By BRIAN MILLER, Contributor - CSMOrediggers.com
When the 2013 NFL Draft gets underway later this month, Taylor Accardi and David Pawelek likely will not be among the players who hear their names announced.
But the Colorado School of Mines standouts are hoping to get a phone call in the days after the draft, when teams can sign undrafted free agents and invite them to camp this summer.
Going undrafted isn't necessarily a bad thing – just ask players like Wes Welker, Rod Smith or former Chadron State College running back Danny Woodhead, each of whom have enjoyed impressive careers despite not being drafted.
"I really don't expect anything out of the draft, but hopefully I'll hear something after," said Accardi, a punter who was honored as a first-team All-American by five publications. "I definitely want a chance to go prove myself. It's really tough to even get invited to camp."
Accardi rewrote the record books at Mines and in the NCAA Division II ranks over his four years with the Orediggers. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior established a new RMAC career mark of 46.1 yards per punt, which edged out the old record of 44.9 by Adams State's Jeff Williams.
Accardi's single-season average of 51.1 yards also broke the 48-year-old record of 49.1 yards, set by Shippensburg's Steve Ecker back in 1965. His 2012 average led punters at any level in the NCAA – Louisiana Tech's Ryan Allen was next at 48.04.
"I think his numbers really stand for themselves. He's the best punter in college football," Pawelek said. "I think you'd be crazy not to take a chance on him."
Pawelek, who earned a handful of All-American honors last fall after leading the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 85 catches from his tight end position, is also hoping a team gives him an opportunity.
The Smithson Valley, Texas native competed in the BSN Collegiate Showcase in Akron, Ohio at the beginning of March and tested well in a number of combine drills. He ran a 40-yard dash time of 4.59 seconds and benched 225 pounds 20 times.
"I wanted to give it a shot. I worked my butt off and went to the showcase and competed," said Pawelek, who graduated in December and is currently working on a rig in Houston. "I hope it does work out and something comes from it … but if it doesn't, I'm not going to have any regrets."
Pawelek (6-2, 240) started his college career as a quarterback and didn't make the change to tight end until 2011.
"I wish he had one more season with us," Mines coach Bob Stitt said. "I think he would've gotten some big-time looks had he had one more year playing the position."
The situation for Accardi, who is a year away from getting his mechanical engineering degree, is a bit different. The position rankings on CBSSports.com have Accardi as the 10th-ranked punter overall. He has worked out recently for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking. I didn't really get nervous anymore playing in college games, so it kind of brought the nerves back that I haven't had in a while," Accardi said of the workouts. "It was really exciting. I was just grateful they were out there and came all this way to watch me kick."
His strong leg certainly works in his favor – in the past two seasons Accardi has had three punts travel more than 80 yards – but punting in the NFL is less about distance and more about hang-time.
He worked with a kicking coach for the first time after the 2012 season came to a close and refined his technique."I changed basically my whole way of punting," he said. "I had a very unconventional style, and scouts really don't like to see that."
Getting noticed at a smaller school isn't always easy. Stitt said that competing for a Division II program can have its disadvantages. Take Woodhead for example. The former Chadron State standout was a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy winner who at one point owned the all-division NCAA career rushing record. Woodhead still went undrafted and had to work that much harder to find a permanent home in the NFL.
"He really kind of had to fight as a free agent. It took him a couple of years to get on the roster of the (New York) Jets and then the Patriots," Stitt said. "He's proven he's definitely an NFL-caliber player. Had he been Division I, he probably would have been drafted."
Going from D-II to the NFL, it's just going to be tougher.
In the history of Mines football, only three players have been drafted and eight more signed as undrafted free agents. The most recent of those was defensive lineman Marc Schiechl in 2011, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released before the regular season.
Schiechl, who set a D-II record with 46 sacks while with the Orediggers, is still playing professionally with the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League.
"It's kind of a blessing in disguise that I did to go a smaller school like this," Pawelek said. "It gives you an opportunity to shine."
The NFL Draft runs from April 25-27.
