It's the time of the year when long-shot candidates emerge in NFL camps all around the league.
As far as fitting that profile around Redskin Park, remember speedy kick returner Winston October back in 2001? How about the rugged Canadian, Jessie Lumsden, from last season?
Both of those guys were fan favorites in the summer before eventually failing to stick with the team.
This summer, when you make the trip out to Ashburn for summer camp, you may want to keep an eye on Alex Buzbee, a determined defensive end out of Georgetown.
The former Hoya standout earned the attention of Redskins coaches early this summer. He hopes for a better NFL future than October and Lumsden, both of whom are in the CFL.
In reference to Buzbee, head coach Joe Gibbs has said: "What you can have in him is a situational pass-rusher guy. He fits that category. He has caught our eye out here. He is very, very quick.
"Some guys out here continue to grow or add weight. Some of the quick guys have made a real impact on football team because they fit that category of being a pass rusher. That's where he has a chance. We'll see how it goes."
Added Gregg Williams, mastermind of the team's defense, back in the May rookie camp: "Alex is a guy you should keep your eye on. We don't care whether you're a free agent or a first-round draft choice. Players earn positions. Alex had a strong spring for us."
Asked about his chances, Buzbee said: "I just have to make plays, do something to let the coaches know that I belong, whether that's beating a guy on a pass rush or making a play in the run game or just hustling. Our coaches love hustle. They film everything and really scrutinize it."
The young man from Chester, N.J., added: "The first thing that Coach Gibbs said to us when we walked in was, 'I don't care how you got here, I care if you can play.'
"It didn't work out for me as far as going to a big-time football school out of high school, but I had a pretty good career at Georgetown and they're giving me a shot here."
Georgetown is no stranger to NBA rosters, of course, but in terms of the NFL it's another matter. The last Hoya player to make it to the NFL was Jim Ricca, the center who played for the Redskins in the early '50s. A resident of Fairfax, Va., Ricca passed away earlier this year at the age of 79.
As we all know, the jump from a Division I-AA program to the NFL is a huge one but it's certainly not an impossibility. Proving as much last year was Hofstra wide receiver Marques Colston.
At Georgetown, Buzbee earned All-Patriot League honors for three straight years: second-team in 2004 and 2005 and first-team during his senior season in 2006. But his teams went just 13-31 over four years.
The stat pages say that in his senior campaign he tied for second on the team in tackles with 75 and throughout his four years at Georgetown he accumulated 176 career stops and 27.5 sacks.
One of eight players to be signed as an undrafted free agent with the Redskins this offseason, Buzbee in 2006 was one of Georgetown's co-captains and recipient of the prestigious No. 35 Joe Eacobacci Memorial Jersey.
That distinction is presented annually to the most exemplary member of the team in honor of the former Georgetown player killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
