Rembert looking for shot

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Former Cudahy star hoping to land a spot in the NFL
By BOB McGINN
[email protected]
Posted: April 14, 2007

Green Bay - Fresh from a record-setting season at Illinois State after an unfulfilled three years at Michigan, workhorse running back Pierre Rembert is eager to prove that he can make it in the National Football League.



Rembert, an all-state selection with an 8.3-yard rushing average and 29 touchdowns at Cudahy High School in 2001, figures to get that chance in two weeks as a late-round draft choice or free agent.

"I feel my chances to get drafted are pretty good," Rembert said last week. "I had a pretty good season and also a pretty good pro day. My agent thinks I'll at least get into a camp. The Packers have actually shown a lot of interest, but they're not as interested as some teams. The Bears are really interested."

Rembert, 5 feet 11 1/2 inches and 221 pounds, set an Illinois State record last season when he rushed for 1,743 yards in 355 carries (4.9 average). He surpassed 100 yards in 12 of 13 games and scored 17 touchdowns as the Redbirds advanced to the Division I-AA playoff quarterfinals.

Starting five of 10 games in 2005, his first season at Illinois State, Rembert carried 145 times for 801 yards (5.5) and 12 touchdowns.

"He runs hard," a personnel director for an AFC team said. "He's just not big enough or fast enough to get it done. He just runs really hard."

Rembert, 23, didn't expect to attend college growing up and admits he kind of went along with the crowd of people who were clamoring for him to follow in the footsteps of former Cudahy quarterback John Navarre by attending Michigan. He picked the Wolverines over Wisconsin and Northwestern.

After a redshirt year, Rembert carried 21 times for 89 yards behind Chris Perry in 2003 and then eight times for 46 yards behind Mike Hart in '04 before transferring.

"I had a great time at Michigan," Rembert said. "I learned a lot. It was just time for me to move on. It was a lot of stuff, a lot of personal stuff. It was a great move."

Although Michigan later would change from an isolation-power type of ground game to a zone scheme, Rembert found a perfect fit almost immediately under ISU coach Denver Johnson.

"When I came here it was a zone team, which basically is what I did in high school," he said. "I was always accountable. I just wasn't comfortable in that offense (at Michigan). It showed in my demeanor and my play. It was frustrating, to a point."

Rembert, who has 4.64-second speed in the 40-yard dash, reluctantly left school this winter for 2 1/2 months of training in New Orleans. He is two classes short of a degree in economics and hopes one day to own a bar-restaurant.

"Football is really important to me because I've been doing it my whole life," he said. "But if I had to walk away from football, my life wouldn't miss a beat."
 

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