Former Iowa standout Derek Pagel is hoping to play a larger role for the New York Jets this upcoming NFL season. The 2002 second team all Big Ten defensive back appeared in 14 games last season for the Jets, primarily on special teams. He says he just wants to get on the field and get the opportunity to show them that he can do it. Pagel says the only difference in play is that in college you get four or five years to show what you can do, but in the NFL, it’s a day-to-day thing and each day he has to go out and give it his best and hope someone sees what he can do.Pagel was part of the Hawkeye program when it rose from the bottom of the Big Ten at the start of Kirk Ferentz’s tenure to a league championship his senior season. He says Ferentz surrounds himself with good people and everyone believes in him and that’s what it took to turn things around.
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