Amano may be able to defy long odds to make the Titans

Like Willie Ponder last year, Eugene Amano won't be favored to make the National Football League as a late draft choice.

But Amano appears to have quite a bit going for him as he tries to join Ponder in being the second former Southeast Missouri State University star in the past two years to buck the odds and reach the NFL.

Ponder, Southeast's All-American wide receiver, was chosen in the sixth round last year by the New York Giants. He earned a roster spot and spent the entire season with the Giants, although he'll have his work cut out for him again this summer in order to remain in New York. Such is life for a low-round selection.

Amano, Southeast's All-American center, went to the Tennessee Titans in the seventh and final round of last weekend's draft, the 239th overall pick among 255 total players selected.

Seventh-round selections are generally not expected to make rosters, but it happens more often than you might think.

And several things appear to be working in the 6-foot-3, 315-pound Amano's favor.

For openers, the four-year starter for the Indians never redshirted, which is unusual for an offensive lineman. That means he still probably has some maturing to do, which in turn means he still could get bigger and stronger.

Next, Amano is versatile. He began his college career as a guard, starting for two seasons at that position before being moved to center as a junior. Versatility is always a plus in the NFL.

Throw in the fact the Titans only drafted two offensive linemen (the other being a guard in the fifth round), along with Tennessee's Web site suggesting there is a possibility Amano could be tried as a long snapper -- something he has never done but is working on -- and his odds seem to become a little less steep.

Amano is the first center drafted by the Titans since 1998 and, in a recent article in The Tennessean newspaper, general manager Floyd Reese seemed intrigued by the player who won the Rimington Award as the best center in all of Division I-AA.

Reese told The Tennesseean, "Amano is a barrel-chested, fireplug kind of a guy. He has great movement skills. ... He can play guard also. There's a real allure there."

Yet the odds are still stacked against Amano, as The Tennessean's Jim Wyatt pointed out in his Titans' draft analysis. Wyatt labeled Amano a long shot to make the team but did predict that he would make the practice squad.

We'll see if Eugene is able to prove Wyatt wrong. Here's wishing him, and Ponder, the best as they prepare for all-important summer training camps.

Two other players from Southeast's 2003 squad, quarterback Jack Tomco and defensive end Ryan Roth, have received some interest from NFL teams as possible free agents, but they apparently have not yet worked out any agreements.

One area product who did land a free agent deal is Missouri linebacker Brandon Barnes, the former Sikeston High School star who signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Another ex-Southeast star, Jason Witczak, who completed his eligibility in 2000, has been in several NFL training camps but has never been able to stick with a team.

The placekicker, currently with the Arena League's Arizona Rattlers, almost certainly will be invited to another training camp this summer.

My old pal Chris Rushin, the former Southeast football player and Southeast football and basketball radio announcer who seems to know just about everybody in Southeast Missouri, is fast moving up the ladder of minor-league baseball play-by-play.

Chris spent his first season in the professional ranks last year with the Rookie League Billings (Mont.) Mustangs. He recently began his second season with the Kane County (Ill.) Cougars of the Class A Midwest League. The Cougars, from the Chicago suburb of Geneva, are affiliated with the Oakland Athletics.

You never know, it might not be too long before "Big Rush" hits the major leagues. Here's hoping that happens.

You might need a scorecard next year to follow Southeast women's basketball. The Otahkians have already signed eight new players and will probably add one more to go with their six returners.

It should be quite a talented group, but the key will be how it all meshes together.

Southeast men's basketball has only signed one player so far -- junior college point guard Ryan Belcher should be a strong addition -- but the Indians still plan on landing probably two more, although that likely won't happen for another couple of weeks.

Still high on the Indians' wish list is a junior college center to replace the graduated Brandon Griffin. Several such prospects are scheduled to visit campus in the coming days.

When Southeast football opens the 2004 season at Southern Illinois on Sept. 2, the Indians will face the nation's top-ranked Division I-AA team by at least one publication.

According to the Southern Illinoisan newspaper, the Salukis will be picked No. 1 by Athlon Magazine. Athlon, which hits the newsstands in June, recently informed SIU's sports information department of that distinction.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.