- November 1, 2024
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For all the football talent that exists in the East County area, only five players from the area have reached the NFL ranks.
It speaks to the difficulty of reaching the professional level, but also the determination of the five athletes who made it — some of whom still had to fight for a spot once they got there.
Here's a look at the five athletes who reached the sport's pinnacle and where they are now in their careers.
A 2004 graduate of Lakewood Ranch High, Rodgers-Cromartie was a standout wide receiver and cornerback for the Mustangs, but failed to gain traction on the recruiting trail and landed at Tennessee State University.
It was at Tennessee State that Rodgers-Cromartie showcased his athleticism and shut-down ability, picking off 11 passes and holding opposing quarterbacks to 3.54 yards per attempt when throwing his direction over four years. His numbers and NFL Combine performance — Rodgers-Cromartie ran a 4.29 40-yard dash — convinced he Arizona Cardinals to take him 18th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Rodgers-Cromartie would play 12 seasons in the NFL with six teams, hauling in 30 interceptions (six returned for touchdowns), forcing seven fumbles and recording 454 tackles. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice, in 2009 with the Cardinals and in 2015 with the New York Giants.
Rodgers-Cromartie last played in the NFL in 2019, but he hasn't left football entirely. In May, Rodgers-Cromartie signed with the Tampa Nightcrawlers of the American 7s Football League for the team's playoff run. The A7FL is a seven-on-seven tackle football league played without helmets or hard body pads. Rodgers-Cromartie and the Nightcrawlers will play the Las Vegas Insomniacs in the A7FL Championship on July 23 in Bullhead City, Arizona.
Reiter, a 2010 Lakewood Ranch High graduate, earned a scholarship to the University of South Florida by playing center for the Mustangs. At USF, Reiter would be named to the Rimington Award (best center) watch list twice, and as a senior in 2014-2015, Reiter was named to the All-American Athletic Conference Third Team by Phil Steele.
Reiter was selected in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft, 222nd overall, by the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders). He would stay with Washington for only one season. Reiter landed with the Cleveland Browns, but stayed for just two seasons before being waived. It seemed like his career was in jeopardy, but in 2018, Reiter found a home with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reiter would be used as a valuable depth piece in Kansas City in 2018, and in 2019, Reiter became the team's starting center, taking the field in every game — including Super Bowl LIV, in which the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
Reiter would stay with the Chiefs through 2021, when he signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent. He would bounce around after that, with briefs stints with the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams. But in March 2022, Reiter re-signed with the Chiefs as a member of the team's practice squad, and earned his second Super Bowl ring in February when the team beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII.
He remains with the team after signing a new one-year deal in March.
Neasman, a 2011 graduate of Braden River High, was not a big-time college recruit. The defensive back had to walk on at Florida Atlantic University, surviving a tryout process where only five of 50 players were selected to remain on the team. But he built himself into a standout player over time, becoming a starter at free safety as a junior in 2014 and a team captain as a senior in 2015. Neasman tallied four career interceptions and 146 total tackles.
It was not enough to convince any NFL team to take him in the 2016 Draft, but earning his way onto a roster wasn't a problem for Neasman before, and it wasn't then, either. Neasman signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons practice squad in September 2016 and earned a promotion to the active roster a month later.
Neasman remained with the Falcons through the 2020 season, getting playing time whenever another safety went down with an injury. Neasman had 80 tackles and four passes defensed in his five seasons with the team. In 2021, Neasman signed with the New York Jets, and recorded 14 tackles and his lone career interception.
Neasman has not seen action in a regular-season game since, and is currently a free agent.
Neuzil became known as a sturdy offensive guard, but he graduated from Braden River High as a tight end in 2016 and went to Appalachian State University on a scholarship. With the Mountaineers, Neuzil made the switch to the offensive line and was a model of consistency. Starting with his sophomore season, he started all 44 games Appalachian State played the rest of his college career. Neuzil was twice named to All-Sun Belt First Team and in 2020 was named to the All-American Second Team by Sporting News among other accolades.
Neuzil went unselected in the 2021 NFL Draft, but signed with the Falcons as a free agent and landed on the team's practice squad. Unlike fellow Braden River alum Neasman, Neuzil's promotion to the active roster would not come quickly. He had to wait until Nov. 5, 2022, when he was elevated for a game against the San Diego Chargers. Neuzil played on four special teams snaps that game. Neuzil would be promoted to the active roster permanently on Nov. 22 and saw action in nine games.
The 6-foot-3 lineman remains on the Falcons' roster heading into the 2023 season.
The newest member of East County's NFL family, Jackson is a 2017 graduate of Lakewood Ranch High, where he played football on the offensive line and also tried his hand at basketball. Jackson signed to play football at the University of Central Florida. Jackson would start 31 games for UCF in his college career across the offensive line, though by his junior season in 2021 he was cemented as a tackle.
Jackson was named to the 2022 All-American Athletic Conference First Team by Pro Football Focus among other accolades and participated in the 2023 Hula Bowl, held on UCF's campus, in the hopes of attracting NFL attention.
Jackson was not drafted in 2023, but he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent on April 29. Jackson will try to follow in Neasman and Neuzil's footsteps by making the squad full-time this fall.
