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.”
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