Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams came away with a thrilling preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday night, in a game where the impact of players like from schools outside of the Power Four conferences could be seen at every level. Linebacker Shaun Dolac and safety Nate Valcarcel are perfect examples of two players carving out roles on the team in the preseason even though they were overlooked coming out of college.
Smaller schools continue to produce some of the best NFL talent of the last couple years, and Los Angeles have shown they are completely willing to take a chance on a good player despite the size of the program they come from.
Dolac and Valcarcel were undrafted coming from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), with Dolac out of the University of Buffalo and Valcarcel playing under former Baltimore Ravens RB Coach Thomas Hammock at Northern Illinois. While being from rival schools in the MAC originally, the two have joined forces in Los Angeles and currently lead the team in tackles through the first two preseason games, with Dolac edging Valcarcel 13 tackles to 12. Those numbers are enough to put them in the top 20 for most tackles in the entire league through the same time span.
It’s not just the defensive side of the ball though, with players like WR Xavier Smith out of Florida A&M and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) impacting not just the offense but special teams as well. Smith took over some punt return duties for LA in 2024, and he looks to have a shot at retaining that role this coming season. He also led the team in receiving Week 1 of the preseason and currently has seven receptions, 104 yards and 14.9 average yards per catch through two games.
The Power Four consist of schools coming from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC conferences – those are your more nationally known programs, such as Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, etc, and typically where the highest recruited players in the country end up. However, schools outside of those four conferences, your mid-majors such as schools like Northern Illinois out of the Mid-American Conference or Eastern Washington out of Southwestern Athletic Conference, have continued to find talent and success capable of competing in NFL without the national exposer and budget of the larger schools.
Even on a larger level, mid-majors have completely shaped the Rams franchise for the foreseeable future. LA’s new star receiver Davante Adams started his pro career being a second round pick from Fresno State, a mid-major from the Mountain West Conference. Starting tight end Tyler Higbee is from Western Kentucky and the lesser known Conference USA. Going back further, 2021 Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp may be a potential NFL Hall of Fame candidate down the road, but first he was a collegiate athlete from the BigSky Conference and Eastern Washington University.
Even the man who leads this team, Sean McVay, started his career...
