One of the best parts of the NFL draft is seeing head coaches and general managers call prospects to tell them they’ve been selected. We got to see that with Troy Fautanu when the Steelers picked him 20th overall. What we don’t often see is how undrafted free agents sign with teams. We see reports come across social media, but we don’t really get a good glimpse at the signing process. Well, EDGE Julius Welschof and Brandon Collier, founder of PPIRecruits, gave us that insight.
After the 2024 NFL Draft, the Steelers set out to grab their favorite UDFAs. On that list was Charlotte EDGE Julius Welschof. After signing with the Steelers, he called Brandon Collier to break the news. Collier even asked Welschof who called him.
“The GM called me on the phone with Mike Tomlin,” Welschof said. “They said they were excited, they offered me to get there. So can’t wait to get there in a couple days and get to work.”
Collier founded PPI Recruits, an organization that helps international athletes get recruited to college programs. That’s how he got to know Welschof who is from Germany. PPI and Collier helped Welschof earn a scholarship from Michigan before Welschof transferred to Charlotte.
Even though players like Welschof don’t get that call during the NFL draft, it’s still got to be a great experience getting a call from a team’s general manager and head coach. The road of an undrafted free agent is a long and tortuous one. The Steelers have found some exceptional ones through the years, most recently with RB Jaylen Warren.
However, for every Warren, there are plenty of players who simply bounce around to tryouts before trying their hand elsewhere or dropping professional football entirely. Still, to get to experience a phone call from Khan and Tomlin to sign you is an incredible moment.
Welschof was not really exposed to football as we know it until traveling to the United States as a 15-year-old. From there, he worked hard with Collier and others to forge a path that has now led him to Pittsburgh. He has exceptional size at 6-6 and 257 pounds, but he’s still learning how to use it on the football field.
Josh Carney looked at some of Welschof’s tape after the Steelers signed him, and the Steelers have a project. What Carney does see is a sound run defender with an unceasing motor. That effort will go a long way toward helping him pursue his dream of being a professional football player.
Carney does point out that what works in Welschof’s favor is that he’s eligible to participate in the International Player Pathway system. That means the Steelers can keep him on the practice squad for 2024 without using one of its 16 slots.
Regardless of what the future holds, Welschof is a Steeler heading into rookie minicamp. That’s an incredible journey from Bavaria.
And hey, the last Charlotte product to go to Pittsburgh hasn’t been too shabby in Alex Highsmith, right?
