In near-record time, we have brought the first of our 12 draft choices into the Green & White fold today as we have signed seventh-round linebacker Trevor Reilly of Utah.
Reilly, the redshirt senior OLB, had 100 tackles in 12 starts last season for the Utes. Among those tackles were 8.5 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss — and all that while playing on a torn ACL. For his career he spent much time in opponents' backfields, totaling 20 sacks and 37 TFLs, forcing eight fumbles, and coming up with eight opponents' turnovers (6 fumbles, 2 interceptions).
Reilly comes to the Jets as a 26-year-old after spending two years on an LDS mission in Sweden. A reporter asked general manager John Idzik at the end of the draft on Saturday night if his age is what pushed him into the seventh round for us to select him 233rd overall in the draft.
"That may be a factor," Idzik said. "The bottom line is what do you think of him as a player and a person. He fit that way for us."
"From my understanding," Reilly told reporters on a conference call Saturday night, "when drafting comes, there are two things that kind of scare teams off on guys that are rated higher, an injury history and age, and I happen to have a little bit of both. I'm happy to be a Jet, like I said. It is what it is and I'm here now, seventh round. I'm happy to be drafted and I'm happy to be able to play for a great organization."
