Last week's NFL draft was disappointing for Arizona-bred college players. Former Wildcats Steve Fleming and Andre Torrey went undrafted, while ASU's quarterback Andrew Walter slipped to No. 69 after being a possible first-round pick.
Yet the disappointing outcome for these players should not deter them from excelling.
To them I say, look at recent NFL performers who have emerged from draft day obscurity to gridiron stardom.
Baltimore safety Will Demps, undrafted in 2002 coming out of San Diego State, received a tryout with the Ravens that same year.
Demps was able to put behind him the stigma of slipping through the draft-day cracks and started in 10 games his first season.
This past year, Demps punched the first of what one can assume to be many tickets to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes is one of the league's most feared rushers, having rushed for more than 3,000 yards in the last two seasons, and - you guessed it - he went undrafted in 1997.
Teams generally load up on undrafted players for tryouts after the draft, but this was less the case in 2005.
Torrey and Fleming were among those athletes NFL teams scooped up in the draft's aftermath, making their chances of success all the better.
Two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England signed the 6-foot-4 defensive end Torrey last week.
Torrey could easily create a niche for himself in Foxboro, Mass., the Patriots' home.
By joining the ranks of proven winners, Torrey will have the opportunity to learn from the game's best players in summer workouts.
And the likelihood that Torrey secures a spot on the final 50-man roster should get a boost from the success of another former Wildcat, linebacker Tedi Bruschi.
Fleming also is in a positive position with his post-draft signing, having inked with the New York Giants.
New York is a team in desperate need of a variety of skills and traits, many of which Fleming can contribute.
The Giants' offensive line lacks size, having allowed 52 sacks in 2004. Arizona head coach Mike Stoops said the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Fleming is a physical blocker at tight end.
In New York, Fleming will have a chance to play behind and learn from Jeremy Shockey, one of the game's most lauded tight ends in recent memory.
Fleming also has experience as a long-snapper, and for anyone who remembers the conclusion of the Giants' 2003 playoff game in San Francisco, that's another spot where the squad could use the former Wildcat's help.
Walter did not suffer the same fate as Torrey and Fleming, getting taken at the No. 69 spot by the Oakland Raiders.
The 6-foot-5 quarterback had been considered a likely first-rounder before a shoulder injury suffered in November relegated him to the third round.
Walter may want to
consider Tom Brady when looking at his NFL future.
Brady has become the league's premier quarterback, having powered New England to three of the last four Super Bowls.
But as a rookie-to-be coming out of Michigan, Brady was not heralded in the draft. He was not selected until the second day.
And Brady did not have the luxury of playing with a wide receiver the caliber of Randy Moss in his rookie season.
So while the draft may not have panned out for Torrey, Fleming or Walter the way they might have wished, each player is in a position to make general managers around the league kick themselves for seasons to come.