University of Albany Football Alum Rashad Barksdale At Cornerback In New York Jets Training Camp - UAlbany Sports 2009

Jim O'Neil, a University at Albany assistant at the start of his coaching career back in 2001, grabbed Rashad Barksdale by the back of the shoulders pads, yanking him to his left just before the snap.

O'Neil is now the New York Jets' quality control coach for defense. Barksdale, the first player from UA to appear in an NFL game, is now a Jets cornerback. And, for at least the time being, safety.

Barksdale got thrown into the mix at safety two days before Thursday's Green & White Scrimmage at SUNY Cortland. Playing with the third-team defense, he had yet to get down the assignments -- prompting physical cues from the fellow former Great Dane.

"I kind of got thrown into the fire," Barksdale said afterward. "I began safety and corner work. The more I can do, the better it is. I'm not complaining."

Whatever it takes. Wherever it takes.

Rashad Barksdale has always been an NFL long shot. Now he may be down to his last shot.

That means he still has a shot. Which is a good thing, the best of things.

Barksdale, a Hudson native, expected to be practicing at his alma mater this summer, trying to earn a spot on the New York Giants. The Giants picked up the 6-foot, 208-pound cornerback last year after he was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs. He rode the practice squad for the season, only to be activated for the postseason. He didn't play.

Barksdale didn't get his shot. This year could be different. He looked forward to competing in front of family and friends back on his old campus.

But the Giants, who selected a pair of cornerbacks late in the draft, cut Barksdale in June. He found out via a text from teammate Terrell Thomas.

"I heard you got released," he wrote. "Sorry about that."

That's a cold way to find out. Barksdale says he's over it. But he also says he looks forward to the third preseason game: Jets at Giants.

It took less than a week for the New York Jets to claim Barksdale off waivers, so he's summering Upstate after all, even if it's 170 or so miles west of where he expected.

A sixth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, Barksdale saw action in six games on special teams for the Chiefs his rookie year. Then he got cut again, and picked up again, and cut again, and picked up again. He says he may have some cat in him -- a lot of lives.

Now he is on his fourth team in three seasons. There's always been a team that believes Barksdale deserves another shot.

"The bad side is getting cut," he said. "The good is getting picked up, and teams continually giving me a shot. They must see that I can play football. I just want a clear opportunity to get out there."

The biggest competition here at the Jets' training camp is at quarterback, where veteran Kellen Clemens is trying to hold off top-five first-rounder Mark Sanchez for the starting job. Every pass, every cadence, every mannerism is being scrutinized by coaches and onlookers trying to divine who will get the gig.

Meanwhile, there are numerous other battles going on for starting and backup roles, and even a place on the team. With the off-season acquisitions of veterans Lito Sheppard and Donald Strickland, not to mention potential Pro Bowler Darrelle Revis and other returnees, the Jets seemed stocked at corner.
And Barkdale got a late start with the Jets. That's the pattern: Remember that this former all-state high school football player was a baseball guy in college, not playing UA football until his senior season. Taken together, coach Rex Ryan said, Barksdale faces long odds to make the team.

"It's going to be tough," Ryan said after Thursday's scrimmage. "The thing that I like about him is he's playing safety, corner -- he's trying to fit in where he can. That's a good thing. It definitely gives him a shot."

Maybe his last one. Then again, maybe not. There always seems to be a team that thinks Barksdale is a player. All he wants to do is prove them right.

Courtesy: Mark McGuire