Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Here's to wishing him well.

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Vince Young didn't have what it takes to be a QB either & think of what Tennessee has done

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

He looks really good and his is arm strength is still ridiculous.

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Looks like JaMarcus may have started a trend ... no joke, :neutral:.


http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/zO...SI_7230870.jpg

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

he'll never play again. These articles always crack me up. Like that guy we gave a chance to that got run over by the cart. Everyone swore by him. Didn't have what it took

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Ex-LSU star JaMarcus Rusell: 'I blame myself'

SAN DIEGO – In three NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders, quarterback JaMarcus Russell went 7-18 as a starter, with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

His immaturity, and what Pro Bowl tutor Jeff Garcia calls "a negative Raiders ecosystem," led to Russell walking away from the game -- with $39 million from being the overall No. 1 pick of the 2007 NFL draft.
But Akili Smith knows what drove Russell, now 27, back from the depths of unmet expectations, self-inflicted wounds and forever being linked to epic failure on the internet.

Thirty minutes south of the high school where Russell works out alongside Garcia for a return to the NFL, Smith, 37, prepares for his second season as St. Augustine High quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in San Diego. If he were still in his twenties, as Russell is, Smith insists he would embrace and respect the game -- and this time wouldn't toss away a career on nightlife.

The Cincinnati Bengals chose Smith with the third overall draft pick in 1999, benched him by 2000 and released him after the 2002 season. The numbers aren't pretty: 17 starts in four years, a 3-14 record, five touchdowns and 13 interceptions. When the Bengals sent him packing, no team would take a chance on him.

He was a bust.

"It burned at me for five, six years when people said I was a bust," Smith said. "It hurt that there's so many articles on Google about you when you've been the best since Pop Warner. Then, after 17 NFL games, you're one of the worst football players who ever walked this earth.


"I turned to partying to turn away from all the negativity, and the partying wound up costing me my career."

Type the words "NFL all-time busts" into a search engine, and the same names pop up -- Russell, Smith, quarterbacks Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Cade McNown and David Carr, wide receivers Charles Rogers and Mike Williams, defensive end Courtney Brown and others. The order changes, depending on who's ranking them. The label, once applied, sticks forever.

Thursday, 32 players will be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. After months of workouts, private and public, and hundreds of hours of personal interviews, after digging into backgrounds and checking Facebook and Twitter accounts, teams will invest a first-round pick on the player they believe to be a sure-fire NFL star.

Read the whole article, its a good one:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...nclick_check=1

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Video released this week by ESPN, a good watch that gives you a little more insight in his life.

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

IDK, its touching, but I've seen people who've been handed less overcome far more. Maybe it's just the pessimist in me coming out, :shrug:. First I would ask him what he did with the $31 million, then I would tell him, "There's no crying in football, JaMarcus". Kid needs some 'tough-love', IMO, but everyone deserves a second-chance in my book ... just don't blow it, JR. :mrgreen:.

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

From what I hav read he has actually save a lot of his money and is paying for all his current training himself.

Re: JaMarcus Russell preps for NFL comeback at 308 lbs.
 

Well, that's a good sign, he's got some dues to pay after not taking advantage of his opportunity the first time around.