles, kicker Billy Cundiff (Drake) and receiver DeVeren Johnson (Sacred Heart) with the Dallas Cowboys and David Dinkins (Schenley and Morehead State) with the Buffalo Bills.

"That certainly supports this is a great level of football," Gattuso said. "Leigh Bodden was one of the best-kept secrets in college football."

Bodden wasn't highly recruited out of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Md.

"A lot of kids slip through the cracks," Gattuso said. "We started thinking he was going to have a chance to play at the next level midway through his sophomore season. His athleticism was so far above the guys he was playing against. It was a level of dominance you could see. He was superior to anybody I've seen in the secondary on our level."

Bodden really opened the eyes of the pro scouts when he ran a 4.38 for the Minnesota Vikings scouts at Palumbo Center. They questioned his time and had him run it again. That time, he ran it in 4.39 seconds.

"One thing the NFL always is looking for is speed," Gattuso said. "He's added two or three inches and added 20 pounds and he's not done growing. He's very raw."

He also won the Atlantic 10 Conference long jump in 2002 with a leap of 23 feet, nearly 2 feet longer than his previous best, and was seventh in the 100-meter dash with a career-best 11:08 seconds.

"You can't teach the kind of athletic ability he has," Gattuso said. "[The coaches] were bouncing off the walls when we heard he had made it. It was great for Leigh and a real positive for our program. This gives us a little bump in recruiting. It lets kids know the NFL is going to find you; it doesn't matter where you play.

"We've been kind of waiting for one of our guys to reach the NFL."

Gattuso thinks there could be more to come.

"Yardon Brantley might get a chance next year. He'll get a look," Gattuso said of the senior receiver. "I still don't think you've heard the end of [quarterback] Tony Zimmerman."

Zimmerman, who holds many of Duquesne's passing records, was the offensive player of the year in arenafootball2 this past season as he passed for 4,357 yards and a league-record 93 touchdowns for the Quad City Steamwheelers.

Wells makes Arizona

Sixth-round draft pick Reggie Wells, a 6-4, 310-pound offensive tackle from South Park High School and Clarion, is on the 53-man roster of the Arizona Cardinals. He is the first player from Clarion to make an active NFL roster since Alex Sandusky was an All-Pro offensive guard with the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s and '60s. Sandusky graduated from Clarion in 1954.

E-mail this story   Print this story