We're just a day away from the start of Pittsburgh Steelers' rookie minicamp, and the final few invitees are rolling in. Perhaps the most intriguing one came just under a week ago in the form of Gabe Oladipo out of Texas Tech. If you're a college football fan, you likely have not heard the name. That's because he didn't play a single snap for the Big 12 school. He walked on for the 2022 campaign, but didn't see the field. So why the intrigue?
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
The Steelers' football season has officially begun, which starts with rookie minicamp.
Well, Oladipo is an exceptional athlete. Before walking onto the football team, he was with the Red Raiders' track and field squad. There, he was a star. He earned several prestigious honors in his three years as a thrower, including being a three-time Big 12 Champion and 2022 First Team All-American. While he didn't play a snap for Tech, their official website provided a point that he played a key role on their football team last year.
"Key member of the scout team and praised by the coaching staff for his role during the year."
He was granted a waiver by the NCAA to gain an additional year of eligibility in order to play football. Now on the team website, he was listed as a 6'2", 295 lb. defensive lineman. For comparison, that's two inches shorter than Steelers linemen DeMarvin Leal, Keeanu Benton, and Montravius Adams. Additionally, he weighs five pounds more than Leal and nine pounds less than Adams.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation.com (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers defensive lineman Montravius Adams' roster spot seems to be in jeopardy in these coming months, especially with a few intriguing prospects at the team's rookie minicamp.
This could be seen as more of a developmental project, something that Pittsburgh may not have enough time to wait around on. Nonetheless, it's just another name to pay attention to at this weekend's rookie minicamp. There are a few other names that the team has recently invited as well, specifically from HBCU schools. Alabama State defensive tackle Brandon Gaddy and Fort Valley State defensive back Tyler Moore are the two newest names added to that list.
Steelers continue to look towards HBCU schools
Before Alabama State, guess where Gaddy played? You guessed it, the University of Maryland, whom has provided several players for the black and gold over the past five years now. After a mostly unproductive start to his first few collegiate seasons, he broke out in 2022. Gaddy racked up 57 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss in his final year at Alabama State. He's similar to Oladipo in terms of size, so these two will battle it out to impress Pittsburgh scouts.
As for Moore, he posted impressive numbers in his final year at Fort Valley State. In 10 games, the defensive back put up two interceptions, 65 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and seven pass breakups. Now, he is on the smaller side and perhaps even more concerning, Moore ran just a 4.69 40-yard dash at Kennesaw State's Pro Day. With the lack of size and speed, he'll have to show some impressive skills this weekend to make it further along in the process.
FVSU Athletics
FVSU DB Tyler Moore is one of the most recent HBCU players that the Steelers have invited to rookie minicamp.
What are your thoughts on the intrigue of a former track star in Oladipo? What other training camp invitees intrigue you the most? Do you think any of these guys have a realistic shot at making it to the opening day roster? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
#SteelerNation
