Local agent Alex Guminski helps athletes chase a dream

Aaron Mathews only wanted the opportunity to get noticed. Alex Guminski helped make that happen.

Guminski, a Pittsburgh-based NFL agent, found a way for local football players to get exposed to pro scouts — while adhering to social distancing guidelines — by organizing workouts for Mathews, Pitt teammate Jazzee Stocker and seven others Saturday in Oakland.

Workouts were held indoors at the 424 Factory and outdoors at a practice field a few blocks away. Among the drills were jumps, bench press, a 40-yard dash, short shuttle run and 3-cone drills.

For Mathews, a wide receiver from Clairton who lifted 225 pounds 17 times Saturday, the pandemic shutdown occurred five days before Pitt’s scheduled Pro Day.

“For me, it was the best opportunity available, the only opportunity really,” he said. “I needed a pro day. We all did. I wanted to make sure teams had all the information they needed to evaluate me fairly and fully.”

“The unfortunate and untimely emergence of the novel coronavirus has severely derailed the natural path to a potential career in professional football for the vast majority of former college players nationwide,” Guminski said.

“In response to the cancellation of college pro days all over the country, some football agents have found unique ways to increase exposure for their clients, while still complying with the social distancing guidelines and other recommendations created by state governments and health departments.”

Video that was produced by Greensburg filmmaker Marcus Morelli will be shipped to every NFL and CFL team, Guminski said.

“These players deserved to get a fair shake,” he said.

Guminski organized the workouts into small groups of four and five players to minimize personal contact.

Also participating was former Gateway, Pitt and Winston-Salem State player Brendon Felder, a wide receiver who ran the short shuttle in 3.97 seconds.

Others included former Seneca Valley linebacker T.J. Holl, who played at Colgate and Louisville; Nick Rinella, a safety from Saint Francis (Pa.); RaVon Davis, a cornerback at Maryland who was in the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp last year; Danial Shelton, a two-time Division III All-American defensive back from Susquehanna University; Darius Jones, a wide receiver from Pace University; and Ch’aim Smith, a defensive end from West Chester.

Helping to run the drills were former Perry Traditional Academy and CFL quarterback Greg McGhee, local scout Joe Butler of Metro Index Football and former Pitt player Seun Idowu, a linebacker with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.