By three o'clock, this afternoon, there will football players all over the practice fields behind Browns Headquarters in Berea.
All over.
Five draft picks and 15 post-draft signees are here for rookie minicamp, beginning what each of them hopes will be a long and productive NFL journey. But they'll take to the field this afternoon and practice with a group of 54 tryout players who have NFL aspirations of their own.
Fifty-four.
That's an unusually large number, and there are several different possible explanations for it.
In some cases, players know the Browns are at least somewhat interested and figure following through with the Browns increases their chances of increasing such interest. Some undoubtedly are disappointed they weren't signed immediately after the draft, but this weekend provides them a chance to show what they can do.
Maybe because the Browns had essentially half of their usual draft, agents and players see more opportunities to eventually latch on. Maybe it's because the Browns didn't draft any cornerbacks and seem to have openings for just about every backup spot in the secondary.
After the draft, scouts and position coaches called undrafted players who stood out during the pre-draft process. Fifteen signed with the Browns, others signed elsewhere, and some accepted invitations for this weekend's tryout.
Others didn't get a series of post-draft phone calls or find themselves in a bidding war between teams. They'd just like a crack at playing professional football - if only for three days - with the Cleveland Browns.
Chances are their grandkids will one day be impressed.
Before the draft, Phil Savage said the Browns sent letters to every college in Ohio informing them of the weekend tryout situation. The Browns, as the letter said, would need bodies in order to have a full practice, and any eligible player who'd like to take a crack at the NFL would be considered for the opportunity.
"They can always say they wore that orange helmet and played for the Cleveland Browns, if only for one weekend," Savage said.
Beginning this afternoon, those NFL dreams will become reality. All the tryout players will receive the same coaching, sit in the same meetings and eat in the same cafeteria as Beau Bell, Martin Rucker and the rest of the Browns draft picks. They'll wear the same jerseys, run the same drills and create some unique competition; it's not every day a defensive back from Penn State lines up against a receiver from Oberlin College.
For three days, though, they're all Cleveland Browns. And there's really no telling where any of the 54 stories go from here.
List of tryouts at 2008 Browns Minicamp
RB DeShawn Baker, South Carolina State; WR James Banks, Carson-Newman; TE Ben Barkema, Iowa State; DB Darrius Battles, Louisiana-Monroe; RB J.J. Bennett, Colgate; OL Nathan Bennett, Clemson; TE Brian Bergman, Carthage; DB Demario Bobo, Mississippi State; RB Mark Bonds, Western Michigan; OL Bill Bourdlais, Ferris State; TE Matt Champa, Dayton; TB Lloyd Charles, Colorado; WR Brandon Copeland, Bridgewater (Va.); LB Todd DeLamielleure, Hofstra; DB Reggie Dorsainvil, Iona; DL Steve Friend, Central Michigan; OT Mike Galassi, Walsh; QB Tommy Grady, Utah; WR Andrew Hawkins, Toledo; DB Kevin Hoyng, Dayton; WR Nate Hughes, Alcorn State; WR Wynton Jackson, Liberty; DB Milvon James, UNLV; DB Damon Jenkins, Fresno State; DB KiAmeer Johnson, Rhode Island; DB Todd Koenig, Ohio' QB Rich Kovalchek, Vanderbilt; LB Dane Krogstad, Arizona; TE Jamaal Lewis, Arizona State; NT Kyle Lockett, Urbana; LB Asa Matthews, Northern Colorado; LB Xavier Mitchell, Tennessee; LB Nick Moore, Baylor; OL Derrick Morse, Miami (Fla.); LS Ryan Pentimalli, Minnesota-Mankato; DB Mike Phillips, Pittsburgh; OL Edwin Pinigis, Liberty, WR Chris Schubert, Oberlin; RB Auston Scott, Penn State; WR Joslin Shaw, Florida State; DB Nick Solakian, Yale; OL Brian Stamper, Vanerbilt; LB Dwight Stephenson, Notre Dame; RB Tony Temple, Missouri; FB Lenny Trusnick, Ohio Northern; DB Craig Turner, Southern Illinois; DL Jeff Van Orsow, Oregon State; DB Terrell Vinson, Purdue; DB Marcus Watts, Kansas State; DB Patrick Wells, Ferris State; P Ben Woods, Buffalo; K Rob Zarrilli, Hofstra; DB Alan Zemaitis, Penn State; DB Jonathan Zenon, LSU
