Dawgs By Nature
On Tuesday, all NFL clubs had to get down to a 53-man roster. This used to be referred to as a “final roster” but is now entitled an “initial roster.” It was interesting to look at how each of those players were acquired.
The reason is that the day after the rosters are announced, the process of sifting through all of the team player cuts begins, and club GMs begin grabbing guys who were released from their former squad. So, a guy becomes safe one day, and 24 hours later, he is cut to make room for the new guy.
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Browns GM Andrew Berry signed two players off of other rosters on Wednesday: RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders from the Los Angeles Chargers and former New York Jet CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse. Now, Cleveland has two guys named Sanders on the same squad.
In order to keep Bernard-Converse, Berry had to make a corresponding move. The end result was that undrafted rookie free agent CB Dom Jones was waived, which gave him a full day to enjoy being a Cleveland Brown. This makes this a one-for-one swap at the same position. Jones could return to the team on the practice squad soon.
So, who is Jarrick Bernard-Converse?
Bernard-Converse (6’-1”, 205 pounds) grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. Which means his food palette includes hot sauce on everything from scrambled eggs to steak to fried gator tail served with sweet tea. He attended Evangel Christian Academy, where he played safety for the football team and excelled at track.
Evangel Christian is a perennial Louisiana powerhouse football program whose motto is “God, Family, Football.” Their football program has captured 14 state titles plus one national championship, and sent 15 players to the NFL. In all, regarding all boys and girls sports, the school has produced 81 district titles, 45 state championships, one national championship, plus sent 30 athletes to the professional levels.
Their track team alone has garnered three girls’ state championships and 10 boys’ state championship seasons. Bernard-Converse ran in the 400-meter dash (1:00:26) and the 800-meter run (2:55:37), plus the high jump. In football, he was a member of the 2016 state championship team with a 38-6 win over second-seeded Scotlandville, but lost in the state semifinals in his senior year. Bernard-Converse was named All-LHSAA District three consecutive years.
He was also a four-time selection to the Principal’s Honor List. 24/7 Sports and Rivals.com rated him as a Top-50 player in the State of Louisiana and a three-star prospect. Bernard-Converse chose Oklahoma State (OSU) as his next adventure.
OSU jumped all over him and started him in nine games in his freshman campaign. He had 59 total tackles, one batted pass, four tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception. And played in all 13 games. The following season, he posted 54 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss, an interception, and five pass breakups. He was...
