RORY BEGGAN and Mark Jackson have both been invited to try-outs for NFL clubs.
The Monaghan and Wicklow goalkeepers were both among the Irish contingent to take part in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis back in March via the International Player Pathway.
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Alongside Charlie Smyth and Darragh Leader, they impressed enough to take part in a subsequent Pro Day in Florida while they were all picked up by agents.
Down star Smyth came away from those events with a contract with the New Orleans Saints, while Jackson, Beggan, and Leader were made to wait.
In the meantime, Beggan and Jackson returned to the Monaghan and Wicklow camps while waiting on their fate to become clearer following the Draft.
And while not a sure thing, both men have been invited to train with NFL teams.
Rory Beggan has flown to North Carolina to train with the Panthers and is one of four try-out players.
He is joined by quarter-back Sean Chambers, and guards Justin Shaffer and Greg Anderson.
Mark Jackson, meanwhile, has travelled to Pittsburgh to try-out with the Steelers.
The 25-year-old was the winner of the Steelers’ first-ever American Football Kicking Clinic, held in April at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin.
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The Wicklow and Baltinglass goalkeeper is currently represented by Rob Roche, who is also the agent for the NFL’s highest paid kicker, Justin Tucker.
Should Beggan and/or Jackson get snapped up by the Panthers and Steelers, it will give a prediction provided by Tadhg Leader a prophetic quality.
Both men launched their NFL dreams through Leader’s ‘Leader Kicking’ initiative, which the former rugby player started to establish a pathway for prospects into elite gridiron football.
And he reassured that, while Smyth was instantly picked up by New Orleans, it did not make for the end of the road for the other hopefuls.
Speaking at Pittsburgh’s first Irish kicking clinic, he said: “What happened with Charlie might have set an unrealistic expectation back here.
“It is very common to get signed after the draft as a kicker or punter. That’s pretty normal.
“The guys who get signed pre-Draft are generally proven veterans who teams want to snap up right away and they are the guys that, up front, get handed all this crazy money.
“What happened to Charlie, the timeline was rapid.
“He is young and has a lot of ability so the Saints jumped on him which they are right to do but most guys get signed after the Draft and I think that is what is going to be the case for Mark and Rory.
“They are firmly still in the race and they are good enough as well. It is a waiting game, which is really tough for everyone involved.
“Rory went 100% on his Pro Day. Didn’t miss a kick.
“Hopefully that is good enough but that might not be good enough because it is the world’s biggest league and the standard is exceptional.
“He is exceptional but there are another 50 or 60 or 70 guys around the world who are exceptional.
“It is tough but the door is still open. Say five days to a week after the Draft we will have a better lay of the land.”
