Michael Gasperson: It Aint Over Till It's Over

Michael Gasperson came in fighting.

Signed as a rookie wide receiver in 2005, he knew that he was going to have to go all in to try to get a roster spot on the team. However, with tense competition at the wide receiver position, he already knew it was going to be hard.

The idea that Gasperson is still competing would have been completely far fetched years ago. Gasperson caught 117 passes and scored 17 touchdowns in three seasons at the University of San Diego. He once had five touchdowns in one game, but he also suffered a serious knee injury.

Then in 2006, despite another solid effort in training camp, Gasperson found himself again on the training squad.

Same result in 2007.

However, when the Eagles played the Saints in Week 6, Gasperson was called up and got some playing time. While most of the game went well for him as he contributed on special teams, he bungled his one chance on an offensive set. A pass from Donovan McNabb bounced off his hands for his one play... and then he came off the field, done for the season.

"First-game jitters, I guess. It was a flat route and I just looked   too soon. That's all it is. I don't have bad hands. I have good hands," said Gasperson. "It's just one of those things. Everybody drops a ball. I was hoping for another chance. You always want to redeem yourself. I came off the field and Coach Reid was like, 'That's your first and last one. You don't get any more of those.'

Gasperson was then sent back down to the training squad, and was cut near the end of the season.

But Gasperson wasn't done with the Eagles yet; he continued to pursue his dream. The Eagles re-signed him early in the off-season, but he was no longer a receiver.

He was signed as a tight end.

"Last year, Coach (Andy) Reid had mentioned some stuff and then on the scout team I was working as Jeremy Shockey and other tight ends and he (Reid) had made some comments. I thought he was joking around, but he ended up being serious about it," said Gasperson. "When I got released before the last week of the season last year, I came in and we talked about and that's when it was official."

This year will almost definitely be Gasperson's last year, his last chance. For him, it's now or never. And when the Eagles whittled down their roster to eighty players, he was still there. Now he will have to compete with L.J. Smith, Brent Celek, Kris Wilson and Matt Schobel. Assuming the Eagles carry three tight ends into the season, Gasperson's main competition will be Wilson and Schobel.

"Being on the practice squad, I don't feel as if it's a rejection," he said. "For them to keep me around for three years, they must see something, you know? I'm just going to keep working and try to perfect my game. If you told me in my junior year of college or even in my senior year of college that I'd be going into my fourth year in the NFL, I would have said, 'No way.' Here I am."

He will have to capitalize on the opportunities that the Eagles are giving him if he realistically plans on making the team.

Gasperson put together a standout effort on his first day of training camp, making one leaping catch and a diving over the shoulder grab to nab a ball before it spiraled out of bounds.

Providing that Gasperson continues his positive progress through the rest of training camp, he may at last have a realistic chance to finally make the team this year. A lot still depends on how well he plays when the pads come on, but Gasperson, who has been steadily gaining weight lately, shouldn't have much of a problem.

Perhaps this is finally Gasperson's year -- his last chance to contribute to a rising Philadelphia Eagles team.

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