Former Cal Poly receiver makes debut with Rams. Here’s a look at other locals in the NFL
A former Cal Poly football player has been activated by the Los Angeles Rams — and saw his first action on an NFL field on Sunday night.
Former Mustangs receiver J.J. Koski returned a punt seven yards in the fourth quarter in a 28-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Koski had been on the Rams’ practice squad for a year and a half before being added to the active roster as the No. 4 or 5 receiver on the depth chart behind the three starters.
Koski made 12 catches in the Rams’ three preseason games last summer, including eight versus the Las Vegas Raiders, according to a Cal Poly news release.
He started all three preseason contests, catching three passes against the Los Angeles Chargers and one more versus the Denver Broncos.
Koski redshirted for Cal Poly as a freshman in 2015 and then started for Cal Poly between 2016 and 2019.
In his Cal Poly career, he hauled in 121 receptions for 2,311 yards and 18 touchdowns. The San Ramon Valley High School graduate is tied for fifth in program history in touchdowns, No. 5 alone in receiving yards and No. 6 by himself in receptions, according to the release.
“Selected as Cal Poly’s male athlete of the year for the 2019-20 academic year, Koski signed a high priority free agent contract with the Rams hours after the 2020 NFL Draft,” Cal Poly officials noted. “He earned Cal Poly’s most valuable player and most valuable offensive player awards following the 2019 season.”
The 6-1, 195-pound fifth-year senior caught 42 passes for 868 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season as a Mustang in 2019.
Koski was a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection and also was named to Phil Steele’s Big Sky Conference Team, according to Mustangs sports information officials.
Other SLO County NFL professionals
Other players with local ties who have made NFL rosters include Mission Prep graduate Patrick Laird, a running back for the Miami Dolphins, and Paso Robles High graduate Josh Oliver, a tight end for the Baltimore Ravens.
Laird started the season on the Miami Dolphins practice squad and is currently on the active roster after playing in 31 games for the Dolphins in 2019 and 2020.
Laird, who starred at Cal in his junior and senior seasons, has played in two games this season and hauled in a 10-yard catch, according to Dolphins’ stats.
Oliver, a San Jose State standout, has played in eight games this season and caught seven passes for 59 yards for the Ravens. Oliver played in four games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, catching three passes for 15 yards.
Paso Robles High graduate Bailey Gaither, who excelled as a key member of the San Jose State offense in his collegiate career between 2016 and 2019 (redshirting in 2015), was selected as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers.
Gaither retired from football due to personal reasons in August, but reportedly “is training hard and is working to resume his football career, according to league sources,” according to Aaron Wilson, a NFL reporter at Sports Talk 790 at iHeartMedia.
Gaither’s brother, Dylan, is a senior on Paso Robles High’ football team that won its first CIF-Central Section playoff game Thursday 24-21 against Tulare Union.
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