The lockout made the offseason harder on everyone this year and it may have had the most effect on undrafted free agents.
Undrafted free agents normally sign with a team right after the draft and head to OTAs so that they can ease into their new surroundings before camp starts. This year, undrafted free agents were stuck in limbo and while they waited for the lockout to end they trained, prepared and even walked dogs.
To establish the importance that undrafted free agents can have on a team, one need only to look back at the 1999 Super Bowl Champion Rams. Without players like Kurt Warner, London Fletcher, D’Marco Farr, Ricky Proehl, Ray Agnew, Tony Horne, and Mike Jones, that team probably doesn’t win the Super Bowl.
An undrafted free agent is a guy that sat through all seven rounds of the NFL draft and never heard his name called. For some of these guys, the end of the NFL draft marks the end of their football career, but the lucky ones are invited to an NFL training camp.
During training camp they will battle every day for an opportunity to fulfill their dream of making an NFL roster. These days start around 6 a.m. and consist of studying hours of film, learning a new language, learning a new playbook, and spending every ounce of energy they have left fighting against the best athletes in the world to earn one of the few remaining roster spots.
Here is a look at four undrafted free agents who are giving it everything they have to fulfill their dream of playing in the NFL.
SCHUYLAR OORDT – TE – NORTHERN IOWA
The small town of Parkersburg has already produced four NFL players in Aaron Kampman, Jared DeVries, Brad Meester, and Casey Wiegmann who provided inspiration to Oordt.
“Growing up as a kid you kind of idolize them and say, ‘hey those are our role models,’” Oordt said. “It was always nice to look up to them; they were great role models for us little kids.”
The 6’6 250-pound tight end is a well-rounded athlete who participated in football, basketball, baseball, and track in high school. He played his college football at Northern Iowa. After having a successful college career and posting solid numbers at the combine Oordt felt ready for the draft.
“The draft is always a crazy thing,” Oordt said. “You kind of go into it thinking one thing but in the grand scheme of things you might as well just pick a number out of a hat. I think that you have better odds for that. I thought I had a chance at going in the later rounds because I had a solid combine performance numbers wise, but it ended up not happening and that’s just the way things are, so I’m taking the free agent route.”
The lockout prohibited normal activities like OTAs and mini camps, so Oordt was forced to find a part-time job while he continued training.
“I just had to keep working out,” Oordt said. “I found a part-time job. I walked dogs. I usually wrangled eight of them up at one time and took them on about an hour, hour and a half walk. I drew some interesting looks when you see a 6’6 kid, 250 pounds, walking some little Chihuahuas.”
Coming from a smaller school like Northern Iowa, Oordt has learned quickly that there are definitely adjustments that he had to make as the skill level increased. He explained that the obvious differences between the college and pro game are strength and speed, but he feels it is imperative to do other things to gain an advantage at the NFL level.
“You also find that it’s technique, the little things are where you can gain your edge, whether it be knowing where to attack a defensive lineman or how far to take a split,” Oordt said. “You learn that it’s the little intricacies that really make plays go in the National Football League, because everyone is just on such an elite level.”
On Saturday Oordt will move closer to his dream of playing in the NFL, when he plays in his first NFL preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.
“It’s definitely going to be a good feeling, but at the same time I can’t get caught up in the fact because there is still a game to play and I have a job to do,” Oordt said. “I’m just looking forward to going out there, getting that first snap under my belt, flying around hitting somebody, catching a ball, making a tackle on special teams, whatever it may be. I’m just ready to get out there. It’s going to be fun.”
RANDALL HUNT – G – ILLINOIS
Hunt’s football career did not start until he moved to New Jersey and entered the ninth grade at Hightstown High School. Despite not having much experience, Hunt excelled at football and earned a chance to play at the University of Illinois.
Hunt enjoyed his time on the football field and the friends he made off of the field while at Illinois.
“It was good. We had some tough seasons but we had some good ones. More than anything I got to meet some good people and made some life-long friends,” said Hunt.
Standing 6’6, 315-pounds, Hunt was used to being the big man on campus but he realized that the competition increases vastly as you move from high school to college and then to the NFL.
“You can be the big guy and just push people around and then you get to college and everyone is big,” Hunt said. “Then you get to the NFL and everyone is good, so the competition just keeps getting better at each level.”
Hunt didn’t get his hopes up too much while watching the NFL draft but he was paying attention just in case.
“I didn’t really have a party or anything,” Hunt said. “I just hung out with a couple of guys and we watched it. It was disappointing but I just looked at it as my dream wasn’t to get drafted. It was to play on an NFL team. Either way I was going to try to make that happen to the best of my ability.”
