Trifecta of Hillsdale College Chargers Headed to NFL Camps

Hillsdale College's Jared Veldheer garnered most of the pre-draft attention and became the first Charger football player drafted in 30 years. Oakland selected Veldheer with the 69th pick overall in Round 3. That was pretty historic, but more history was made late Saturday night and early Sunday when two more Chargers received invites to the National Football League.

This is the most Hillsdale players ever to receive NFL opportunities in the season.

WR AJ Kegg has signed a free agent offer with the Cleveland Browns and Defensive End Drew Berube is headed to Packer Land as a free agent as well.

No further details have been released.

2010 Oakland Raiders Schedule

Oakland Raiders 2010 Preseason Schedule
Date	Time	Opponent		TV
Thursday, August 12	6:00 pm		at Dallas Cowboys	TBA
Saturday, August 21	5:30 pm		at Chicago Bears***	TBA
Saturday, August 28	6:00 pm		San Francisco 49ers	TBA
Thursday, September 2	7:00 pm		Seattle Seahawks	TBA
* All times are Pacific
Oakland Raiders 2010 Regular Season Schedule
Date	Time	Opponent		TV
Sunday, September 12	10:00 am		@ Tennessee Titans	CBS
Sunday, September 19	1:05 pm		St. Louis Rams	FOX
Sunday, September 26	1:15 pm		@ Arizona Cardinals	CBS
Sunday, October 3	1:05 pm		Houston Texans	CBS
Sunday, October 10	1:15 pm		San Diego Chargers	CBS
Sunday, October 17	1:05 pm		@ San Francisco 49ers	CBS
Sunday, October 24	1:15 pm		@ Denver Broncos	CBS
Sunday, October 31	1:15 pm		Seattle Seahawks	FOX
Sunday, November 7	1:15 pm		Kansas City Chiefs	CBS
BYE WEEK
Sunday, November 21	10:00 am		@ Pittsburgh Steelers	CBS
Sunday, November 28	1:05 pm		Miami Dolphins	CBS
Sunday, December 5	1:05 pm		@ San Diego Chargers	CBS
Sunday, December 12	10:00 am		@ Jacksonville Jaguars	CBS
Sunday, December 19	1:15 pm		Denver Broncos	CBS
Sunday, December 26	1:05 pm		Indianapolis Colts	CBS
Sunday, January 2	10:00 am		@ Kansas City Chiefs	CBS
* All times are Pacific ***Chargerblue Tailgate Bash, Soldier Field

Hillsdale College's Jared Veldheer drafted by the Oakland Raiders

Hillsdale College Football fans have known that Jared Veldheer is a special kind of player for close to 4 years now. You can add the Oakland Raiders (use your best Howard Cosell voice to say that) to the list of current believers.

With the 5th pick of the 3rd round, Veldheer became the first Charger drafted in 30 years and the school's 2nd highest pick ever. Chester Marcol was a 2nd round selection of the Green Bay Packers in 1972 and went on to win NFC Rookie of the Year honors.

The 6'8" 315 pound tackle brings incredible athleticism and intelligence to an organization attempting to regain some of its glorious past. It seems that about 5 years ago when Veldheer was arriving at Hillsdale at around 250 pounds, that program was looking to do the same thing. As a two-year captain he would lead Hillsdale to its first ever Division II playoff berth and a regular season win over #1 ranked Grand Valley State.

Veldheer was the first Division II player selected in this year's draft.

CNBC Sports Biz: The Ultimate Draft Sleeper

The Ultimate Draft Sleeper: Jared Veldheer

Published: Friday, 23 Apr 2010 | 12:58 PM ET

By: Darren Rovell
CNBC Sports Business Reporter

Sports agent Rick Smith of Priority Sports was teaching a seminar last year, when a guy approached him and asked him if he would be interested in taking a look at his brother—a Division II football player.

Getty Images Offensive lineman Jared Veldheer of Hillsdale runs the 40 yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine on February 27, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

No one could fault Smith, who has been in the business for 23 years, for saying what came out of his mouth next. “If he can play, the league will find him,” Smith told the guy.

Ninety nine out of 100 times the conversation would have ended there. But it didn’t because the guy’s brother just happened to be Jared Veldheer.

