Isaac Redman ended last fall as the all time leading rusher in Bowie State University history. Bowie State University is a division 2 school that plays in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. After the NFL draft in April, Isaac Redman was left undrafted and without a job. A first team CIAA player, it appeared that Redman's football career was all but over.
That all changed when the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers decided to give Redman a shot. Redman's unusual blend of size, footwork, speed, work ethic, and determination was what really attracted head coach Mike Tomlin. Redman was one of 22 rookies the Steelers added to their offseason roster. Now Redman is one of the few that stand poised to make the final roster. Redman certainly has the resume to make it in the NFL. He possess good size at 6'0, 230 pounds, but honestly, he resembles #36 in the way that he refuses to go down.
Isaac Redman accumulated quite a resume while at Bowie State. In 2004, Redman was named to the CIAA All-Rookie Team. That same year, he was named offensive player of year for Bulldogs. The next three seasons at Bowie State, Redman was named to the All-CIAA First Team, while also being named to the All-Southeast Region Team in 2005. Redman, the schools all-time leading rusher, ran for 3,300 total yards from scrimmage.
The Steelers drafted RB Frank Summers 5'10, 240lbs, to fill the role of the short yardage back. Redman has definitely given Summers, and other backs a run for their money for the job. In the first preseason game against Arizona, Redman first opened the coaches eyes. He scored twice on runs of three and five yards to help the Steelers edge the Cards. Now I do understand that this was against what was mostly the second and third teams of Arizona. While most of us ponder that thought, so did head coach Mike Tomlin. Hoping to see if the preseason scores were just a fluke, Tomlin threw Redman into the fire of the goal line test. Isaac Redman did not disappoint, as he scored three times against the Steelers number one defense, which needless to say opened a lot of eyes. One very impressed Steeler is center, Justin Hartwig. "He really just has a knack of knowing where the hole is," Hartwig said. "As lineman we really appreciate the way he's running the ball."
After the stellar preseason game, and so far training camp, Redman is being given the majority of the carriers in the short yardage drills. This might tell you who the leading candidate is for that open spot.
Watching some of Redman's highlight videos on YouTube, I really was blown away. As stated earlier, Redman has a rare blend of size, speed, and agility, but he never goes down easy. This could be a gem of a find for the Steelers. Redman appears to be an athlete with an extremely high ceiling.
It certainly isn't everyday that undrafted rookies steal the spotlight. An even rarer occurrence is when the undrafted player actually makes a name for himself in the NFL. Isaac Redman looks poised to do just that; and even more amazing is that this undrafted rookie attended a division 2 school. Small schoolers in the NFL certainly do not dominate most rosters, however there are always the occasional few that can become a rarity. For example, Redskins linebacker London Fletcher attended division 3 John Carroll University. Fletcher was also undrafted.
Above: London Fletcher at D3 John Carroll
Now the great thing about the preseason and training camp is that the coaches have a chance to experiment with different schemes, strategies, and players. With three preseason games left, I anticipate Isaac Redman to be given more reps. Not only in the second half, but I would like to see Redman going with the first team offense. If this kid is the real deal, the only way to tell for sure is to send him out against 1st team defenses. Who knows, maybe #33 can become the next #36.
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