Feature story on how Brashton Satele earned his spot in the Jets' training camp

About how Brashton Satele has impressed the Jets, New York Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said:
"We really like Brashton. He's certainly a guy who has all of the tools to do it. What impresses us is he's a three-down linebacker. A lot of linebackers can only play first and second downs. They don't have the coverage ability on third down. It's pretty obvious, from what he showed us, he can cover most tight ends, and he can cover most guys." (HSA)

About Brashton came available to them late after the NCAA rejected his medical hardship request to play this season, Pettine said:
"Brashton is a kid who just popped up on the radar late for us because of the unfortunate situation with the NCAA." (HSA)

About how they gave Brashton a tryout at the recommendation of defensive assistant Mike Smith (who was a UH graduate assistant in 2009), Pettine said:
"He was a kid we felt kind of fell through the cracks. We contacted his agent. We were in a position where we couldn't offer him a spot in training camp just yet. But it was a no-brainer to bring him in, at least for a rookie camp as a tryout." (HSA)

HSA Note: "Tryout players receive pay to cover living expenses during the three-day minicamp. But Pettine said it is considered "long odds" for a tryout player to earn a berth on the 80-player offseason roster."

About how it is rare for tryout players to make the 80-player offseason roster, Pettine said:
"Usually those tryout guys are there to fill out the roster for 11-on-11s. It's, 'Hey, you're here for three days, thank you very much.'" (HSA)

HSA Note: "But Satele, the middle linebacker in UH's 4-3 defense, played well as inside backer in the Jets' 3-4 scheme. He was listed behind All-Pro Bart Scott, and was used as the dime linebacker in schemes involving six pass defenders."

About how Brashton impressed them right away, Pettine said:
"You talk about our mentality to play like a Jet -- passionate, tough, competitive, play like your hair's on fire. When he came in, he was in great shape. He impressed us right away. It was evident after a day we needed to switch him out and get him to (training) camp and send another player home. That's what we did. We're looking forward to a pretty good camp for Brashton." (HSA)

About how he will spend 4 days in Hawaii and then return to the East Coast to prepare for the start of training camp in 3 weeks, Brashton said:
"I'm very fortunate." (HSA)

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