Donnie Shell: “I was not drafted in 1974 but I received three opportunities to sign as an undrafted free agent. The opportunities were with the Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers. I had kind of made up my mind to sign with the Denver Broncos because they signed my former South Carolina State teammate Barney Chavous in 1973. But after consulting with my college coach Willie Jeffries, I signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you know the rest of the story. Young African American men need someone they can trust when they are making difficult decisions and Coach Jeffries was there for me.”
Chris Hoke: “The stress is part of the reason I may not miss it as much as I think. The stress was always there. I was always fighting for a job. No matter what I did, I had to prove myself, even when I was 17-1 as a starter. Draft picks have to prove they can’t play. Undrafted free agents, we always had to prove we could.”
Sean McHugh: “My biggest thing that benefitted me – from high school to Penn State to the NFL – was doing the little things, and doing them consistently. Especially for young guys – it’s an uphill battle especially if undrafted or drafted late.”
Carlton Haselrig “When I got there I was in the back of the locker room. We called it the ghetto – it was for low round draft picks and undrafted guys, We didn’t let the other guys back there – we’d fake jump them if they did! We had a real kinship there. Guys like Lonnie Palelei and Jerry Olsavsky.”
Nate Washington: “I was an undrafted free agent. When I went home as a rookie they congratulated me on being a Steeler. Their favorite team! But I hadn’t made the team yet! I couldn’t see their happy faces then stand with them not having made it later. The hope people had in me…I prayed and cried about it. I had to make it and give other people hope.“
Ross Ventrone: “It was very different for me as an undrafted free agent. I signed with New England first and I realized how much of a faster game it was and how much I needed to learn and the knowledge I needed to play faster. You think you know a lot about football then you get to the next level. I learned a lot but it seemed like so much information I needed to know. It was overwhelming. Studying a lot and learning the game like that – it felt new to me. I wasn’t playing as good football as I wanted really until I got to Pittsburgh. I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to play fast. The speed of the game is an issue because you need to know the playbook – you need to know that stuff to play faster. Otherwise you’re a step behind.”
Grant Bowman: “As an undrafted free agent trying to make the team, you’re really almost waiting for an injury to open up a spot. I was surprised I made the practice squad – I guess they saw I was a hard worker and paid attention.”
Tony Dungy: “I think the Lord must have set it up for me to be there. Through elementary school, high school, and college I always thought I’d play quarterback in the NFL I could have played quarterback in Canada for the Montreal Alouettes out of college. Marv Levy was the coach there and he wanted me to play for them and told me I could be a successful quarterback for them. But I wanted to play against the best, in the NFL. The Steelers called too and they told me they wanted me to change positions and help the team at a different position. Now it was a decision to play a position I knew or to go against the best. It was something, a feeling inside that is hard to explain.I could have taken a $50,000 bonus and guaranteed money in Canada, or the $2,000 bonus and no guarantee in Pittsburgh to even make the team. But something inside drove me to go to Pittsburgh and try to make it work there.”
Isaac Redman: “When I signed with the Steelers in 2009, they actually were the only team interested in signing me. I had a connection with offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. He coached my uncle Todd Mcnair at temple University.”
Hank Fraley: “Ralph Cindrich was my agent and he was out of Pittsburgh then. He actually is retired now and has a place down the street from me. It was a business decision to choose the Steelers – it was a smart decision we both made. It was not about money – I was offered a lot more money by other teams. But we looked at the Steelers roster – I mean, I knew I wasn’t beating out Dermontti Dawson! But there were a lot of veteran players on the line – they were up in age. And they weren’t taking on other interior guys.”
Jaylen Warren: “I felt like it was the best situation for me at that moment. My agent and I were talking about it and they gave me the best signing bonus and, looking at the running back room, there was some good competition there.”
Kyle Jolly: “My agent said my grade had me going at the end of the draft maybe. So I was expecting either. I was watching the draft and checked off the offensive linemen as they got drafted, It was an educational experience, I saw who got drafted and where to see who needed an offensive lineman most when the draft was over. I chose to sign with the Steelers because they didn’t draft a big, tall tackle that year – no one with that true tackle type of body.”
