List of former Tarleton players in NFL grows to four

By BRAD KEITH, Stephenville Empire-Tribune

STEPHENVILLE - Suddenly Tarleton State has four players on active NFL rosters.

While two-year Texan quarterback Nick Stephens was busy signing with the Tennessee Titans Saturday night, one of his former Tarleton receivers was inking a deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

Saalim Hakim, the younger brother of former NFL standout receiver Az-Zahir Hakim, was at Tarleton for just his junior season after starring at Palomar Junior College (Calif.).

He decided to declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft last year, but missed the deadline and spent 2011 with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.

Hakim, 22, caught just 18 passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns for the 2010 Texans, but he did have a breakout performance - 4 catches, 113 yards and the game-winning TD - at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Hakim never played football before his freshman year at Palomar. He played soccer in high school. His sophomore season he had 28 catches for 379 yards and six scores.

"Saalim isn't one of those guys they're looking at because of their production, he's one of the guys they want because of potential," Tarleton head coach Cary Fowler said of the speedster. "He can fly, he can catch and he's got size. Someone with that much talent, they can't afford not to give a look at him.

"His best football is still way ahead of him. He'll learn more about the game his first week in training camp than he's known his whole life."

The Atlanta native is 6-2, 195 and ran the 40 in a blistering 4.23 seconds at Tarleton's pro day, according to Fowler.
"They draw up a lot of different things in the NFL. One thing they can't draw up is a 4.2 40," Fowler said. "He was mad because he thought he was going to run a 4.1"

They also can't draw up kickers who make 64 yard field goals at the end of playoff games, which is exactly what recent St. Louis Rams signee Garrett Lindholm did in Tarleton's 2009 NCAA playoff win at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Lindholm originally signed with Indianapolis Colts after going undrafted in 2010. He also spent time in camp with the Atlanta Falcons before kicking for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football Leauge and the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League.

Former Tarleton QB Richard Bartel is with the Arizona Cardinals, where he is teammates with Stephenville High School product Kevin Kolb. Bartel also made brief stops with the Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Redskins.

"When you start having former players pop up in the NFL it's huge for your program," said Fowler. "It's big motivation for our current players because they see that it is possible to go from Tarleton to the NFL, and it's also big for our recruiting.

"Coach (Lonn) Reisman and the basketball staff have been doing this for years - sending players to professional leagues all over the globe, and look at how it helps them recruit," Fowler added. "Now we're getting that going in football, too."

For more information regarding the Tarleton football program, check out TarletonSports.com.