NFL fans could be forgiven for forgetting about Portland State during the drama of draft season. Last year was a good year for the Vikings, who sent tight end Julius Thomas to the Denver Broncos in the fourth round, but that was the exception, not the rule. Thomas joined a group of four Vikings who have made it to NFL rosters.
Earlier this year, there was a wave of excitement when Oregon native Dustin Waldron was picked to go to the NFL draft combine to work out in front of scouts, but he went unpicked on draft day. It looked like the Vikings were going to get the big snub again.
In a turn of events, however, three Vikings have been picked up by teams in free agency. Since the draft, Waldron, defensive back Deshawn Shead and defensive tackle Myles Wade have signed contracts with NFL teams.
“That’s a great motivation for me. I knew all three of those guys,” freshman defensive end Sadat Sulleyman said. “We’re getting recognition now, so it just makes all of the younger guys look forward to the future. It motivates us to get better and hopefully get to the same level as them.”
Shead was the first to get signed. Late last month, the Seattle Seahawks announced they had agreed to contract terms with the 23-year-old Viking.
Waldron was the second Viking to get picked up. The offensive lineman was invited to the Miami Dolphins camp and signed with the team May 5.
There was a small drama around the signing of Wade. Wade, who came to Portland State last year from Texas Tech, tried out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was given a contract last week. It was then widely reported Wednesday that Wade had been waived by the team to make room for NFL veteran wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, but the team later clarified that quarterback Jordan Jefferson had been released instead and that Wade remained with the team.
The three Vikings are in a group of 15 former Big Sky Conference players who have moved on to the NFL this year, including three who were picked up on draft day.
“It continues to just sell the fact that you don’t have to play in the Pac-[12] to get to the NFL,” Viking football head coach Nigel Burton said. “Some of the biggest stars in the NFL, from the Tony Romos to the greatest receiver of all time, to the greatest running back of all time, were all I-AA players. They were all FCS guys.”
What happens next to the players will largely depend on their performance. Some current NFL stars, from Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Tony Romo to Houston Texans’ star running back Arian Foster, initially went undrafted, but their success stories are unusual.
Most undrafted free agent rookies in the NFL, if they stick around on their teams’ roster, are signed to boilerplate three-year contracts at the minimum NFL rookie salary, which in 2012 is $390,000.