Cleveland Browns Draft Player From YouTube

We’ve all heard of musicians, actors and dancers being discovered on YouTube. However, who would have thought that the next football star would be discovered via the online video giant? The Cleveland Browns have made football history by signing an undrafted rookie, Joel Reinders, after watching his highlight reel on YouTube.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Reinders, the 6’8″ tall, 320-pound offensive tackle, attended the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada on a basketball scholarship. In fact, it was not until his senior year that he even joined the football team. However, despite his inexperience on the field, Reinders skills really stood out. He caught the attention of Jake Hallum, the Cleveland Browns’ senior scout, and the rest is history.

These days it seems like all of our future stars are being discovered on YouTube. It started out with actors and musicians and now live sports have entered the arena. The television show Glee opened up web auditions to Myspace users, and America’s Got Talent has opened up auditions on YouTube. The web is emerging as one of the most powerful talent scouting platforms of all time.

Do you think YouTube scouting will spread beyond the performing arts and sports? Who will be the next star to be discovered on YouTube?

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.