B.J. Finney: “My agent was Vann McElroy – he was a former Raider who played in the 80’s. He had a good sense of Mike Munchak as a player and as a person. He thought he’d be a good fit for me – his style of coaching and who he was would be good for me. I also was a big Steelers fan – I used to watch them with my dad growing up. So Vann told me he’d call Pittsburgh and start there before calling other teams and said he’d try and negotiate with Pittsburgh. Well a few minutes later he called me back and told me “Congratulations, you’re a Steeler!” He said Pittsburgh didn’t even negotiate – they just accepted the offer.”
John Malecki: “No one likes being told they aren’t good enough. No one enjoys getting cut. Being an undrafted free agent you learn very quickly that that is how the league works. For me it took a lot of self-reflection and good agent to make it to where I did. There are hundreds of players every year trying to get into the NFL who are great players. I knew what I was up against. My body type and size weren’t what the NFL was looking for, and neither was my lack of game time experience playing center. I couldn’t control any of that; all I could control was my effort and my attitude. How an individual approaches a situation is a choice. The fact that I was short and not too fast and not a center were out of my hands. But my mentality was all mine. So I chose to not let what I couldn’t control affect me. And I still keep the same mentality to this day. If you walk through life and let everyone else dictate how you feel I promise you will be miserable most of the time.”
Jesse Britt: “I grew up liking the Cowboys and the Steelers. When I was playing at North Carolina AT&T, the Cowboys called me and came down and scouted me. They told me they may draft me. I thought, “Wow!” Then an agent came down to sign me. The night of the second round of the draft a guy from Dallas came and sat with me at school until two am. I heard him call someone and told them he was sitting here with me. Well, at 2:30 am he got a call, looked at me and told me the Cowboys decided they didn’t need me after all and said good luck. I was shocked. I went back to my room. About a half-hour later a call came in at the phone we had in the dorm hallway. A teammate came in and told me someone wanted to talk to me. It was Tom Moore. He said “I guess Dallas didn’t get you! We’d like to sign you – it’s not too late.”
Patrick Bailey; “After the draft two teams talked to me and were interested in signing me. What Tomlin told me – he said that this was a group of competitors and that he believed I was a competitor too. That he wanted me to come compete with them. As a younger player that’s what you wanted to hear. It was one of the truest things I heard – his words meant a lot in me making my decision.”
Russell Stuvaints: “The day before the draft I got calls from Miami and Detroit but playing for the Steelers was a dream come true. It was amazing – they are a great organization and family – it was my dream my dream to play for them. I hope my kids get to have that same dream.”
Eric Ravotti: “During my senior year near the end of the season I had an illness that caused me to collapse and go into convulsions on the sideline during a game. When I awoke I felt as if I had been hit by a truck. I missed the next two games and then came back for my last regular season game against Michigan State. There were no after effects from this, but it became an event that affected my draft status. The unknown was enough for me to slide down the draft board. I was excited just to be taken considering this and when it was the Pittsburgh Steelers who selected me, I was overjoyed. When I went into camp I was faced with competing with the likes of Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland, Jason Gildon to name a few.”
Darrell Nelson: “Dallas made me angry – they called first and asked me to play for Dallas. They told me they’d give me a $300 signing bonus – I told themI needed to talk to my agent. They said they wouldn’t talk to him – that I needed to take it or leave it. I told them I still needed to talk to my agent and the guy just hung up on me. Right after that Pittsburgh called me and I signed with them.”
Andre Frazier: “ I was 220 pounds – which was undersized for a 6’4″ defensive end. I’m not going to say it wasn’t disappointing. But it was different for me. Football never was the end-all goal. I was blessed enough to get picked up as an undrafted free agent. My father always taught me to do my best no matter what and let the chips fall where they may. If I didn’t make it, that would have been God’s will. I watched every draft pick on draft day with my wife and son. We didn’t have a party and it didn’t happen for me. I got calls during the draft and afterwards my agent said I should go to Pittsburgh. That’s where my best opportunity was if I could outwork some other guys and get a spot. I was fortunate to make the team and then the active roster.”
