This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Focus Health and Fitness sits in the hills of Salt Lake City.
It's one of your more upscale health clubs, and provides a much more cozy atmosphere than average workout spaces. It's much different than the club where everyone fights over the right to use the same treadmill.
It is here, in these intimate surroundings, that Victor Filipe works out each day, with the hope of making it big. Filipe, a former standout at Highland High who later attended the University of Oregon and Western Oregon, works with one goal in mind - to hear his name called during next weekend's NFL Draft.
It's a long shot, and Filipe knows it. But he believes - hopes? - he can be a sleeper pick, someone overlooked during the draft process, but one who makes an impact once he's in training camp.
Filipe has been contacted by the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers, though no team has committed to drafting him. If he does not hear his name called in one of the draft's seven rounds, he's almost certain to receive an invitation to an NFL camp. He'll take it from there.
"I'm going to have a draft party regardless," Filipe said.
Filipe's footwork, size and versatility are what make him a prospect. At 6-foot-2, 300 pounds, he has the quick feet and the burst (he ran a 4.8 40-yard dash at Utah's pro day last month) to play defensive end and possesses the strength and the toughness to play defensive tackle. That versatility is valuable in the NFL.
"Vic is the real deal," said Joseph Barnett, Filipe's agent. "It wasn't hard to sell me on representing him. He's got skills. It's my job to sell teams on him and he makes my job easy."
Filipe is the definition of a player "under the radar" - he is so obscure that some draft boards don't list his correct school. Last season he played at Western Oregon, a Division II school
just outside of Salem and about an hour from the Pacific Ocean that produced tight end Kevin Boss, of the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants.
Filipe began his career at Oregon, where he started five games in his sophomore season, showing promise and providing depth on a very good defensive line. He came off the bench as a junior and seemed ready to start in his senior season, but he dislocated his elbow before the season could begin.
Filipe said Oregon coaches wanted him to come back and play before he was completely healed. Filipe told them he wasn't ready to return, and that he wanted to redshirt.
"They told me that I needed to do what's best for the team, not what's best for me," Filipe said. "They said they couldn't wait that long."
Backed into a corner, and forced to choose, Filipe left Eugene, Ore., and settled on the humble surroundings of Western Oregon.
Humble surroundings that are similar to those at the Salt Lake City gym where Filipe continues to work, continues to chase his dream. And where he waits for his next challenge.