Undrafted, but not unwanted, ex-Pitt players eager for NFL opportunities

Jake Kradel could have spent the final day of the NFL Draft staring at his TV, cell phone by his side, hoping for the vibration that could change his life.

Instead, he went golfing.

“It was a nice wind-down, a celebration of my college career,” said Kradel, the Butler graduate who spent six years on the interior of Pitt’s offensive line (five as a starter). “Being around my family and friends, playing golf and having a good time. It was nice and relaxing.”

He thought there was a chance of getting drafted, but he didn’t even watch the proceedings. “Went golfing at 1 p.m, golfed all day, golfed 18, went back to my house and hung out.”

That doesn’t mean Kradel has abandoned the game that he loves. He is among 12 players from Pitt’s 2023 team who are bound this spring for NFL camps (or, in the case of defensive tackle David Green, the CFL). All are hoping to keep the dream alive.

“After so many years, playing since third grade, 15 years of playing, I’m not ready to give it up yet,” Kradel said, “Not until I’m told no.”

The Indianapolis Colts told him yes, offering an invitation to their rookie minicamp this weekend. The invitation comes without a promise of a long-term contract — just an opportunity to prove his worthiness to play in the NFL.

“Come in, compete, see where the chips lay,” said Kradel, who will be joined in Indianapolis by two Pitt teammates — offensive lineman Matt Goncalves and tight end Malcolm Epps. Goncalves was the Colts’ third-round draft choice.

“It’s up to me to prove to them that I’m deserving of a spot, and they should keep me,” Kradel said. “That’s my job: to come, show up, perform, play fast and execute, give them no reason to not keep me.”

Former Pitt cornerback Marquis Williams took a different approach to the draft. He watched, later admitting it was “definitely overwhelming” to not hear his name. Yet the experience did not sour him on advancing his football career. He was invited to Steelers rookie minicamp Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“I knew all of my hard work would pay off whether I was drafted or undrafted or getting a shot by a team,” he said. “You only need one team to believe in us. I knew the Steelers would give me a shot, and I’m going to take that shot and run with it.

“I’m very eager,” he said. “I’m ready to run sideline to sideline. I’m ready to chase the ball down. I’m ready to do anything possible to make that team. I’m going to be the first one in the building, the last one to leave. I’m going to live inside the special teams coach’s office. I’m going to be in Mike T’s (Tomlin) ear, asking questions.”

Williams will be joined at Steelers minicamp by former Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who worked out at Pitt Pro Day as a tight end.

Williams said he is motivated to earn a spot in training camp this summer because his uncle, Tyrone Carter, won two Super Bowls as a Steelers defensive back. He also said he has made several friends among players and coaches while sharing a practice facility with them since 2018.

“They know me well. We hang out outside of football,” he said. “I used to go to their house and chill out. It’s a blessing for coach Mike T to allow us to communicate with them and come and watch their practices. It was a blessing just to be up close and see all that with my eyes. Now I’m on the other side, trying to be part of a championship run.”

He’s also friends with Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. “even though he went to Penn State.”

“His dad played with my uncle on the same team. I used to be over their house a lot,” Williams said.

Williams said he started asking Carter football questions at the age of 6.

“He taught me everything I know about the game of football,” he said. “Coming to the Steel City, he told me I have to be tough to play on that defense, tough just to play in that organization, period.”

Defensive tackle Tyler Bentley also wasn’t drafted, but he was invited to the Miami Dolphins’ minicamp this weekend. That was the reward after working out with Kradel, Green (who’s headed to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ camp) and Pitt strength coaches since shortly after the end of last season.

“I waited one week, and then I got after it,” he said, adding it’s encouraging to see his workout partners and teammates get pro opportunities.

“Guys I worked out with at 6 in the morning … in the summer and (training) camp days. It’s really a blessing. I’m happy for everybody.”

He credited former Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, now with the Colts, for putting him on the right path.

”He taught me to be poised, to be able to think before you react,” Bentley said. “That’s what he always preached to us. His knowledge has helped me get to this point.”

Football is the priority for now, but Kradel, Williams and Bentley have alternate career plans.

Kradel hopes to take his degree in finance and use it to get into medical sales.

Bentley, who earned a criminal justice degree, said his “dream job” to become a private investigator, focusing on insurance fraud.

Williams also has a degree in criminal justice and plans to return to school to finish a second degree in communication.

He said his ultimate plan is to “go help kids” and possibly get into coaching and real estate.

“I want to do a plethora of things off the field,” he said. “But I know football is going to work out. I’m going to go over there and kill this rookie minicamp.”