Penn State linebacker Jesse Luketa has spent almost his entire life watching football. It’s Sunday afternoon and the NFL is roaring out of his TV, players and coaches scrambling around on a box in front of him, but they live in a world so unlike his own.
And maybe at some point – like we all do – Luketa yells at his TV about a play or a missed call, something that didn’t go the way he wanted. You can yell at the TV because the people on the other side can’t hear you, these players and coaches operating a world away. Functionally you know that they’re real, but they don’t feel real because most everything in our TV doesn’t feel real.
But fast forward to Thursday afternoon and everything is different as Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, is just sitting there cross-legged on the ground with Luketa and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, just talking.
And they keep talking, the minutes ticking onward, five, 10 and then 15. It’s like three pals catching up, except for Luketa and Ebikeite they’ve never met Quinn before. They’ve seen him on TV, but now he’s right there in the flesh, asking about their futures as football players and men.
“It’s a blessing honestly, to just be in this position,” Luketa said later on Thursday. “You know, for me having watched these guys on Sundays to now you know, they’re here scout with me to potentially be selected come and join their organization. It’s surreal.”
For those keeping track at home, the Cowboys drafting Luketa would reunite him with former teammate turned defensive rookie of the year Micah Parsons. On paper it would be a fun match to watch unfold, on the field it could be even more enjoyable. Of course the draft is a fickle time, and with Dallas holding four picks in the fifth round alone [as of Friday], there will be plenty of time for Luketa to join his old teammate.
Either way, back to the conversation, it’s a weird time to be Jesse Luketa, somewhere between the college kid watching the NFL on TV – and Jesse Luketa the future NFL player, talking to coaches who one day might turn into his colleagues.
“Just to be able to chop it up with a guy like Dan Quinn,” Luketa said reflecting, Cowboys’ head coach Mike McCarthy also in the building. “I kind of made him laugh. I told him listen, I don’t see why not, why wouldn’t you want to pair me and Micah?”
Does it happen? Time will tell, especially with owner Jerry Jones at the helm.
“I mean, listen, [Parsons] pushed it all the way up to Jerry. So now we’re gonna wait and see,” Luketa said with a laugh.
