Browns Invite 54 Tryout Players

The Browns today announced that 54 players have been invited to Berea to participate in this weekend's rookie mini-camp.

As we tracked invitees to rookie camp throughout this week, we've been surprised as the sheer number of players who were headed to Cleveland. By Tuesday, we had already come up with more names than we typically see over two years. In fact, they were so numerous that we stopped providing front page updates on it two days ago, although we've continued to track reports via the forums.

It turns out that the Browns have invited in an unheard-of number of undrafted rookies to try out for the team. There are 54 players who have been invited, according to the list provided by the Browns this afternoon.

Bringing this many players into camp is rare, to say the least. The team will spend the next couple of days looking at these players to see if any have a chance to help them this season and in the future.

One would assume that a reason that most teams don't invite in this many players is that their coaching staff would be spread thin looking at this number of players in three days. The Browns, however, are clearly trying something different, and perhaps it will payoff if a needle can be pulled out of this haystack.

Honestly, I don't think the Browns looked at nearly this many tryout players even as an expansion team in 1999.

Here are the players who have been invited to camp. The list includes Jonathan Zenon, who was surprisingly not signed by any club as a rookie free agent:

RB DeShawn Baker, South Carolina State
WR James Banks, Carson-Newman
TE Ben Barkema, Iowa State
DB Darrius Battles, Louisiana-Monroe
RB J.J. Bennett, Colgate
OL Nathan Bennett, Clemson
TE Brian Bergman, Carthage
DB Demario Bobo, Mississippi State
RB Mark Bonds, Western Michigan
OL Bill Bourdlais, Ferris State
TE Matt Champa, Dayton
TB Lloyd Charles, Colorado
WR Brandon Copeland, Bridgewater
LB Todd DeLamielleure, Hofstra
DB Reggie Dorsainvil, Iona
DL Steve Friend, Central Michigan
OT Mike Galassi, Walsh
QB Tommy Grady, Utah
WR Andrew Hawkins, Toledo
DB Kevin Hoyng, Dayton
WR Nate Hughes, Alcorn State
WR Wynton Jackson, Liberty
DB Milvon James, UNLV
DB Damon Jenkins, Fresno State
DB KiAmeer Johnson, Rhode Island
DB Todd Koenig, Ohio
QB Rich Kovalchek, Vanderbilt
LB Dane Krogstad, Arizona
TE Jamaal Lewis, Arizona State
NT Kyle Lockett, Urbana
LB Asa Matthews, Northern Colorado
LB Xavier Mitchell, Tennessee
LB Nick Moore, Baylor
OL Derrick Morse, Miami (Fla.)
LS Ryan Pentimalli, Minn State (Mankato)
DB Mike Phillips, Pittsburgh
OL Edwin Pinigis, Liberty
WR Chris Schubert, Oberlin
RB Austin Scott, Penn State
WR Joslin Shaw, Florida State
DB Nick Solakian, Yale
OL Brian Stamper, Vanderbilt
LB Dwight Stephenson, Notre Dame
RB Tony Temple, Missouri
FB Lenny Trusnick, Ohio Northern
DB Craig Turner, Southern Illinois
DL Jeff Van Orsow, Oregon State
DB Terrell Vinson, Purdue
DB Marcus Watts, Kansas State
DB Patrick Wells, Ferris State
P Ben Woods, Buffalo
K Rob Zarrilli, Hofstra
DB Alan Zemaitis, Penn State
DB Jonathan Zenon, LSU