Jake Kumerow: D-III to NFL with help from cousin Joey (Bosa)
Aug 8, 2018
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The lineage says
Jake Kumerow is right where he belongs:
- Son of a former first-round pick.
- First cousin of a former first-round pick.
- Nephew of a former first-round pick.
The path, however, says otherwise:
- Walk-on at the University of Illinois.
- Transfer to Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater.
- Enter the NFL as an undrafted free agent and spend a year on the Bengals practice squad.
Joey Bosa, was the third pick in 2016.
Or that his uncle, John Bosa, went 16th in the 1987 draft.
Nor does it matter what Kumerow accomplished -- or failed to accomplish -- to this point.
All the
Green Bay Packers see are the possibilities, and all Kumerow cares about is the opportunity.
Both look perhaps better than anyone expected.
"If you're playing today, you'd like him on the field,"
Aaron Rodgers said, unprompted, of Kumerow last week.
Family ties
The 6-foot-7, 264-pound Eric Kumerow was a highly recruited prospect who had a standout career at Ohio State as a defensive end/outside linebacker. The Dolphins drafted him in the first round. That's where he met John Bosa, who was the Dolphins' first-round pick a year earlier.
Kumerow introduced Bosa to his sister, Cheryl. The two got married, and two football families became one.
"It's awesome," said Joey Bosa, the Chargers' third-year star pass-rusher. "It says a lot about our gene pool and the kind of family we have. To see someone from the other side of the family having success and kind of doing what he set out to do as a little kid is cool."
Unlike his father, uncle and cousin, Jake gravitated toward to the offensive side of the ball.
"I had him at the quarterback spot, of course -- son of the coach type of deal," Eric said. "He actually didn't really play receiver until we moved back to Chicago; one of the youth teams put him there."
Kumerow spent this offseason in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with his cousin. They didn't just work out together; they lived together, giving Kumerow the opportunity to see how one of the NFL's rising stars goes about his daily business.
"Just being around Joe and seeing the way Joe prepares himself, too," Eric Kumerow said. "Living with Joe and seeing how Joey takes care of his body and prepares himself has helped Jake tremendously."
Said Kumerow: "That's a great cousin to have. Because we're in the same boat."
And then Kumerow stopped himself, realizing how absurd that probably sounded considering Bosa was the 2016 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and has already made a Pro Bowl.
"Well, maybe not the exact same boat," he said chuckling. "We're both playing ball, we're both working out, and we both have the same goal.....
http://www.espn.com/blog/green-bay-...-d-iii-to-nfl-with-help-from-cousin-joey-bosa