Like his predecessor at Samford, QB Chris Oladokun not ducking challenge of earning roster spot with Steelers

Chris Oladokun is well aware of the parallels between his story and the one authored three years ago by Devlin Hodges.

Oladokun followed Hodges’ path in college by spending two years at Samford, the FCS school located in Alabama. Like Hodges, he is entering offseason workouts in his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the least experienced of four quarterbacks on a team that typically keeps three.

And, like Hodges, the odds are stacked against Oladokun becoming an NFL starter. But Hodges became an improbable feel-good story as a rookie with the Steelers, so why can’t Oladokun enjoy a similar fairy-tale start to his professional career?

“That is the dream right there,” Oladokun said last weekend at rookie minicamp, “getting to play big-time football at the highest level.”

Hodges made six starts among eight appearances in 2019, going 3-3 as a starter after Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season in Week 2 and Mason Rudolph was benched for ineffective play midseason. From his dorm at Samford, Oladokun watched Hodges make his first NFL start at the Los Angeles Chargers in prime time and then win two more in a row before the proverbial clock struck midnight that season.

“He played Sunday night games, Monday night games and he excelled,” Oladokun said. “I’m going to wait my time and be prepared for when my opportunity comes because I believe everyone does get an opportunity, and it’s what you do with it when you get it.”

Oladokun still keeps in contact with Hodges, who recently retired from football after an unsuccessful stint in the CFL.

“He’s my guy,” Oladokun said. “A Pittsburgh legend. When he was out here, I’d keep in touch with him every week and wish him luck. I even picked him up on my fantasy team.”

The storyline differs in that Oladokun was a seventh-round draft pick — not a quarterback who earned a spot on the Steelers’ 90-man roster based on his performance at a rookie tryout camp. Oladokun also didn’t finish his career at Samford, opting to spend his final season as a graduate transfer at South Dakota State. And, of course, he isn’t a national champion duck caller.

The Steelers brought Oladokun to the South Side for a predraft top-30 visit and, despite taking Pitt’s Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 overall pick, they used their second of two seventh-round picks on another quarterback.

General manager Kevin Colbert called Oladokun “very mature, very smart. He impressed us not only on the field but with his off-the-field talents and intelligence and demeanor.”

At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Oladokun easily is the lightest quarterback on the Steelers roster. His frame enables Oladokun to easily move around in the pocket and provide the type of mobility coach Mike Tomlin is seeking in the passers who will succeed Roethlisberger.

Oladokun also has the experience of playing in three college systems. At South Florida, his first destination after graduating high school in Tampa, he said the offense relied on the read-option. He described Samford’s style as an air-raid attack that featured four wide receivers. At South Dakota State, he played in a system more suited for the NFL game.

“I’ve played in free-flowing offenses where you’re not worrying about the defense, and I’ve also played in pro-style offenses,” Oladokun said. “So it’s definitely helped me.”

In his lone year at South Dakota State, Oladokun completed 62.3% of his passes for 3,124 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions while making 15 starts before the Jackrabbits lost in the FCS national semifinals.

One of the first orders of business at rookie minicamp was for Oladokun to be paired with Steelers quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to practice his footwork.

“It’s getting it in sync,” Oladokun said. “As a quarterback, that’s where it starts. I’ve had five different offensive coordinators, and the footwork is a little different at different places. Now that I’m here and can get the same coaching and see the same thing every day and rep that, it’s important that I just hone in on the footwork and get that all squared away.”

The next order of business for Oladokun is showing he is worthy of a roster spot. In 2019, Hodges was cut at the end of training camp but brought back to the practice squad when the Steelers traded No. 3 quarterback Josh Dobbs to Jacksonville a day after the season opener. Roethlisberger was injured the next weekend, elevating Hodges to the active roster for the rest of the year.

Similarly, Oladokun likely would need for the Steelers to trade a quarterback — Rudolph is the most logical option — so he could earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Minus a trade or injury, Oladokun could begin the year on the practice squad.

“Whatever my role is, I’m going to embrace it,” he said. “My job, in my eyes, is to come out and compete every single day as if I’m the starter. At the same time, embrace my role and help those guys that are in front of me grow and improve so that on Sundays, we can win. If my role is to (replicate) Lamar Jackson when we’re playing the Ravens or holding a clipboard on Sundays, that is going to be my role, and I’m going to do my best at it.”