Among the tryout players during minicamp, the Browns signed the following seven players:

OL Nathan Bennett (Tennessee)
WR Nate Hughes (Alcorn State)
CB Mil'Von James (Nevada-Las Vegas),
CB Damon Jenkins (Fresno State)
LB Asa Matthews (Northern Colorado)
LB Xavier Mitchell (Tennessee)
RB Austin Scott (Penn State)

I'm not too familiar with any of those, outside of Scott. He's a hard runner, but isn't very fast. Also, he's had some serious legal problems.

Because those seven guys were signed, seven had to be cut. On the chopping block were:

RB Kory Chapman (Jacksonville State)
LB Jermaine Dias (Virginia)
CB Jerrid Gaines (Miami, Ohio)
CB Justin Harrison (Illinois)
QB Craig Hormann (Columbia)
OL Robert Powell (Purdue)
OL Eric Young (Tennessee)

So, nothing really severe with who was cut. Chapman was on the Browns' practice squad last year. This has no impact on this year's draft picks for the guys brought in as free agents. They were already under contract and on the team's league-mandated 80-man roster.

Notes…
Since I rip off his notes style, I might as well advertise for my old pal Mike Rasor. If you're interested in Zips recruiting, he always does a great job of seeing who the Zips are looking at. Here's his latest update. And! Congratulations to Rasor as he's about to close out 1L in Akron Law School. While I'd rather take him as a journalist, he's going to be a heck of a lawyer.

Tony Grossi of the PD has some tidbits from minicamp. Interestingly, he mentioned the duo of new Browns from UNLV that Phil Savage took a liking too while scouting cornerback Eric Wright. A tip to Savage: Scout Southern California.

The Browns are holding mandatory minicamps this weeked. They're mostly ho-hum events that allow teammates to reacquaint themselves with other and for drafted rookies to meet their new teammates.

The weekend can be a make-or-break one for the players brought in on a tryout basis with the team. Last season, fullback Charles Ali helped win a roster spot during minicamp. This year, there are 54 tryout players (see list here). That means there's always a lot of inspirational stories by Browns beat writers.

For instance:
- Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram writes about Chris Schubert who is from Oberlin College.

- Marla Ridenour of the Beacon writes about 29-year-old rookie linebacker Todd DeLamielleure.

- Zac Jackson of ClevelandBrowns.com says that tiny running back Tony Temple is one of five running backs trying out this weekend.

Notes…

Phil Savage was extended through 2012. Good move by the organization. It seems like Savage has finally filled the roster with a team he likes after ripping it to shreds the last few years.

If you're a draftophile, at New Era Scouting, we're launching our 2009 rankings on Monday. I got a sneak peek (re: I put some of them together), and things look good in the next draft at offensive line, inside linebacker and safety.

If you haven't yet, check out this video from Ridenour on the team's draft. Some attractive guy (re: me) shot it.