Ex-WVC standouts getting pro shots

Two former area high school football standouts – Berwick’s Mike Viti and Williamsport’s Darrell Blackman – signed free agent contracts with NFL teams after not being selected in this past weekend’s NFL draft.

Viti, a fullback from Army, signed with the Buffalo Bills. Blackman, a receiver/returner from North Carolina State, signed with the Detroit Lions.

Viti started two years at Army and was known as a crushing lead blocker. The 5-foot-10, 242-pounder holds the team’s bench-press record, lifting 470 pounds. He also started six games as a sophomore.

“We were driving to go eat and Buffalo had given me a call. It was early in the seventh round,” Viti said . “They said, ‘We might take you with our next pick.’ I took it for what it was worth. They called again right before their pick and said, ‘We’re either going to take you or another player. But if we don’t take you, we want to sign you as a free agent. We really want you and want you to know that.’

“Right after the draft was over they called again and they laid it out. They said, ‘You’re the guy we want and you’re the only rookie fullback we’re going to bring in (to mini camp).’”

While at Berwick, Viti was considered one of the top linebackers in the Wyoming Valley Conference as well as the Northeast Pennsylvania Football Conference, the two-year merger of the WVC and Lackawanna Conference in 2000 and 2001.

Viti, who will wear No. 49, is one of three fullbacks on the Bills’ roster. The others are seven-year veteran Darien Barnes, who was signed in January after being released by the New York Jets; and first-year player Jonathan Evans, who spent the last seven weeks of the season on the Bills’ practice squad after being released by the Tennessee Titans.

Blackman was one of the top return specialists in the ACC this past season, finishing second in punt return average (12.4) and sixth in kick return average (22.5). He also finished with 41 receptions to tie for the team lead and saw action at tailback early in his college career.

Blackman was a two-time, first-team all-state selection as a running back. He was selected the WVC Division I MVP in 2002 after rushing for 2,323 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound Blackman will likely have to make the Lions’ roster as a returner. Aveion Cason was the Lions’ top kick returner once he rejoined the team after being cut in the preseason. Troy Walters, the Lions’ top punt returner, is currently an unrestricted free agent.