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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
McCareins, Dekker End Wild Sunday Signing With NFL Squads
April 30, 2006 | Football
April 30, 2006
An emotional day for first-team All-America selection Jay McCareins ended with a signed contract between the 2005 Princeton team MVP and the upstart Arizona Cardinals. Fellow first-team All-Ivy selection Jon Dekker also ended his day with an NFL contract, although it wasn't quite with one of the league's upstart franchises. It was with the defending Super Bowl champion.
McCareins, whose Sunday was "filled with ups and downs," spoke with several teams during the day, including a couple who indicated they might be drafting the Division I-AA leader in interceptions this season. None of those teams went on to draft him, but upon the completion of the draft, six teams spoke with McCareins' agent in hopes of signing him to a deal. Among those teams were Carolina, Detroit and Chicago, but in the end, McCareins felt most comfortable with Arizona.
"I am extremely excited to start fresh in Arizona," McCareins said Sunday night. "They told me they weren't drafting any cornerbacks or safeties, and they didn't. I'll get a chance to go in there and prove myself as an athlete and competitor on both the defense and the special teams."
McCareins is Princeton's second first-team All-America selection this century, following Taylor Northrop's selection in 2001. He is the first non-kicker to make the All-America first team since running back Keith Elias made it in 1993.
McCareins was the ultimate playmaker for a Princeton squad that won seven games for the first time since 1995. He scored four touchdowns this season despite not gaining one offensive yard all season. He returned interceptions for scores in wins over Lafayette and San Diego, and he returned a missed field goal 100 yards for a score in the season-ending 30-0 win over Dartmouth. His biggest play, and arguably the biggest play in the last decade of Princeton football, came when he returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown for the winning margin in a 27-24 victory at Harvard. The final play of his career, fittingly, was an interception, the ninth of his season and 18th of his brilliant career. While McCareins was the leader of the Tiger defense this season, Dekker grew into the leader of the receiving corps as the starting tight end. He led Princeton with 32 receptions and four touchdowns, both of which were career highs. He averaged 11.5 yards per catch and scored touchdowns in crucial consecutive victories, a 20-17 overtime win against Cornell and the 30-13 win at Penn, Princeton's first victory over the Quakers since the 1995 season.
Dekker felt confident he would end up with an NFL contract by the end of the weekend, and he even figured it would come in the state of Pennsylvania. After completing an individual workout with the Philadelphia Eagles, and one day after another potential suitor, New England, drafted two tight ends, Dekker figured he would making the trip down Rt. 95 to Philadelphia. Instead, Pittsburgh was the first team to call Sunday, and Dekker ended up feeling better about the Steelers offer. Like the one McCareins signed, Dekker received a guaranteed signing bonus and will have a chance to earn a multi-year deal during mini-camp and training camp.
"To sign with the world champions is very exciting," Dekker said. "To be with such a great organization and to have the chance to play for Coach Cowher is a great opportunity for me. I'm looking forward to getting going with the Pittsburgh Steelers and doing everything I can to try and make the roster."