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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Patek has two-year deal with CFL team

By Stephen Tsai
HawaiiWarriorBeat.com Editor

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Jacob Patek

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Jacob Patek's football comeback yesterday received a significant boost when he received a contract offer from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.

The contract is for two years. Patek is scheduled to report to training camp in June.

"I'm blown away," said Patek, a safety who last played for Hawai'i in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

Although Patek participated in the 2008 Pro Day in Carson, Calif., his focus was on school. He needed 19 credits to earn a bachelor's degree.

At last year's Pro Day, Patek ran the 40-yard dash in 4.84 seconds and pro-agility drill in 4.43 seconds. He bench pressed 225 pounds 14 times, and had a broad jump of 8 feet 1. He was neither drafted nor invited to a National Football League training camp.

Patek, who earned his degree in December, spent the past three months training at the Ikei Sports Performance center in Scottsdale, Ariz.

At last week's Pro Day, he improved in every category — 40-yard dash (4.58 seconds), pro-agility (4.25 seconds), bench press (22 reps of 225 pounds) and broad jump (9 feet 4).

Patek's performance caught the attention of Richard Wade, the Tiger-Cats' area scout. Through the help of former UH coaches June Jones and Jeff Reinebold, Patek secured a tryout with the Tiger-Cats in Dallas the past Saturday.

"I didn't run my 40, but I did position drills, did a little one-on-ones," Patek said. "I was a little rusty in one-on-ones, but they liked my footwork."

Enough so that he was offered a contract yesterday.

Patek, who is 5 feet 11 1/8 and 210 pounds, was told he will play outside linebacker. Seahawks like Leonard

Former UH linebacker Adam Leonard is expected to be invited to a private workout with the Seattle Seahawks.

The past Monday, Leonard was among 15 pro prospects with ties to the Seattle area who worked out for Seahawk coaches.

Leonard was one of two hopefuls who were given post-workout medical examinations. Leonard, who played through numerous injuries at UH, was given a clean medical evaluation.

At UH's Pro Day last week and the Seahawk workout Monday, Leonard fared well in drills. He credited his good results to Cal Lee, the Warriors' defensive coordinator, and Scott Brantley, who supervised his workouts in Tampa.

"We did a lot of position-specific stuff," Leonard said. "We did a lot of good work down there (in Tampa)."

Agent John Jackson said the Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins have shown the most interest in Leonard.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.