Representing Mystic And The Chargers At The AFC Championship Game: Jacques Cesaire

By Mike DiMauro, The New London Day, January 16, 2008

He was among us last July as the heat of summer fried his innards for a few days at Poquonnock Plains Park in Groton. That's where Jacques Cesaire, an honorary Mystic guy now, huffed and puffed his way through an offseason workout with his trainers.

And now Cesaire returns to New England this weekend in winter, trying to ruin the winters of most New Englanders with the San Diego Chargers.

Yes, one of us will be playing for them this weekend. Cesaire, a Massachusetts native and Southern Connecticut State grad who spends part of his summers in Mystic, is a starting defensive lineman for the Chargers. He's married to Fitch graduate Jill Murray, whose parents live in Mystic, qualifying him as our region's connection to the AFC championship game.

Cesaire, who will wear No. 74 in white on Sunday, found us by happenstance. And he's sure glad he did. He tells the story like this:
He was spending a recent offseason visiting family in Massachusetts, where he was born, and Connecticut, where his wife was born. He found himself driving more than an hour at times to a Gold's Gym near New Haven to stay in shape.

“I was strong as ever,” Cesaire was saying in a telephone conversation earlier this week. “But I was 315 pounds and could barely move. I needed to find someone new.”

So while at his in-laws' house, he opened the phone book in search of a new trainer.

“All I needed was to get to 'A,'” Cesaire said. “Advantage Personal Training. I saw a picture of a guy's back in the photo and thought, 'Geez, I want my back to look like that.' So I called over there and found out it was just down the street from my in-laws.”

Soon, Cesaire met trainer Greg Drab, who owns the facility with partner Calvin McCoy.

“All the stuff Greg was talking about sounded great,” Cesaire said. “Except that NFL players put their bodies through hell for 20 some odd weeks. We're pretty much broken down when the season's over.”

He failed to communicate that with Drab, however.

“Our first workout,” Cesaire said, “he about killed me. But I knew the guy was serious. I just said, 'We gotta tone it down.' Ever since, it's been great. Greg does a great job.”

Drab and McCoy visit Cesaire periodically during the season in San Diego, enjoying the time spent not merely with their friend, but the San Diego training staff.

(Full disclosure before we proceed: I've been a happy client at Advantage for the past 13 months. I can report that I watched Cesaire work out last summer and would be in need of the Coronary Care Unit if I ever tried that stuff.)

Cesaire, whose uniform number hangs in Advantage's Mystic location, signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and then again in 2005. New Haven-based agent Joe Linta noticed that Cesaire was a Division II All-American at Southern and had him in for a workout.

“It took one person to believe in me,” Cesaire said.

And then, resorting to his sense of humor that's sharper than good cheddar, he said, “One person to believe in me and a really smart guy in the scouting department with a keen eye for talent.”

Cesaire chuckled.

He got his chance last season when Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo were hurting. Cesaire had 47 tackles and four sacks in 10 starts, but missed the playoffs with a knee injury. He was rewarded, nonetheless, with a five-year contract.

Cesaire, of Haitian descent, was born in Gardner, Mass. His mother and father are both nurses — and still work, despite his dad's bout with “you can't win if you don't play.”

A few years ago, Carmy Cesaire won $1 million on a scratch lottery ticket.
If you haven't figured it out by now, Cesaire has a fascinating background. He brings it all with him back to his home state on Sunday.

“Every sports person thought it would be Pats-Colts,” Cesaire said. “It's not like we don't have our share of really good players here. We got written off after we lost to the Pats last time (in September).”

And when asked what San Diego needs to do to win Sunday, Cesaire said in full Jacques-being-Jacques style, “definitely go to church a lot more this week.”