It’s one of the most common pieces of advice for any college student: In a competitive job market, you have to do something to stand out. Charlie Coggins did, and while his creativity may not be why the Panthers ultimately called, it certainly didn’t hurt.
Coggins, East Carolina’s long snapper the past three seasons, is one of 25-35 tryout players who have a shot to continue working toward their dream this weekend. Those invitees will join Carolina’s five draft picks and a handful of qualifying Panthers at the team’s two-day rookie minicamp.What makes Coggins’ story interesting isn’t that the Albermarle, N.C. native has already met Ron Rivera. The how he met Rivera is what’s truly amusing.
Coggins wasn’t invited to February’s combine, but he went to Indianapolis anyway. The marketing major wanted to get his name out there, and since he couldn’t do it on the field, he went where coaches and scouts spend their second most time in Indy: the bar.
Before making the trip, Coggins had a batch of beer koozies custom-made with his name, position, height, weight and school printed on the side. He also included a business card with his contact info. And according to Ron Clements of Sporting News, Rivera was the first recipient of a Coggins’ koozie.
As more of the purple beer jackets started popping up around Indy, reporters noticed and took to Twitter. The ones left in a bar bathroom went an especially nice touch.[vc_row_inner no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”none”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]
There aren’t many jobs if you want to play in the NFL. 90 guys are allowed on 32 rosters at this time of the year, which equals 2,880 spots. And there certainly isn’t a high demand for long snappers. But even if Coggins’ can’t carve out a career in the pros, at least his marketing future looks bright.
When their 10 undrafted free agents officially sign on Thursday, the Panthers will have 86 players on the roster. That leaves four spots open, and at least a couple of those could go to players invited to tryout this weekend.
The Panthers haven’t yet released their list of invitees, but here are a few other names mined from Twitter:
And if you’re wondering how much of a chance the tryout guys have, it’s tough to tell. In 2013, the Panthers asked five back, but last year, it was just one.