Tyler Palko: “It was surprising. I knew there was always a chance. I had a great agent in Ralph Cindrich. He was an awesome guy. I thought I did well enough to get drafted, It was a tough two days – with family around… But that’s part of the business. I have to giggle when people say their business is different – more competitive. The most competitive industry is the NFL. You can be fired if they don’t like your haircut. You have to learn quickly to survive. It’s not for the weak-minded. Not if you want to be successful – you won’t last long. So, I was pissed off but I got over it.”
Weslye Saunders :” I had no doubt I was going to go undrafted. After the NCAA investigation and suspension, I knew I squandered my opportunity away. After the season, I decided not to apply for reinstatement – many felt I was the number one tight end and I thought I could prove that at the combine. I had to show teams I wasn’t a character issue. But I broke my foot and couldn’t showcase my athletic ability. So no one was going to take chance on an injured player who may also be a character issue. So I knew I was not going to be drafted.”
Roy Lewis: “I was coached by Ray Horton and he was a University of Washington graduate. He came down and saw me play – he found me. He told me he wanted to bring me in with two others guys to compete for a roster spot. They drafted Ryan Mundy and signed Travis Williams, and I played my tail off to make the team.”
Alan Baxter: “I had no idea the Steelers were interested in me. My agent called to tell me they wanted to sign me after the draft. Before then, during the end of the draft, I got a handful of calls from teams saying they may take me late in the draft but those calls never came. They told me that if they didn’t take me during the draft they’d want to sign me as an undrafted free agent. But the funny thing was the Steelers never called during the draft – they weren’t one of those teams. They just called after the draft and said they wanted to bring me in.”
Tyler Grisham: “I received a number of calls from other teams on the second day of the draft and we compared the rosters on each team. While looking at Pittsburgh’s roster, we were able to see that they had their number one guys, but it looked like I could compete for a fifth or sixth spot. It felt right at the time and it ended up working out the way we “planned.”
Robert Golden: “It all goes back to my work ethic. When I was with the Steelers I had a chip on any shoulder – I felt I had to show up on every play as an undrafted free agent. A lot of what I learned in the NFL translated to how I approached things now. I didn’t make the 53 as an undrafted free agent by going through the motions. I needed to have a chip on my shoulder to prove I belonged. I applied that work ethic to developing the school.”
David Upchurch: “At the time, the Steelers did not draft any lineman that year so I felt it was my best fit to succeed. They also ran a system I was familiar with and felt it would have been the best opportunity to make team. They also have a A1 organization who knows how to treat their players.”
Mike Lorello: “It was definitely the most exciting team I could have hoped to join. Both of my parents were born and raised in Steubenville, OH so they were both very big Steelers fans, and I think it was a proud moment for them when I became a member of the team. For me personally, I think knowing that my parents followed and cheered for the Steelers long before I was even born, and then their son was now wearing the jersey, made me the most proud of the opportunity to be a part of and serve the organization.”
Canaan Severin: “When the draft was coming to an end – there were about 10 picks left – Brandon Hunt called me and asked me if I was ready to come to Pittsburgh. I told him there were still 10 picks left! So, he stayed on the phone with me for 15 minutes while the drafty ended – I think so no one else could call me! I knew Martivis Bryant was out that year – I thought there would be a good opportunity for me there. Plus, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers!”
Tony Orlandini: “I actually signed with the Chicago Bears only to be released a short time after. They would not pass me on their physical. Due to previous knee surgeries, they had concerns. Once I was released, I thought that might have been my only chance. I continued to train for a few weeks when I received the call from the Steelers wanting to sign me. I was excited to say the least. Playing for any team would be a dream come true but the Steelers made it unbelievable. I passed their physical with flying colors, and went to work. Their role might have been different than mine. My role was going to be to compete.”
Justin Thornton: “I weighed those options – there were four teams that were interested – Tennessee, the Jaguars, the Steelers and one other team, I forget. The Steelers had just won a Super Bowl and I knew Ryan Clark and Troy were getting a bit older. I felt like my best opportunity was there. I just didn’t fit their mentality – I was a ballhawk – a cover guy. I wasn’t as physical as guys they like.”
Read more stories by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
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