On a crisp October evening in Hamden, Connecticut, two high school football teams face off. The crowd roars as the Hamden Hall football team takes the field with the head coach, Joe Linta, slowly jogging behind. Tonight it is all about coaching his team to an undefeated season and getting to the conference championship game. The next day, Linta is in the office talking to NFL executives, negotiating a contract extension for Joe Flacco, and watching film on dozens of Division III football players. Joe Linta is more than a high school football coach and more than a sports agent; he is one a kind. Joe Linta is a sports agent, but more importantly, a talent evaluator and an advocate for players who are overlooked or come from smaller schools. He has a knack for finding the hidden gems of college football, giving players a chance to fulfill their dreams when no one else sees their potential. Linta views these players in a different light by putting them through an intense evaluation process and only signs the best of the best; players who he thinks have the potential for a long NFL career. “It’s more exciting,” Linta says. “Everyone knows who the first and second round picks are and they’re very difficult to get because the agent business is so competitive. So, if you’re right in evaluating a player and, even though he may be a late-round draft pick, he’s going to get big time money, like Joe Flacco did, like Kyle Juszczyk is going to get.”
Evaluating clients before signing them is not typical for most sports agents, but it is what put Linta on the map. Even he admits it is unconventional, but being particular about who he signs has developed his reputation over the last 27 years. If Linta signs a new client, he is worth taking a look at. This reputation is not built overnight, but instead, it is created over his career of representing late-round draft picks who have a lot of value. In an interview by Emily Kaplan, Vikings general manager, Rick Spielman says, “If you get a guy Joe vouches for, you know he is legitimate. Every year, Joe gives us his list of guys. We make sure we check all of them out.” That is the type of respect that not many agents have with teams, especially with the lower tier clients Linta is dealing with. Not only does Linta have the reputation of bringing in the best players, but he also makes it a point to always be truthful with scouts. You can take Linta’s word as gold. When NFL scouts call him asking about the new players he signed, they know they are getting the cold hard facts. “The reputation is something that’s been earned over the last 20-something years.” Linta says, “You just do right by everyone all the time, you never lie, you tell the truth.” Coming from a background of playing defensive back for Yale, coaching college football for nine years, and coaching high school for the last five years, Linta has developed an impressive eye for talent. To find these players, Linta has built a network around him who sends him film of players he might be interested in. What he is looking for, he cannot describe, he says he just knows football and knows how to pick out players with high potential. If Linta likes what he sees, he will do an in-person workout, putting these players through a variety of drills, some that you would expect, but many unconventional. He might watch a player run a 40-yard dash, see a wide receiver run routes, or he may have a player do something unusual, like have a linebacker catch a ball one-handed. He has his methods, he knows what he is looking for, and it works. But it is not all about skill. He evaluates all of these players’ personalities too by screening and interviewing each of them. He says that personality plays a huge factor into whether he will sign a player or not and his standards are much more difficult than an NFL team’s. Linta is very particular; each player must be the full package. However, his pickiness is what makes him so unique and successful. His philosophy is that it is a better use of his time to evaluate players correctly and pick the best players to represent. Every year, Linta gets phone calls about the players he signs for the upcoming draft. This year, Joe Linta is sure to get plenty of calls about a linebacker out of Simon Frasier University, Jordan Herman. Linta describes Frasier as a player who accelerates to the ball, has a lot of power in the lower body, and a solid tackler. Of course, the personality of a player is a huge factor to Linta, so he added that Herman is very impassioned about the game, charismatic, articulate, and is someone he is proud to represent and you want to see him live his dreams. Each year, Linta has a player that he pegs as the one ‘the chosen one’ who he spends a lot of time, effort, and money on. Herman is that guy this year, which is a title that carries a lot of weight. Justin Dunk of Sports Net reports, “Tyler Varga was a ‘chosen one.' Kyle Juszczyk, who went to the Pro Bowl this year, was one. Last year we had a kid, Ryan O’Malley [tight end] from Penn, who is playing for the Raiders now.” Another player that Joe Linta is especially excited about is a tight end out of the University of Buffalo, Mason Schreck. Linta sees big things from Schreck with his size, quickness, and hands. He believes he is the type of player that will be in the league for ten years. In an ultra-high competitive market of sports agents, Linta is in a class of his own. Instead of competing for the high-profile college athletes, he has figured out how to focus on the guys that not many people are talking about and finding the best of them to sign. Joe Linta gives opportunities to the players that deserve it but never thought they had a chance. Usually, it is a success for the sports agent when they sign a new player, but for Joe Linta, the player is lucky to have the opportunity to sign with him. It is no guarantee that you will sign with a team, but every team will take a look at you because they know you check the boxes for character and potential. No other agent that Linta knows about is thoroughly evaluating every player or has the level of year-after-year success. When the 2017 NFL Draft comes around, do not be surprised if you hear Herdman’s or Schreck’s names called. They might be players who no one has heard of, but Linta’s success shows that they are worth taking a chance on.
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August KlattSenior at the University of Michigan studying Economics and Applied Statistics CategoriesArchives |