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Bugli sets sights on NFL
By Dan Guttenplan
Sports Editor
http://www.newburyportnews.com/pusports/local_story_099221804.html?keyword=topstory
Newburyport High alumnus Jonathan Bugli, who played for the Division 1AA national champion Villanova University football team last fall, appears to be a long shot to get selected in this month's NFL draft.
Bugli wouldn't have it any other way. The offensive tackle has made a career out of overcoming long odds.
Bugli, who has signed with agent Jerrold Colton of CS Sports Management, is hoping to join an NFL team this offseason. He believes he has an outside chance of getting selected in the NFL draft April 22 to 24. More likely, he hopes to sign with a team as an unrestricted free agent following the draft.
As a Newburyport senior in 2004, he led the Clippers to a Cape Ann League championship on the heels of a 1-9 season. Bugli, who was only 235 pounds when he graduated high school, followed father Paul's footsteps in attending Villanova.
Roughly 65 pounds under a typical playing weight for a Division 1AA offensive tackle, Bugli joined the football team as a walk-on and red-shirted his freshman season. Having grown into a 6-foot-5, 311-pound physically imposing blocker, Bugli started the final 28 games of his college career, including last year's national championship victory over previously unbeaten Montana.
"I know my agent said the Jets have expressed some interest," Bugli said. "My agent is going to work for me, sending stuff out to teams. I don't know where I stand as far as the draft, but more likely, I'll have to explore free agency."
The odds would be stacked against Bugli as an unrestricted free agent — much like when he attempted to earn a spot on the field at Villanova as a walk-on. Most NFL teams don't even have enough available roster spots for all of their draft picks, but it is not unusual for a team to keep one or two undrafted rookies each season.
Bugli may have helped himself with a standout performance at the Temple/Villanova Pro Day last month, when athletes from both schools were tested in a variety of athletic tests that are typically run at the NFL Combine.
Bugli posted top-10 results in six different events when compared to all other draft-eligible linemen. He was near the top of his class in the 225-pound bench press (31 repetitions), 40-yard dash (5.09 seconds), vertical leap (31-5), standing broad jump (9-1), three-cone drill (7.55) and short shuttle (4.54). He also measured 15 percent body fat with an arm length of 36 inches and hand size of 9.9 inches.
"From what my agent told me, I put down a really nice Pro Day for the scouts," Bugli said. "It's hard to get noticed from a 1AA school, but I made my agent's job a little easier."
Bugli said if he is not invited to try out for an NFL team this summer, he will look to play in the Canadian Football League or United Football League. Bugli has football in his blood; his father played at Villanova in the 1970s with fellow Massachusetts product Howie Long, who later had a long career in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. Jonathan's brother, Christopher, was a lineman at University of New Hampshire earlier this decade.
Still, Jonathan would be the first in his family to play professionally if he is able to latch on with a team this fall.
"I'm extremely proud of my college career," Bugli said. "I have no regrets at all. Few people can survive as a walk-on, let alone earn a starting job. I started 28 straight games, and not many walk-ons do that. I capped it with a national championship. Now, maybe I'll fulfill my dream of playing in the NFL. Very few people have an opportunity to do this, so I'm grateful."
By Dan Guttenplan
Sports Editor
http://www.newburyportnews.com/pusports/local_story_099221804.html?keyword=topstory
Newburyport High alumnus Jonathan Bugli, who played for the Division 1AA national champion Villanova University football team last fall, appears to be a long shot to get selected in this month's NFL draft.
Bugli wouldn't have it any other way. The offensive tackle has made a career out of overcoming long odds.
Bugli, who has signed with agent Jerrold Colton of CS Sports Management, is hoping to join an NFL team this offseason. He believes he has an outside chance of getting selected in the NFL draft April 22 to 24. More likely, he hopes to sign with a team as an unrestricted free agent following the draft.
As a Newburyport senior in 2004, he led the Clippers to a Cape Ann League championship on the heels of a 1-9 season. Bugli, who was only 235 pounds when he graduated high school, followed father Paul's footsteps in attending Villanova.
Roughly 65 pounds under a typical playing weight for a Division 1AA offensive tackle, Bugli joined the football team as a walk-on and red-shirted his freshman season. Having grown into a 6-foot-5, 311-pound physically imposing blocker, Bugli started the final 28 games of his college career, including last year's national championship victory over previously unbeaten Montana.
"I know my agent said the Jets have expressed some interest," Bugli said. "My agent is going to work for me, sending stuff out to teams. I don't know where I stand as far as the draft, but more likely, I'll have to explore free agency."
The odds would be stacked against Bugli as an unrestricted free agent — much like when he attempted to earn a spot on the field at Villanova as a walk-on. Most NFL teams don't even have enough available roster spots for all of their draft picks, but it is not unusual for a team to keep one or two undrafted rookies each season.
Bugli may have helped himself with a standout performance at the Temple/Villanova Pro Day last month, when athletes from both schools were tested in a variety of athletic tests that are typically run at the NFL Combine.
Bugli posted top-10 results in six different events when compared to all other draft-eligible linemen. He was near the top of his class in the 225-pound bench press (31 repetitions), 40-yard dash (5.09 seconds), vertical leap (31-5), standing broad jump (9-1), three-cone drill (7.55) and short shuttle (4.54). He also measured 15 percent body fat with an arm length of 36 inches and hand size of 9.9 inches.
"From what my agent told me, I put down a really nice Pro Day for the scouts," Bugli said. "It's hard to get noticed from a 1AA school, but I made my agent's job a little easier."
Bugli said if he is not invited to try out for an NFL team this summer, he will look to play in the Canadian Football League or United Football League. Bugli has football in his blood; his father played at Villanova in the 1970s with fellow Massachusetts product Howie Long, who later had a long career in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. Jonathan's brother, Christopher, was a lineman at University of New Hampshire earlier this decade.
Still, Jonathan would be the first in his family to play professionally if he is able to latch on with a team this fall.
"I'm extremely proud of my college career," Bugli said. "I have no regrets at all. Few people can survive as a walk-on, let alone earn a starting job. I started 28 straight games, and not many walk-ons do that. I capped it with a national championship. Now, maybe I'll fulfill my dream of playing in the NFL. Very few people have an opportunity to do this, so I'm grateful."
