State of Sports: Maybe an NFL GM will recognize what Dylan Laube has become
Apr. 25—THE QUESTION has been asked many, many times, but never really answered: Why didn't Dylan Laube receive more scholarship offers coming out of Westhampton Beach (New York) High School?
Laube had plenty of offers to play Division I college lacrosse, but limited opportunities to play Division I college football.
"For lack of a better (explanation), he was playing small-town football with a neck roll," said former UNH assistant coach Chris Setien, who successfully recruited Laube to play running back for the University of New Hampshire. "It was my first year recruiting Long Island and I remember a guy sent me (Laube's) junior tape. He was number 40 and he wore a neck roll. It was funny because you didn't see running backs with the Mike Alstott neck roll at the time. You can probably still find his hudl (highlights) online.
"Nobody was on this kid. Nobody. I think he had some Brown (University) interest, but no other offers. He's in Stony Brook's backyard and they didn't touch him. Looking back at it, it was probably his size and he was not a true downhill running back."
The fact that he's not a move-the-pile running back may work in Laube's favor Saturday, when he hopes to be selected on the final day of this year's NFL Draft. Laube, who's listed at 5-foot-10 and 206 pounds, offers NFL teams a package of speed and athleticism they can use to return kicks and catch passes out of the backfield or as a slot receiver. Handing him the football might not be a bad option, either.
Versatile may be the adjective that best describes Laube's football ability. You'd get a popsicle headache if you pored over all the stats he compiled during his UNH career. Perhaps all you really need to know is that he led the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in all-purpose yardage during his junior and senior seasons.
Laube averaged 194.3 all-purpose yards per game as a junior, and increased his production to 209.5 all-purpose yards per game last season — 41 yards more than the No. 2 player on that list. Laube's receiving skills — and his ability to make defenders miss after the catch — was on display when he caught 12 passes for 295 yards in a 45-42 loss to Central Michigan last season. He was an exceptional kick returner on punts and kickoffs in college as well, a fact that no doubt has made him that much more appealing to NFL teams.
He showed similar skills before he landed at UNH.
"Dylan was a great player for us," said Westhampton Beach head coach Bryan Schaumloffel, who was the team's offensive coordinator when Laube was in high school. "A three-way player — offense, defense and special teams. In fact, we had several times where he'd be on kickoff return and their kicker would kick it to him, and you would hear their coach across the field going, 'I told you not to kick it to Laube! Kick it to anybody but Laube!' Sure enough, he'd return it for a touchdown. That happened a couple times one year.
"The same thing with punt returns. He was just the type of kid where every time he touched the ball it was a highlight film clip waiting to happen.
"I know he was a great pass receiver for UNH, and in the pros they like that about him, too. He has great hands. He played varsity football as a freshman for us, and he actually led the team in receptions with 25. A lot of the same type of routes that he probably ran at UNH.
"One of the things that probably doesn't get talked about about Dylan is he is a great blocker. He is by far the best blocking skill player we've ever had at Westhampton. He made the other kids running the ball look pretty good with him blocking. I know in the NFL one of the questions is, 'Can he pass block?' Because that's such a big part of the NFL game, the running back blocking to protect the quarterback, and I have no doubts that he'll succeed with that too."
No one from UNH has been taken in the NFL Draft since Seattle chose defensive lineman Jared Smith in the seventh round in 2013, but that could change Saturday. Laube was impressive in Senior Bowl workouts, and then seemed to improve his draft stock with his performance at the NFL Combine as well.
"He made himself a roster with his workout, likely moving into Round 6 or 7 territory," ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said after Laube posted the following combine numbers:
—40-yard dash: 4.54 seconds
—10-yard split: 1.52 seconds
—Vertical jump: 37 inches
—Broad jump: 9 feet, 10 inches
—3-cone drill: 6.84 seconds
—20-yard shuttle: 4.02 seconds
—Bench press (225 pounds): 23
"I was there (at the combine)," said Bill Parry, Laube's high school football coach. "Not only did he belong, he looked like one of the best kids on the turf at the time.
"I saw him in elementary school, and even in phys ed class he was the most competitive kid you've ever seen. Obviously he's a great athlete, but that translated into a lot of his success. The fact that he was so driven and so competitive ... that was his advantage.
"I do think if Dylan went to a bigger place, he would have done just as well. He was just faster and more athletic than everybody he played with."
Parry said Green Bay is among the NFL teams that reached out to him while doing their pre-draft research on Laube.
"Several teams have sent me a questionnaire during the process," he said. "Basically it's, 'Is he a good kid? What's his character?' That kind of thing. Much more off the field.
"This is a small community, and I can't tell you how excited the community is that there's a chance this is going to happen. It's a big deal."
Parry said he's not sure, but he believes Laube's first scholarship offer came from the University of Albany. It was to play lacrosse.
Notre Dame, Rutgers and North Carolina were among the other schools that extended scholarship offers to Laube for lacrosse, but college football coaches were hesitant. UNH was his only Division I offer for football.
"I tried to get him to visit those schools because I know how he is," said Kyle Laube, Dylan's father. "Once he got there, he could walk on and then earn a (football) scholarship. He didn't end up taking any visits. He said, 'If they don't want me for football I don't want to go.' He was always football first.
"Then UNH came along, and they were the only one. He's loyal. That's why he didn't leave (transfer) after his junior year."
Setien, who is now the head coach at Suffield (Connecticut) Academy, said whenever he watched Laube play at Westhampton Beach, it wasn't long before Laube was in the end zone. He was sold on Laube's character as well.
"It was kind of like, 'What's wrong with this kid that nobody else is on him?' Setien recalled. "And we couldn't find anything. He was a UNH kid. That's what I kept saying, and we offered him.
"Recruiting is all about projection. I said the worst-case scenario with that kid when we were recruiting him is he's going to play on every special team, he's going to help our culture and he's going to be a positive influence to his teammates.
"He never underestimated anyone because I think he felt underestimated his whole career. The kid is a rock star. To this day, he's still one of the best kids I've ever coached. If it was the neck roll that scared everybody away, I'm glad it did."
