NEW YORK (AP)They’re not comparable to

Power Five players Womens Malcolm Smith Jersey , or even guys from the MAC, AAC or Mountain West. At least not on the football field.In the classroom? That’s no contest.Work in such subjects as nuclear physics, applied and computational mathematics, or geological engineering help Ivy Leaguers stand out in the real world. For NFL personnel people, such a resume is impressive – yet means a lot less than how fast a player ran the 40, how many squats he can do, or his injury history.That doesn’t mean the eight Ivy League schools who play in FCS – and don’t go to bowl games – get ignored by the pros. Indeed, there were 16 Ivies in the NFL last season, six starters. Two more were selected last weekend: Penn receiver Justin Watson in the fifth round by the Buccaneers, and Yale safety/linebacker Foye Oluokun in the sixth by the Falcons. A few others have been signed as undrafted free agents.Among the dozen 2017 pros were Tampa Bay tight end Cameron Brate of Harvard and New England fullback James Develin of Brown. Brate had 48 receptions for a 12.3-yard average and six touchdowns as one of Jameis Winston’s favorite targets with the Bucs. Develin merely has won two Super Bowls and made the Pro Bowl last season, as did 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk , who attended Harvard.”It takes an incredibly driven and dedicated individual to excel at the highest levels of academia and athletic competition,” says Robin Harris, executive director of the Ivy League. ”The Ivy League’s unique approach allows our student-athletes to focus on reaching their fullest potential in both realms and prepares them for lifelong success, whether in their field of study or professional athletic opportunities.”Oluokun hopes to seize his opportunity as a linebacker in Atlanta, though he’s versatile enough to handle safety duties. At 6-1, 234, he’s got the size, and can handle pass coverage.Then again http://www.49erslockerroom.com/authentic-mike-person-jersey , when you can juggle a course load filled with the likes of macroeconomics, econometrics and European economic history, you probably can breeze through a playbook.”I believe 100 percent it prepares you,” Oluokun says of the schoolwork at Yale and the challenges of making the NFL. ”You have got to put in that work and there are really no shortcuts here, and if you get behind you need to catch up, and that’s not easy. So if you make that mistake, you learn from it.”At first thought I thought it might be stressful,” he adds of being a student-athlete in the Ivy League, ”but it really is manageable if you approach it the right way. You have teachers who will help you out and you have tutors if you need them, or other students are kind of helping you out because they are in the same situation.”Except that the great majority of football players from Yale, Penn, Columbia, Harvard, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell are not heading to the NFL. Still, the true standouts get drafted, going back to 1949, when Penn’s two-way lineman Chuck Bednarik went first overall to Philadelphia. All Bednarik eventually did was make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Ivies in the league last season were Brate; Develin; Juszczyk; Giants tight end Ryan O’Malley (Penn); Colts center Anthony Fabiano (Harvard); Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie (Brown); Browns center J.C. Tretter (Cornell); Seahawks long snapper Tyler Ott (Harvard); Browns tight end Seth DeValve (Princeton); Colts defensive tackle Caraun Reid (Princeton); Panthers center Greg Van Roten (Penn); Jets linebacker Josh Martin (Columbia); Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (Harvard); Bills center Adam Redmond (Harvard); Bears tight end Ben Braunecker (Harvard); and Vikings guard Nick Easton (Harvard).Two current head coaches Justin Skule Jersey , Dallas’ Jason Garrett (Princeton) and Houston’s Bill O’Brien (Brown) also are Ivy guys.”The NFL is incredibly challenging for all players, especially rookies that have to make a big adjustment playing against professionals,” says Princeton coach Bob Surace. ”I have been impressed by the talent level of the athletes in the Ivy League. More high school football players have turned down Power Five schools recently as they realize they can reach their athletic dreams and long-term career goals better in the Ivy League than any other conference.”As important, we are having more players make NFL teams better because our players love to compete, they have outstanding work habits and a burning desire to achieve at the highest level in everything they do.”Including, given the chance, in the NFL.— For whatever reason, playing in Arizona has become a drama-filled trip for the Seattle Seahawks.The latest chapter came Sunday when Earl Thomas broke his leg in a 20-17 win.Seattle's star free safety fractured the tibia in his left leg in a collision with Arizona wide receiver Chad Williams with nine minutes to play. It was nearly an identical injury to the one Thomas sustained in 2016 when he collided with teammate Kam Chancellor in a game against the Carolina Panthers.The stadium in Glendale, Arizona, has turned into a house of horrible memories for the Seahawks, and the Super Bowl loss to New England is just one of the miserable moments for Seattle.Former running back Marshawn Lynch extended a middle finger to the Seahawks sideline in Arizona in 2013 to express his displeasure with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell's play-calling. There was the unsightly 6-6 tie during the 2016 season. And there was Malcolm Butler's interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line to deny Seattle a second-straight Lombardi Trophy.In addition to Thomas' injury, Chancellor and Richard Sherman each saw his tenure with the Seahawks end because of injuries sustained in a game in Arizona last November. Chancellor sustained a neck injury that has kept him from continuing his career while Sherman tore his Achilles tendon and was released this offseason.Now there is the image of Thomas leaving the field on a cart with a middle finger extended toward his sideline in what could end up being his final game with the Seahawks.The Legion of Boom all went bust in the desert."I don't know where to put that," coach Pete Carroll said. "It's kind of uncanny that it's happened like that."The loss of Thomas throws second-year safety Tedric Thompson into the spotlight. Thompson was the starter through most of the preseason when Thomas was holding out and has seen plenty of playing time in the first month as Seattle has used a mix of defenses featuring three safeties."We're excited about Tedric's play and he's been playing quite a bit in the dime group that we've been playing, so he's been on the field a lot, so it's nothing new for him to get out there," Carroll said.But Thompson isn't Thomas — at least not yet — and his likely first start is set to come against the most potent offense in the NFL when the Los Angeles Rams visit on Sunday."I don't see it replacing Earl Thomas," Carroll said. "He's a great football player and has demonstrated that for a long period of time and had probably — what we both acknowledged — his best start of any season he could recall. It's next guy up. This is not Earl coming back. This is Tedric playing the game. He is going the best he can in the way he plays."