Happy Birthday to New England Patriots Kyle Van Noy, Eric Kettani

The Duke, Gino Cappelletti is not the only Patriot born on March 26. Kyle Van Noy and Eric Kettani are also among a group of present or former Boston/New England Patriots to be born on this date. Mr. Patriot is such a significant story of the Pats that he deserved his own column. Here is a look at other Patriots born today.

Kyle Van Noy, 26 (3/26/1991)
Patriot OLB, 2016-
Uniform #53

Van Noy was a versatile high school athlete who lettered in four sports. His senior year he had ten tackles for a loss, six forced fumbles, 14 sacks and a pick six. Van Noy also caught 35 passes 731 yards and 18 touchdowns. After leading his team to a 14-0 record and state championship he was recruited by more than a dozen colleges, choosing BYU.

At Brigham Young he registered 226 total tackles, 62 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, 17 forced fumbles and seven interceptions. The Detroit Lions drafted him in the second round of the 2014 draft, 40th overall. Things got off to a bad start almost immediately.

Van Noy suffered the first injury of his football career in training camp. After undergoing surgery he missed the first eight games of the season. Upon return he was used sparingly. Van Noy was on the field for a mere 54 defensive snaps the final nine games of the season (including a playoff game) and finished the season with six total tackles.

The writing was on the wall. At the following year’s combine Detroit GM Martin Mayhew had this to say when asked about Van Noy’s future:

“That’s totally up to him. He can have a huge role if he has a great offseason and plays great. If he doesn’t have a great offseason, and doesn’t play great, then his role won’t be as big.”

“I think a lot of times with young players, not him specifically, but they come from a place where they’ve been great players and super stars and then they come into a new team and now they have to work their way up and play special teams and do things they didn’t do in college. Sometimes that’s an adjustment. But really, it’s totally up to him as to how he performs and how he is feeling and all those things.”

A Detroit beat writer speculates that due to injuries to DeAndre Levy and other Lion linebackers, Van Noy was asked to do too much too soon. After seven games with varying roles Van Noy was traded to New England on October 25, 2016. The Patriots gave up virtually nothing for the linebacker. The Pats only had to move down slightly (24 spots) very late in the draft for his services. Detroit received just a sixth round pick (215th overall) in exchange for Van Noy and a seventh rounder (239th overall).

Van Noy began his tenure with the Pats as a healthy scratch while learning a new defense. Just over three months after being unceremoniously dumped, he was celebrating a Superbowl victory. By season end Van Noy was on the field for as much as 82% of the snaps, and recorded six tackles and half a sack in the playoffs.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0z0MddzkYs[/embedyt]

Eric Kettani, 26 (3/26/1991)
Patriot FB, 2009-12, 2015
Uniform #44, #34, #36

The 5’9? 240 pound back was one of three players from Navy that the Patriots signed as undrafted free agents in May of 2009. All had to fulfill their military commitments first, and Kettani was activated from the Pats’ Reserve/Military list in May of 2011. He was released as part of the final camp cuts that September, then signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers.

In October he was denied leave from the Navy and had to return to active duty, but the Patriots re-signed him the following spring. Kettani was then cut again at the end of camp in 2012. The Pats added him to the practice squad on September 1, but released him four days later to make room for OL Jeremiah Warren. Kettani later spent time on practice squads with Washington, Kansas City and Jacksonville.

The Patriots re-signed Kettani in August of 2015, but was let go later that month as part of roster cutdowns. Kettani rejoined the Naval Academy in 2015, working in the Public Affairs Office. He also paints, selling his artwork online.

John Cagle, 70 (3/26/1947)
Patriot DE, 1969
Uniform #62

Cagle was a first team All-ACC defensive tackle at Clemson in 1968. The Patriots took a flyer on 6’3″ 260 lb lineman, drafting him 344th overall in the 14th round of the 1969 draft. Clive Rush originally planned on converting Cagle to guard or linebacker and he impressed enough to end up on the taxi squad. Half way through the season he was promoted to the active roster and appeared in six games at defensive end. Cable returned for the 1970 training camp, but those six games were the extent of his NFL career.

Bill Murphy, 71 (3/26/1946)
Patriot WR, 1968
Uniform #31

Murphy attended Cornell, where he set Ivy League single-season records with 50 receptions for 853 yards and nine touchdowns. He was Cornell’s MVP in 1967, and his 163 yards receiving against Harvard was a school record that stood for 25 years. The Patriots signed Murphy in 1968 as a rookie free agent but he was released in training camp. He joined the the Lowell Giants of the old Atlantic Coast League. With things going south in his final season as head coach, Mike Holovak signed Murphy to the roster.

Although not blessed with blazing speed, Murphy had good moves and sure hands. Murphy played the final six games of the 1968 season for the Patriots, starting five times. He ended up with 18 receptions for 268 yards, averaging 14.9 yards per reception. In week ten he had four receptions for 72 yards at Kansas City, and followed that up the next week with four catches for 74 yards against Miami. Murphy returned the following summer but did not make the 1969 roster.

With his pro football career over Murphy put his Ivy League education to good use. He worked on Wall Street, specializing in commodities futures and later opened his own brokerage firm. In 1998 he co-founded the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, where he is the chairman. That organization was organized to expose, oppose, and litigate against collusion to control the price and supply of gold and related financial instruments. Murphy still works as a financial adviser, specializing in investments in gold and silver.

Jimmy Raye, 71 (3/26/1946)
Offensive Coordinator, 1990

Raye had a very brief NFL career, appearing in two games over two years with the Rams and Eagles. He then spent six years as a college assistant coach. In 1977 he began a 37-year career as an NFL coach. Over that time he changed teams fifteen times with titles ranging from position coach to offensive coordinator to senior offensive assistant.

1990 was the bottom of the abyss in the history of the Patriots. Raye was the OC of a team that went 1-15, distracted by the Lisa Olson scandal.

Incredibly that is not the most embarrassing mark on Raye’s résumé. He is currently a senior adviser to Roger Goodell’s right hand man and mouthpiece, NFL vice president Troy Vincent. How he lives with himself, I do not know.