Michigan State’s Nick Samac says getting drafted ‘was an insane moment’
East Lansing, Mich. – Nick Samac has experienced a lot of peaks and valleys as a college football player at Michigan State, but nothing to prepare him for the sweet emotion of being selected in the NFL Draft on Saturday.
He battled tears of joy shortly after being selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, becoming the only Michigan State player to be selected in this year’s draft.
Meanwhile, Jacoby Windmon (Steelers), JD Duplain (Giants), Tre Mosley (Bengals) and Harold Joiner (Colts) have signed on for free agent tryouts.
“It’s been a long weekend, waiting to hear my name called,” Samac said. “You’re never 100 percent sure what’s going to happen. It was getting close to the end, so when I got that phone call and was told the news, I started to get a little shaky and a little emotional. My dad grabbed me and any time I’m in a moment like that and my dad touches my shoulder or my back I instantly break down.
“It was a great moment to be right next to my mom and dad during that experience. It was an insane moment. I’m still trying to take it all in.”
Former Michigan State offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic spoke with Samac twice on Saturday and was elated to hear that Samac had been drafted.
“I’m so happy for him!,” Kapilovic, the new offensive line coach at Alabama, told SpartanMag via text. “It’s been a tough stretch, getting injured at the beginning of the summer and not being able to train or practice until the season started. Fast forward to the end of the season where he was starting to play at a very high level and he breaks his leg which kept him from being able to play in the Shrine game, also not being able to perform at the Combine or Pro Day, which he would’ve excelled at and showed all these teams what he’s capable of doing on Sundays!
“Now that he’s in, I have no doubt he will have a successful and long tenure in the NFL! Nick is a great young man with a lot of heart and passion in everything he does!”
The specifics of Samac’s preseason injury weren’t publicly known until Samac volunteered the information, Saturday evening.
“I dealt with a very minor partial pec tear before the season and I was able to play through the whole season with it and it healed up great,” said Samac, who missed much of training camp with the injury and didn’t start in the season opener against Central Michigan, but started the next 10 games.
Then came a broken leg in game 11 against Indiana, which caused him to miss the combines and all-star games leading up to the NFL Draft – and heightened his emotions when hearing his name called, Saturday.
“It’s definitely been a journey throughout my last year and I’ve just been doing everything to get back right, and I’ve been on a good path and I’m kind of speechless,” he said.
Samac said the tribulations he faced as a senior – including Michigan State’s coaching change and the losses the team sustained – helped him develop.
“That was tough, being in my fifth year, but it gave me a chance to grow,” Samac said. “It wasn’t easy by any means, but I was able to learn from that experience and build my leadership in my last year.”
Samac was asked what kind of a player Baltimore is getting in this 23-year-old communications graduate.
“They get a hard-worker and somebody that’s going to bring it every day 110 percent,” Samac said. “I’m not going to back down from any challenge and I’m going to overcome any adversity that comes my way.
“Having good mentors when I was younger and seeing how they handled adversity and then growing into my own person and my own leader, I think that’s the main thing, to experience things and learn how to handle different situations based on that.
“I’ve always prided myself on being the best I can be every single day and never changing who I am.”
The Ravens feel comfortable about Samac’s continued road to recovery.
“They know and I talked to Coach (John Harbaugh) and let him know (I’ll be back) a couple of weeks after the draft,” Samac said. “I’ll be back before I know it and it’ll be good.
“I was able to talk to them at the Shrine Bowl. The whole combine experience was a big blur but I think I talked to them there as well. But I’m glad to have a chance to work with coach and get working in the program.”
With Baltimore having standout Tyler Linderbaum as a third-year pro at the center position, Samac was asked if he could possibly move to offensive guard at the NFL level.
“I think I have good size and I could play anywhere coach needs me to be and I’m happy to fit in anywhere that helps the team,” he said. “They’ve got a great o-line and a great team and I’m excited to be part of that group and fit in and get to work.”
Samac has admired Linderbaum’s work from afar for years. Linderbaum starred at the University of Iowa before becoming the Ravens’ first-round pick in 2022.
“Looking at him when I was at Michigan State and he was at Iowa, the things he’s able to do and the way he is able to move out of his stance is just incredible,” Samac said. “He is going to be a good player to learn from.
“We didn’t know each other personally but I’ve watched a lot of his film and the way he moves and the way he plays. When a lot of teams ask me who you look at, obviously Jason Kelce was the main one and Tyler Linderbaum.”
Despite dropping deep into the seventh round, Samac said his faith that he would get drafted never wavered.
“I definitely had an idea that I was getting drafted and I was confident, maybe even sooner than it happened,” he said. “But everybody has a different path and I’m so blessed to have the opportunity and I will never take that granted.”
Nick Samac shakes hands with Michigan State fans during the walk to the stadium prior the Spartans’ victory over Nebraska on Nov. 4. (Photo by Nick King | USA Today Sports).
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