American Idol?

The Daily Northwestern

Undrafted free agents usually aren’t players that walk down a street and attract attention. Usually they aren’t even recognized the first time they walk into their own locker room.

For Jeff Roehl, a former Northwestern offensive lineman who went to the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2003, the experience was a little different. Roehl’s rookie season was documented by ESPN for a show called “Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL.”

“I could definitely tell the days or the weeks that they would air the show because whenever they would air it I would get recognized maybe four or five times every time I went somewhere,” said the 6-foot-4, 303-pound tackle. “A lot of people watch ESPN. People still recognize me from the show.”

But Roehl’s transition to the NFL wasn’t easier than any other undrafted free agent. A long shot to make the team, Roehl knew he had to perform well every day to have a chance of making the Giants’ regular season roster.

After adjusting to the speed of the game during the Giants’ mini camps and June training camp, Roehl played well enough to make the roster.

He entered the season as the unlikeliest of backups, but it wasn’t long before Roehl was thrust into the spotlight. Injuries forced the rookie into the starting lineup in the second week of the season, a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys. Roehl started two games and played in another 10 contests.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen, especially that early,” Roehl said. “I wasn’t really that nervous about it, but once I got out there on Monday Night Football that was when it started to hit a little bit. The whole country is watching and it’s an electrically charged atmosphere being out there, so I sort of downplayed it until I actually got onto the field. It’s a pretty cool thing.”

After playing in several games, the wide-eyed rookie was surprised by how much the game changed from college to the professional ranks.

“The biggest change in the game is the talent level, the competition, down to the guys you’re competing with for a spot, to the defensive lineman and linebackers you’re playing against, every one is really good,” Roehl said. “The tiniest little thing from technique, to attitude, to effort could make the difference.”

Lifestyles of the rich and famous

While the rookie lineman was adjusting to his life on the field, he realized that there was a big difference in his life off the field as well. As a college athlete, respect is earned around campus, but the amount of attention rarely reaches the level that professional athletes receive.

“I ran into someone who said that meeting me was the highlight of the month for him,” Roehl said. “It’s hard for me to comprehend because I don’t feel any different, but the status of being a pro football player seems to illicit that response.”

But Roehl’s part on the ESPN show, and the fame that came with it, wasn’t enough to keep him from being hazed with the other rookies. Veterans always found ways to catch the rookies off guard with a trick.

“You have to be able to take a certain level of ribbing from your comrades,” Roehl said. “Just simple things like having to buy sandwiches for the entire offense during the season. Not just McDonald’s either, they were specially made sandwiches we had to bring in on Monday.”

Players also played tricks on the rookies before practices.

“The veterans had this police dye, it’s like this invisible dye that they would put in your gloves or shoes or if you were really unlucky your helmet,” Roehl said. “Whenever it came in contact with water or any moisture it would turn incredibly dark blue to purple and it would be impossible to get out for quite some time.”

Roehl said that despite the rookie hazing, being an NFL football player comes with many perks, from the night life in New York City to being friends with some high profile players.

“It’s not every day that a person gets to meet a professional athlete, whereas it’s not a big deal to (me) because (I’m) surrounded by professional athletes that are much more famous than (I am),” Roehl said. “Jeremy Shockey, Amani Toomer and Jesse Palmer, are friends who I talk to every day.”

Where’s the remote?

For Roehl, being a part of the New York Giants also has allowed him to get an insiders look at the biggest soap opera in the NFL this offseason. Several story lines have dragged the organization into the headlines, and not just on the sports page.

Palmer, who currently sits as the starting quarterback on the Giants’ depth chart grabbed national attention when he took the role as The Bachelor on ABC’s popular reality television series. Roehl said Palmer hasn’t been ribbed too much by his teammates for being on the hit show.

“I think the whole football team’s pretty into watching the show on Wednesday nights and the guys will ask him, ‘oh what’d you do that for’ and ‘you shouldn’t have said that there’ but it’s more out of curiosity how it’s going to pan out than making fun of him.”

During the NFL draft in April, only one year after Roehl had been passed over by all 32 teams, the Giants were part of the blockbuster trade involving one of the most controversial number one picks in NFL draft history.

Eli Manning, selected by the San Diego Chargers, was traded to the Giants after saying he would rather sit out the year than play in San Diego. The media whirlwind from the draft followed Manning to the Giants’ first minicamp, where Roehl said the rookie performed well considering the pressure.

“Everyone knows Eli is the quarterback of the future for the New York Giants,” Roehl said. “The team is his so we’re rallying around him and everybody is trying to get him to progress as fast as possible.

“He only came in last weekend for our first mini camp and he had to basically learn a lot of the offense that was in already and go out and practice it. He did a pretty good job, I mean he made some mistakes but he’s a rookie and that’s to be expected. With the amount of information that everybody threw at him just a couple days before, that’s impressive to go out there and take charge of the huddle.”

Despite all the attention his team has grabbed in the headlines Roehl knows he must work hard to earn a spot on the roster.

With the firing of head coach Jim Fassel last season, Roehl knows he has to prove himself again for new coach Tom Coughlin.

“In the last five or six years I’ve had four coaches so it’s something I’m used to,” Roehl said. “It’s a different mentality around Giant Stadium right now. Coach Fassel was a different coach than Coach Coughlin. My whole goal has been to get as strong and as fast as possible.

“Just to be able to be more physical, more dominant and make it easier to make the team and to be a successful player.”

And just think of how famous he will be if he earns a starting spot this season.