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Browns Sign Canadian Football Player After Just a YouTube Video

by Caleb Johnson on May 4, 2010 at 04:30 PM

Browns Sign YouTube Football Star
Late in the Oscar-winning football drama, 'The Blind Side,' Michael Oher's adopted brother puts together a reel of clips and burns it onto a DVD for scouts. College coaches like Nick Saban are wowed as they watch the young man on their computer screens. Apparently, that isn't fiction: In one of the most unconventional NFL free-agent signings, the Cleveland Browns recently picked up a player after watching his highlight reel on YouTube.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, a 6-foot-7-inch, 320-pound offensive tackle named Joel Reinders and his agent posted footage from time spent playing football at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. They hoped to gain nothing more than attention from some Canadian Football League (CFL) teams, but Browns' senior scout Jake Hallum and director of college scouting Pat Roberts noticed the video on YouTube, and showed it to head coach Eric Mangini. ''They sent out this YouTube video. There's one picture, his wingspan, he can touch either side of the building. When you see his arms, it's amazing," Mangini told the Beacon Journal.

Last Friday, after participating in a mini-camp, Reinders signed a contract with the Browns. Before YouTube, this never could have happened. Reinders would have slipped through the cracks and been relegated to playing north of the border. Now, we don't expect YouTube or 'The Blind Side'-like situations to completely replace in-person scouting trips, but Reinders' success story is proof that the Internet can help uncover some diamonds in the rough. [From: Akron Beacon Journal, via: Business Insider]

Tags: browns, canada, clevelandbrowns, football, NFL, recruiting, scout, sports, the blind side, TheBlindSide, top, video, youtube

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