Mark Cannizzaro
Sometimes the players who end up becoming the heart, soul and guts of NFL teams are fall-through-the-cracks guys. This is what the late rounds of the NFL Draft are all about.
Today is Day 3 of the draft, consisting of rounds four through seven. The TV lights are dimmed and the media attention has waned from the flashy first two days of prime-time coverage.
Yet this back end of the draft is often when some of the most productive, long-term players are unearthed. Sometimes stars even emerge.
This is where Jose Gumbs, a long-shot safety out of Jamaica, Queens, who is projected to be picked late in the draft, would like to introduce himself.
AP
SMALL SCHOOL, BIG HEART: Jose Gumbs, an unheralded safety from Jamaica, Queens, blocks a punt during a college game for Monmouth against Bryant. The unheralded Gumbs hopes to be selected in one of the late rounds of the NFL Draft today.
NFL DRAFT: ROUNDS 1-3
Don’t bet against Gumbs who, thanks to kismet, landed in the lap of Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan five years ago.
“He literally dropped out of the skies for us,’’ Callahan said yesterday by phone.
Gumbs, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound ferocious hitter, might just fall from the sky into the arms of the Jets, who took particular pre-draft interest in him, attending his pro day and also inviting him to their training facility for a visit.
If Monmouth seems an unlikely program to produce NFL talent, you might want to consult the Cowboys roster. Check out the kind of impact player receiver Miles Austin has become since he was signed as a free agent out of Monmouth in 2006.
Three years ago, Monmouth tight end John Nalbone, now with the Seahawks, was drafted in the fifth round by the Dolphins.
Now comes Gumbs, who possesses rare physical talent (he ran the 40 in 4.44 seconds and hurts people when he hits them) and smarts that some NFL teams have already taken note of in their scouting.
Callahan, who has coached Austin and Nalbone during his 20 years at Monmouth, said he believes Gumbs “has everything those guys had’’ to make it to the NFL.
“I believe he will make a seamless transition into the NFL,’’ Callahan said. “Jose is just scratching the surface. His best football is in front of him. His ability to retain and process information and understand the big picture is going to be a huge asset to him in the NFL because he understands concepts, he understands the game, the positioning and where people are.
“These are things that sometimes great athletes struggle with. They have the athletic ability, but they don’t have that dimension. The teams that have sat Jose down and talked with him really understand that.’’
The Jets are one of those teams. So, too, are the Falcons, Saints and Chiefs, who flew Gumbs to their respective facilities before the draft.
The beauty of Gumbs’ story is his journey.
He was a poor kid from Queens playing on a Pop Warner football team called the Queens Falcons that had Geoff Bigley as a volunteer assistant coach. Bigley was affiliated with the program “Run to Daylight,’’ which helped facilitate some of the kids attending New England prep schools on scholarships.
Bigley helped get Gumbs to Hebron Academy, a prep school in Maine, which might as well have been Mars to Gumbs given his background.
Callahan recalled watching a DVD of Gumbs at Hebron.
“It looked like they were playing football in someone’s backyard,” he said. “There were no stands. There were houses along the sideline.’’
Nevertheless, Gumbs excelled at Hebron and was recommended — again via Bigley — to Callahan at Monmouth, where he was a walk-on before becoming the star of the team.
By today’s end, Gumbs might be a member of the NFL, which will highlight the journey but not end it.
“I just want my chance,’’ Gumbs said. “What I did here [at Monmouth] doesn’t count until you prove yourself at the next level. I’m not high on people’s radar, but at least I’m somewhere in the shadows.’’
From those shadows late in the draft sometimes emerge stars.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
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