USM's Cameron Tom praised by former Saint Zach Strief

GULFPORT, MS - The New Orleans Saints will officially be marching in to training camp on July 25 and Southern Miss grad Cameron Tom will be in that number.

A former All-Conference USA offensive lineman, Tom is eager to begin his second season with New Orleans. The Baton Rouge native was signed as an undrafted free agent and spent the first six games of the 2017 season on the practice squad. When Washington attempted to sign the rookie center, the Saints gave Tom a pay raise and elevated him to the active roster.

The recently-retired Zach Strief tweeted about Tom on May 7, responding to somebody's question about a Saints offensive lineman that fans will "know about soon."

Strief spent 12 seasons on the offensive line of New Orleans. He talked more about Tom on Monday in Gulfport.

"I think he's a very smart player," Strief said. "I got to spend one year with Cam. He's very talented physically, but he's really sharp. And I think he understands that he's a guy that messes up once. So much of the NFL is can you learn, can you grow from a mistake, can you only make it once? And Cam's a guy that's shown the ability to do that. The more time he has, the fewer mistakes are going to come up. I would never judge a young lineman by their first preseason. I saw a ton of growth in him. He has the physical traits to do it, and obviously as an undrafted free agent is a guy that people aren't going to talk about in his second year. I think he's a little bit of a sleeper. I think he has a ton of talent, a ton of ability. Even if it isn't in New Orleans, I think he's going to catch on somewhere."