Q-C area Cyclones ink NFL free-agent deals
Growing up in Muscatine, Iowa, Ben Barkema did not see himself lining up alongside Jamal Lewis and behind LeCharles Bentley to take a run at the likes of Willie McGinest.
He expected to find himself hanging with Shaquille O’Neal instead.
“If anything, I envisioned trying to play basketball my whole life. My dad was head coach at Muscatine,’’ the Iowa State tight end said Monday, a day after signing on as a free-agent H-Back with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
Jim Barkema long ago accepted that his sons were destined to play football, and Ben Barkema will attempt to launch a pro career when he reports for Browns rookie camp this weekend.
Barkema was among four former Iowa State Cyclones who inked free-agent deals Sunday and Monday after being bypassed in the weekend draft.
Among the others was outside linebacker Jon Banks, a former United Township High School Panther, who signed with the Buffalo Bills.
Banks did not return Monday phone calls but said via a text message, “Thanks, we all did it together.’’
Also signing out of ISU were wide receiver Todd Blythe (New Orleans) and quarterback Bret Meyer (Washington).
Iowa fullback Tom Busch, meanwhile, followed Hawkeyes tailback Albert Young to Minnesota. On Sunday, Young signed with the Vikings and Hawks defensive end Bryan Mattison signed with the Jets.
Barkema said he chose the Browns because, “from the beginning they have shown the most interest.’’
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Barkema said he wasn’t dissuaded by Cleveland’s decision to draft Missouri tight end Martin Rucker in Sunday’s fourth round, nor by their signing of another free-agent tight end on Monday.
That’s because Cleveland envisions a role for Barkema in the backfield, a vision that might not have evolved if not for a change of offensive philosophy under first-year ISU head coach Gene Chizik last year.
“I didn’t get any carries,’’ Barkema said of his role as a sometimes fullback last season, when he caught 18 passes for 163 yards. “But what helped at ISU was that the tight end and fullback became pretty interchangable. Every day I worked at fullback during practice.’’
In Buffalo, Banks will challenge a linebacking corps that includes Paul Pozluszny and Kawika Mitchell and to which Iowa State teammate Alvin Bowen was added during the fifth round of the draft Sunday.
Banks also could factor in the defensive backfield, where he started his career at Iowa State after transferring from Iowa Central Community College.
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on the story at qctimes.com