Re: "I didn't care what it was, I just signed it." <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%">Jets give SU tight end a chance</span>Kowalewski doesn't plan on holding anything back in his attempt to land an NFL job.<span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%">Thursday, May 18, 2006By Donnie WebbStaff writer</span>The grim reaper circled the locker room following the third and final day of the New York Jets minicamp last weekend.One by one, bags were packed, the door was shown. For a handful of players, invitations were extended to visit the man upstairs.Syracuse University tight end Joe Kowalewski got one of the rare green tickets. Within moments, he was offered a free agent contract to play for the National Football League team."I didn't care what it was," Kowalewski said of the legal document for employment. "I just signed it."It was a wondrous event for the senior out of Solvay High School. Kowalewski played in eight games last season, barely. He reinjured his shoulder during a breakout performance against Virginia in game three and was never the same.After the season, Kowalewski had more surgery on his shoulder. That sidelined him from working out for NFL teams in the winter and spring. The draft came and went. The phone remained silent. Kowalewski wondered, feared - until the phone rang. The Jets offered an audition, not a contract. Kowalewski jumped."Just to get the call to come down there and try out was a huge relief," Kowalewski said. "Yes, my football career isn't over. All the hard work I put in, coming back from my injury to prove myself and everyone else that I could play at the next level. That call was my next level and I would take it any way I could get it."The bigger issue for Kowalewski was jumping back onto the football field after a layoff and coming off surgery. He had prepped at Syracuse through conditioning and weight training with Will Hicks Jr. He had caught passes on the side from Joe Fields and done agility work with Ryan LaCasse. His shoulder was coming along fine, but stepping onto an NFL practice field cold was tough."When I went on the field, I wasn't going to hold anything back," Kowalewski said. "I was going all out, hustle, let them know I'm here to play. It didn't matter. I was going to do whatever it took to get that contract."Kowalewski remains on Long Island, living out of a hotel near Hofstra University and the Jets training facility. He has no idea how long he'll be there. He does not care. At the moment, his dream survives the reaper.</div>
