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SALT LAKE CITY — Before James Cowser was forcing sacks with the Oakland Raiders, he was the pride of Davis High and Southern Utah.
Such a background gives Cowser a unique perspective on the Raiders’ announced move to Las Vegas.
“We don’t hear very much, but they told us there was a possibility about a year ago,” Cowser said when stopped by the KSL studio earlier this week.
“When the approval came out, it was interesting. I love Oakland, but Vegas is really close to home and to my schools. There are positives.”
Cowser just finished his rookie season, which he spent in part on the injured-reserve list after a concussion suffered during the NFL preseason. As an undrafted free agent from SUU, he was used to having to prove himself a little more than top draft picks.
But not being able to prove himself on the field while he sat through a league-mandated three-week-off period was frustrating.
“Being an undrafted free agent, you feel like the world is against you,” Cowser said. “The Raiders organization is very good about playing the best people; we had a lot of undrafted free agents play this year. But it still felt like everyone is against you — and being able to make an impact made me realize I could do it.”
After he was bypassed in the NFL draft last April, Cowser immediately began hearing from a variety of teams via his agent. It took him only a few minutes to finally settle on the Raiders — and he went on to see time in six games at defensive end for Oakland.
“I thought I was getting drafted; everyone I talked to told me so,” Cowser said. “But you don’t have much time to reflect. Even in the late rounds, you’re getting calls from teams that want you to go to them if you fall out (of the draft).”
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“They had me doing social media, just blow it up and bring attention to it,” he said. “It was 13 hours a day of straight fun.”
With another round of NFL hopefuls coming through the draft this month, Cowser has some advice for each of them — but especially the 2017 college players who think they will be drafted, but don’t hear their name come off the board in three days.
“Don’t get too low,” Cowser said. “When the lows come, try to fight out of them. Even if you were drafted in the first round, there’s pressure. All you have to worry about is yourself: how can you get better? Just keep pushing forward.”
Click the video above for the complete interview with Cowser.
