07/10 — Last week a Radar reader named Dan asked me if NFL teams still offer tryouts to walk-ons before training camps begin.

"I have a friend who can kick 50-yard field goals consistently," Dan wrote, "but we have no idea where to go with it."

Well, Dan, I won't give you the proverbial "two answers: slim and none" reply. Your friend's odds aren't as good as slim but they're better than none.

My Jets people tell me the first thing a potential walk-on needs is proven experience. That means game experience. It does no good to have Joe Legg booming three-pointers from downtown out of his friend's hold in an otherwise empty indoor facility.

That conjures up the anecdote about the late, great John McKay, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first head coach who often would stand right near his kickers as they worked out. One kicker missed a few in a row under McKay's gaze and said something to the effect of "Coach, you're making me nervous."

"I've got news for you, son," McKay told his young foot man. "I'm going to be here every game."

The point is, a walk-on needs to have played under fire. If he hasn't, there are plenty of semipro leagues around to get some exposure. And the highlights of that game experience need to be visually recorded.

Armed with a highlight video from such recordings, the potential walk-on is ready for the next step in the process: sending the video to his favorite team's pro personnel department. There it will be evaluated. If the video passes muster, a scout can then recommend that the team can invite the candidate in for a workout.

The scout is an important part of the process — for the Jets, a tryout must be recommended by a scout. And if a tryout gets a workout that bombs in front of perhaps head coach Eric Mangini, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and four or five other scouts, the recommending scout will be on the hot seat.

As you can see, there are several high hurdles for an unknown NFL wannabe to clear before he can even get invited to camp. But as the Tannenbaum-Mangini regime has demonstrated a few times in its three seasons running the team, the organization will take a closer look at some longshots and unconventional prospects.

So there's the process. And for those of you planning your summer not around playing for the Jets but only watching them, training camp opens to the public two touchdowns — that's 14 days — from today on July 24.