East Tennessee State University Stars Earn NFL Rookie Minicamp Opportunities

Former ETSU RB Devontae Houston

Running back Devontae Houston and quarterback Cade McNamara have been invited to NFL rookie minicamps after being selected in this year’s NFL draft, giving both of them a chance to play professional football. Houston was one of the best running backs in East Tennessee State University’s history. He was named first-team all-Southern Conference (All-SoCon) for his elite season including 1,000 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. He heads to the NFL with career rushing totals of 417 carries, 2,405 yards and 18 touchdowns and having caught for 45 passes for 314 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns during his 5 seasons at UConn and ETSU.
McNamara is the second player who will have a chance to continue his career with the Tennessee Titans after going undrafted. McNamara is a veteran quarterback who began his collegiate career at Michigan and later transferred to Iowa, finishing up at East Tennessee State University. The veteran quarterback has the experience to perform at the professional level due to having played many years as a college QB. Including all the colleges he played for, McNamara has completed 541 passes for a total of 5,986 yards and 38 touchdowns in his collegiate career, which shows that he possesses the ability to run offenses from different types of schools.

Both players have entered a key part of their football careers and are preparing to play in rookie minicamps as they try to prove to NFL organizations that they deserve a job within that organization. The invitation for these two players to participate in their respective minicamps establishes that the ETSU football program has developed talent good enough to play at the next level.

As Houston and McNamara get ready for their respective minicamps, they are taking with them their résumés, as well as the continuing success and progress of the ETSU football program as an entity within the scope of amateur and professional football.