And when Smith viewed the tape of Veldheer, along with fellow agent Mike McCartney, they realized that not only was this guy good, he had the potential to be picked in the top half of the draft.

On paper, Jared Veldheer had all the credentials of being an NFL player—as in a 6-foot-8, 315 pound offensive tackle. But the stigma associated with being a Division II player is always tough to overcome. After all, the last player to have been drafted from his school, Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., was Nate Johnson, taken in the seventh round by the Steelers in 1980.

If Veldeer goes where he’s slotted to go—in the third round—he’ll be the draft’s most amazing story. Veldheer showed up at Hillsdale (enrollment of 1,300 students) looking to play on the football team, but his eye was on the books.

“I was on the pre-med track,” Veldeer said. “I wanted to go to medical school and be a surgeon.”

But a funny thing happened on the way to the operating room.

Full Story

MLive.com: Scouts give Hillsdale College's Jared Veldheer high marks ahead of the draft

By Brian VanOchten | The Grand Rapids Press

April 22, 2010, 9:00AM

Pete Mowry | Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College offensive tackle Jared Veldheer has attracted the attention of multiple NFL teams, including the Oakland Raiders, whose owner and general manager, Al Davis, told him he hopes to draft him.In a nine-day stretch this month, Jared Veldheer spent more hours than he could remember in the air or just waiting around for flights in airports while making personal trips to six NFL franchises.

Such is the life of a fast-rising draft prospect.

Veldheer, a 6-foot-8, 312-pound offensive tackle from Hillsdale College, is targeted as a third-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft, although he could go higher based on all of the pre-draft interest that surrounds him.

The former Forest Hills Northern standout participated in the Texas vs. the Nation all-star game, attended the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, had eight teams put him through individual workouts on his college campus and been summoned to Arizona, Denver, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia and San Francisco for in-depth discussions about his future -- all in the past two and a half months.

"It is pretty cool," said Veldheer, 22. "Every team you travel to, you meet with their offensive line coach and watch film. You get to meet with the head coach for about five to 10 minutes. You even get to meet the owner sometimes. Every team I went to, I got positive feedback from them."

Full Article

Jared Veldheer on the Huge Show, Thursday 5-6 PM

Hillsdale's Jared Veldheer will join the Huge Show this Thursday as they gear up for the NFL Draft. The Charger LT prospect will be on air most of the 5 O'Clock (EDT) hour talking draft with Huge, MLive's Brian VanOchten, and other guests. Veldheer could hear his name as early as Thursday night as the NFL holds the 1st round in prime time. Most prognosticators see him going on Friday night in rounds 2 or 3.

Listen live on WBBL.com.

The Amazing Road Life of the NFL Draftee

Take a look at the draft journal put together by Hillsdale's Jared Veldheer as he closes in on this weekend's NFL Draft. He has been on an incredible odyssey these past couple of weeks and the mayhem is just beginning.

Jared Veldheer for JBScouting.com:

OT JARED VELDHEER, HILLSDALE- APRIL 15, 2010

Dear Journal,

Sorry I am late checking in this week. Things have been very busy.

Coach Warhawk from the Browns came in a couple Mondays ago and we did a lot of work in the classroom. We went over all of the fronts and he called me up to the board. We were on the board for two hours and didn’t watch any film. Then we went to the field and did some workouts down there. That went well. We worked on some run stuff, punches, and sets. I got positive feedback from that.

Tuesday morning I left to go to Philadelphia. It was great. I met with the line coach Castillo. I was able to watch some of their workouts and talk with Andy Reid a little. Everything went real well in Philadelphia.

Then I flew out to Denver and me with their offensives line coach and offensive coordinator in the meeting room. I watched tape of their guys. He installed one of their pass protections and power play and then would ask me to show him calls on tape. I met with Coach McDaniels briefly and that went well.

I left Denver and got in to Oakland late. The next morning I visited with their offensive line coach. I chatted briefly. He had already come to work me out at Hillsdale so we were already familiar. I talked with Coach Cable a little bit and their strength coach. I met Al Davis. He said he watched my tape and likes the way I play and likes me and wants to win another Super Bowl ring.

Read the full article.