Army fullback at ease on playing field; joining Bills
By Allen Wilson -- News Sports Reporter
Updated: 04/30/08 9:15 AM
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- Army fullback Mike Viti will join the Bills.
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Army’s Mike Viti could have been headed for combat in Iraq or Afghanistan after graduation in May. Instead, he’ll be in Orchard Park competing for a job with the Buffalo Bills.
Pending a physical, the senior fullback will sign a contract with the Bills on Friday in time to join the rest of the team’s rookie draft picks and free agents for a three-day minicamp.
Viti and senior safety Caleb Campbell, a seventh-round pick by Detroit, are the first Army football players to benefit from the Alternative Service Option program, which was implemented by the U. S. Army in 2005. The program allows athletes with a chance to play professionally to complete their service by serving as recruiters for two years as long as they remain under contract.
If their careers last more than two seasons, each will have the option of “buying out” the remaining three years of their active-duty commitment in exchange for six years in the U. S. Army Reserve.
Viti and Campbell, who weren’t
aware of the program when they enrolled at West Point, join baseball standouts Nick Hill and Milan Dinga, as well as hockey goalie Brad Roberts as recent West Point graduates enrolled in the program.
“A lot of guys are getting deployed to Kuwait and Iraq,” Viti, who would have been a field artillery officer, said Tuesday during a national conference call. “That’s where I’d be if I didn’t have football. We’re just fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be a big influence, and that opportunity becomes a driving force.”
The Naval and Air Force academies require two years of active service upon graduation before presenting the option of swapping the final three years of active time for six years in the reserves.
Viti and Campbell initially received some backlash from cadets. Some of them face the prospect of fighting in Iraq, where more than 4,000 servicemen and women have been killed in a war that’s been going on for more than five years.
Viti and Campbell insist they aren’t shunning their duty to this country by playing pro football.
“I think a lot of people have the misconception that if you’re not getting bullets slung by your head, that you’re not serving your nation in a time of war,” said Viti, a regimental commander whose paternal and maternal grandfathers served in the Army during the Korean War. “There are service support branches in the Army for a reason. Combat arms is what I decided to do, but that doesn’t mean my service is going to be any less because when you start to split hairs on it, you start to demean some of the other branches of the U. S. Army.
“I’m cognizant of the fact that I represent more than just the Buffalo Bills, but also the United States Army. I just have to do the best I can and serve in multiple facets. I don’t look at it as backing away from my commitment because I still am serving my country in the role of a recruiter. My service to my nation won’t be done when I’m done with the Buffalo Bills because no matter if I spend one day or 10 years in the NFL, I plan on serving my nation when my career is over.”
Viti sought the advice of several officers at the academy before arriving at his decision.
“A lot of them were able to mentor me through the process and iron out some of the difficulties I did have,” he said. “There’s a time where you decide if you go full steam ahead with this because it’s one of those decisions you can’t go halfway on. You either go all the way or not at all.”
New Bills coordinator Turk Schonert is reintroducing the fullback in the offense. That’s why Buffalo is intrigued by Viti, a powerfully built 5- foot-10, 242-pounder with a low center of gravity that allows him to get good leverage on his blocks.
He runs the 40-yard dash in the 4.8-second range, but he is a technically sound blocker. He also is very strong. He bench pressed 225 pounds 34 times at his Pro Day and set a school record by bench pressing 470 pounds.
“He’s a good blocker between the tackles,” Doug Majeski, the Bills’ coordinator of college scouting, said on the team’s Web site. “He’s a classic isolation fullback that will go up there and hit somebody in line.”
Viti, Army’s team captain last season, played in 45 career games with 28 starts. He had 91 carries for 321 yards and three touchdowns (two last season). He has dealt with knee problems, and had surgery after his sophomore season. But Viti never missed a game in his Army career.
“I feel that what I can bring to the table certainly suits what the Buffalo Bills envision doing with their offense,” he said. “Hopefully, I’m able to prove that through these camps and through the season.”
Buffalo already has veteran free-agent fullback Darian Barnes and 2007 practice squad member Jonathan Evans on the roster, so Viti knows he’s fighting tough odds.
“I think it will be one of the many things that helps drive me,” he said. “Certainly, coming from the academy, you don’t get caught up in things like that. It’s not really about the publicity or whether you get drafted or not. It’s about having your opportunity and being fortunate enough to be in this situation.”
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The Bills have yet to release the names of all their rookie free agents, but the signings that have been confirmed from other outlets include: linebacker Joe Brockington (Notre Dame), quarterback Luke Drone (Illinois State) and offensive lineman Robert Felton (Arkansas).
Meanwhile, free-agent linebacker Donnie Spragan met with Bills officials Tuesday. The seven-year veteran left town without a contract, but a deal is still possible. Spragan, who has played for Denver and Miami, visited Pittsburgh last week.