The experience of not getting drafted has historically fueled a lot of the undrafted guys that go on to be successful and Hunt is using it as motivation already.
“You feel you have to prove yourself, prove your worthwhile,” Hunt said. “I’m going to play this thing regardless. It’s a reality check that nothing is guaranteed.”
Training camp is a mentally and physically draining time for all players and especially those fighting for a job. As tough as training camp is, Hunt feels it will all be worth it when he steps onto the field at the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday.
“It will definitely be emotional,” Hunt said. “It’s always been a dream and to have your dream happen is just a beautiful thing. You just have to take it for what it’s worth and suit up. Once you get out there and start playing none of it really matters, you’re just playing football again.”
DIONTE DINKINS – CB – FORT VALLEY STATE
“I loved it,” Dinkins said. "From the actual academic point of view it’s the best school in Georgia. I went there and got my grades. My first priority is school. I went there to get an education and I loved football, so they gave me an opportunity to play and it was great.”
Dinkins may be an underdog coming from a smaller school, but he has been dreaming about playing in the NFL all his life and is confident that he will succeed.
“I’ve been dreaming about it forever,” Dinkins said. "My freshmen year of college I remember calling my mom on the phone after a practice and telling her to go ahead and quit her job, because I’m going to the league, so I guess my freshmen year is when I really set my goal.”
Dinkins was disappointed by not being selected in the NFL draft, but his mood changed when he became the first undrafted free agent to sign with the Rams after the lockout.
“It actually was a sigh of relief,” Dinkins said. “During the lockout I had been waiting months, months on end, jobless. It was great that they actually respected me enough, wanted me enough, to call me first and do a deal. I loved it.”
Now that Dinkins is experiencing an NFL training camp for the first time he realizes how much of a commitment playing in the NFL is.
“It’s kind of long, from early morning wake-ups to not getting out of meetings until 10 p.m. at night,” Dinkins said. “It’s a real job. Everything is fast. Everybody is physical, no matter what side of the ball they’re on. Everybody is physical. It’s different but I’m doing pretty well, I’m loving it.”
When asked about playing in his first NFL game on Saturday, Dinkins showed a big smile.
“A dream come true, it really won’t set in until kickoff. It’s going to be a show. I’m excited,” Dinkins said.
JAKE MCQUAIDE – LS – OHIO STATE
Jake McQuaide is a unique guy, so it fits that he plays a unique position. While many college kids struggle to make it to class, McQuaide never missed a class or a practice while majoring in aeronautical engineering and playing football at Ohio State.
The same dedication that allowed McQuaide to succeed in both football and academics at Ohio State helped him to get there in the first place.
“I went to a camp up there (Columbus, Ohio) before my senior year (of high school),” McQuaide said. “They have a special-teams camp. That’s kind of how I opened the door and they started talking to me at that camp. They weren’t allowed to call me or anything because I was an unrecruited player. There’s some NCAA rules about that stuff, so they could never call me but I called them I think every single day of the spring of my senior year until they pretty much said stop calling, you’re on the team.”
McQuaide is aware that most NFL teams only have one long snapper but he is determined to focus on the things that he can control.
“I think the biggest difference, especially as a young guy, is at some of the other positions there is kind of a numbers game,” McQuaide said. “This many tight ends or this many o-lineman are going to make the team, but as a long snapper you’re either the starter or you’re going to find a different place to play. It’s just a little different, but my approach, even if I were playing a different position, I don’t try to think about making the team or not. That’s not up to me, that’s up to the coaching staff and the guys upstairs. All I have to worry about is snapping the ball consistently. I feel like I can do that if I just focus on that. That’s kind of my approach to the whole thing, to control what I can control, just go out there and do what I can to make it tough on them.”
McQuaide will be comfortable when he takes the field to fire his first snap in an NFL game on Saturday, because he has done it millions of times before.
“I played at Ohio State so I’m used to the big stadium and all of that, but it is different being the NFL,” McQuaide said. “I try to keep myself level headed. My approach is I’ve done this a million times. It’s no different than practice every day. That’s what I think when I run on the field, same as practice. I just go out there, have your little things you think about and go out and do it, it’s just like you’re out in your backyard. It’s no different.”
Each of these undrafted free agents has taken a different path to get to the NFL but on Saturday night their paths will meet at the Edward Jones Dome. When the Rams step on the field to take on the Indianapolis Colts; Schuylar Oordt,
