He started the last game, played well and hopes to earn a full-time starting job for next football season. But football is a business and Azumah, who got some tips on life in the NFL from New York Jets linebacker Dwayne Gordon '92, saw it up close when Tom Carter, a starter, was cut from the team with three games left. It's definitely eye-opening. In college, you pretty much know you're secure. In the NFL, you're never secure.
Nothing is guaranteed.
Krog has seen his sport's business side, too. His first season of pro hockey was literally full of ups and downs. Originally signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders , he started in Lowell in the minor leagues. He was called up to the Islanders twice for short stints, finally returning to Providence where he could get more ice time than in Lowell. In November he lost a tooth and chipped several others, and despite a doctor's advice returned to play the next game.