Danny Watkins achieves an incredible feat for a raw football player.
It’s a hell of a coincidence.
Danny Watkins, the offensive lineman from Kelowna, B.C., was drafted 23rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League Draft on Thursday night.
He becomes the first Canadian to be drafted by both an NFL team and a Canadian Football League team – B.C. took him last year, fourth overall – since Mike Schad.
The 47-year-old Belleville native was taken fourth overall by the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1986, the same year he was drafted 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
Schad, also an offensive lineman, played sparingly for the Rams for two years. His career took off with the Eagles, with whom he played for five seasons beginning in 1989.
He played guard, which is the position that Watkins will likely play in the NFL, although he played tackle in university.
Schad, who works as a mortgage lender in south New Jersey, stood 6-foot-5 and weighed between 310 to 315 pounds when he played. Watkins is listed at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds.
Schad was drafted out of Queen’s University, which was a great Canadian story in its time because few players from Canadian schools are drafted by NFL teams – and certainly not in the first round.
"He’s going to make a lot more money than I did," Schad told Sportsnet.ca in a phone interview shortly after Watkins was drafted.
"It’s pretty much a coincidence," Schad added of the similarities between him and Watkins. "They were saying he was going to go in the late first round. I did think Philadelphia was going to draft an offensive lineman, to be quite honest with you. They have had problems with the offensive line. It’s pretty amazing. Twenty-third pick overall, that’s awesome.
"But I still hold the record for being the number one draft pick out of a Canadian university," Schad added with a laugh. "You can’t take that to the bank, but it would be a daily double on Jeopardy."
Watkins’ story is also impressive. He was a hockey player who didn’t play any organized football until his first year out of high school.
He went to Butte Community College, a Division III school in California, to study fire sciences. He wanted to continue his education as a fireman, something he did proudly in Kelowna, and was recruited by the football team.
Two years later, he made such an impression he was offered a scholarship by Baylor, a Division I school in Texas.
His two years at Baylor, combined with his play at the Senior Bowl, in which he played guard and also took some reps in practice as a centre, further elevated his stock. He took it even higher with his workouts at the NFL Combine.
It’s a somewhat incredible feat for someone who is still a raw football player and who, at age 26, is older than most of his fellow draft brethren.
But he hasn’t had nearly as much wear and tear on his body because of his limited football career.
"Coming from a Canadian school is more difficult than it is coming from Baylor, that’s for sure," Schad said. "In two years at Baylor, you play 11, 12 league games and practices and go through spring ball and you go to a Bowl game or so. The experience you’re getting through that is pretty strong. He’s playing in a pretty competitive conference, too."
Watkins’ selection by the Eagles was prefaced by the NFL introducing various members of the U.S. military, who were honoured for their service. The crowd chanted "USA, USA" to show its appreciation.
And then came the drafting of a Canadian, who had distinguished himself for his work serving the public as a fireman. Several fireman with whom Watkins used to work and whom he brought along because of his love and respect for them, shouted in the balcony.
As the expression goes, the story wrote itself.
During his time in New York, in the days leading up to the draft, Watkins spent some time with some fireman and he also had a chance to visit Ground Zero, the area that once housed the two World Trade Centre twin towers that were bombed in 9/11.
Watkins could appreciate more than most, the sacrifice of the fireman who lost their lives trying to rescue people.
