Following a spring practice a few years ago, Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald told reporters an anecdote about playing alongside Troy Aikman at Dallas Cowboys training camp. That specific war story was about as far as Fitzgerald’s NFL playing career went, but Saturday brings a new chapter.
Fitz will be a crucial part of analyzing the NFL Draft, and he may get the opportunity to provide punditry regarding the Cowboys late round picks. He may also very likely be on-air commentating when one of his own gets selected.
From the NFL Network’s Media Relations:
Stanford head coach David Shaw joins NFL Network’s coverage of the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft Thursday, April 30 at 8:00 PM ET, joining Eisen, Mayock and Mariucci. This marks the fourth consecutive year Shaw has joined NFL Network’s Draft coverage. Additionally, University of Texas head coach Charlie Strong joins NFL Network’s coverage of Rounds 2 and 3 Friday, May 1 at 7:00 PM ET, and Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald joins coverage of Rounds 4-7 Saturday, May 2 at 12 Noon ET.
That’s right; it’s been 51 years since Chicago last hosted the NFL Draft, and as of this publication, the forecast for the NFL Draft’s third day is literally a high of 51 degrees! And with @CoachFitz51 will becoming a vital part of it…”it’s all starting to come together, Pepper” as the legendary Lou Brown once put it.
Fitzgerald will be at Draft Town; along side NFL Network reporter Melissa Stark, who is leading the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field this week alongside a couple of NFLN personalities.
This is a big deal. You have a guy from southwestern suburb of Chicago (Orland Park, IL) who made his name, fame and fortune in a city bordering Chicago (Evanston, IL) commentating the first draft to come here in more than half a century. The publicity from appearing on NFLN should be a boon to NU recruiting.
Also, the only player from any of the schools in-state (Illinois, Northern Illinois, Northwestern etc.) who is projected to get drafted this year is NU Safety Ibraheim Campbell. He is slotted to be a “day 3 guy” too; likely when Pat Fitzgerald will be rocking a NFLN microphone.
Tune in Monday at 1 pm central for my NFL Draft segment on ESPN Radio Honolulu the Bobby Curran Show
Take a look at my 2015 NFL mock draft and my 2016 NFL mock draft
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Instagram (@paulmbanks)