This week, I’m trying to interview newer agents because I find their experiences more relevant for people trying to break into the football business (and because this blog is dedicated to that audience). Today, I spoke to Tyler Glass of G3 Sports. Tyler is based in Red Bank, N.J., and is the son of an established NBA agent. To his credit, Tyler has tried something new, and it looks like he’s making some headway.
Tyler is also interesting because he took on a player — UTEP TE Cedrick Lang — who played one year of college football in a remote location (El Paso, Texas). In the interest of full disclosure, I worked with Cedrick’s parents a bit during the early stages of the pre-draft process, so I have a bit of a rooting interest here. At any rate, here’s Tyler.
“I’m kind of excited this week. It’s been interesting, very interesting.
“I’ve got four kids for this draft. They are Rutgers OH Paul James, Georgia St. QB Nick Arbuckle and Cedrick, and then DE Blake Serpa out of CMU, and I’ve heard from a lot of teams on all of them. What that means, I’m not 100 percent sure. Some of these guys, the interest is stronger than others, but you don’t really know what’s gonna happen. You don’t have a crystal ball. I’ve been through this so many times in the NBA; it’s like the wild west. Unless you have a clear (early-round pick), it’s kind of (uncertain).
“It’s a lot different from last year. Last year, I only had a couple months to recruit. None of them made it, but they all knew (they wouldn’t), and they were fantastic kids. I’ve learned a lot since last year.
“On Cedrick, the experience has been a lot of fun. I’ve been in the NBA for 10 years and my dad has been in it for 34 years, but I’ve transitioned into football. To carry Ced into that, it’s been the perfect fit. From my view, it’s been great. With the training, it matters where you are and who believes in the kid. Sometimes (the training) doesn’t really matter, but with Ced, it mattered. He had to learn things he’d never learned before.
“I sat down with Cedrick when I was recruiting him, and I said, ‘the NFL is 32 teams, but your NFL is not 32. It’s maybe four or five or six teams. We’ll need someone with the vision I had when I signed him.’ They need to know it’s not where he is right now, but where he can be down the road. Some teams don’t want to see that vision but other teams do, and those are the teams that are fun and those are the ones I like. It’s been fun and interesting. I’ve been so proud of him and he’s worked so hard. He’s the best kid I’ve ever had. He deserves it.
“His all-star game, the College Gridiron Showcase, is where he opened some eyes. Some teams saw him as an offensive tackle, and some as a tight end. The majority saw him as a tight end. I can’t count how many phone calls or emails I’ve sent reaching out to teams, but some of these guys in the NFL are really smart, and they saw him and bought in at the all-star game, and some kinda bought in when he started at UTEP. Some have been right on my page from Day 1. Some I’ve had to push along the way, and others haven’t had the same vision.
“Has half the league showed interest? I’d say more than half, but where that level of interest is, it could be in any type of range. That’s what I feel comfortable saying at this point.
“I don’t want to say he doesn’t care about whether or not he gets drafted, but obviously, if he gets drafted, it’s an amazing thing in the way that he gets there or got there. It’s a really unique story. He just wants to get in a facility and get going. That’s his mentality. He just wants to work. He wants to know, when am I getting there? When am I going to work? That’s how it’s been since his first day training in New Jersey. He’s not an easy guy to kick down. He just keeps fighting.
“I haven’t discussed (how the college basketball player as tight end prospect phenomenon) has specifically helped him, but I think it has. I think this has become a nice little trend in the league. I think, globally, basketball players are the best athletes in the world. Ced wasn’t even brought in to be a tight end, but his hands were so good that it was an automatic that he’d do that. His background automatically has gotten people to take a second look or a first look, whatever that might be.
“Catching a football, we’ve never had a concern with that. He’s been catching basketballs, which are rounder and bigger, so it’s never been a concern. I wouldn’t say anything in particular has been difficult, but everything that he’s learning is fresh and new. What’s been impressive is that it doesn’t take him long to learn. He hasn’t really experienced it, so it’s so raw, but once it goes in, as long as the right people are teaching it, it goes in. He’s so coachable. I’ve enjoyed working for him. It’s been a lot of fun, I gotta be honest.”