Indiana University Athletics
Stepaniak Ready to ‘Battle’ for Packers Playing Time
4/27/2020 8:43:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The NFL challenge is clear. Simon Stepaniak knows that. The former Indiana offensive line standout has spent much of his life training for it.
Now that it's arrived courtesy of Saturday's sixth-round selection by the Green Bay Packers, Stepaniak knows what to expect.
"It's just competing every day," he says. "The NFL is a dog-eat-dog environment. I know what I'm stepping into. You've got to be 100 percent ready to go."
The phone call that changed Stepaniak's life came while he was at his mother's Ohio home waiting, wondering and watching.
The NFL Draft had stretched into its third and final day. The sixth of seven rounds was coming to a close and a guy with imposing size (6-4, 313 pounds) and strength (making The Athletic's Bruce Feldman's Freaks list that showcased players with rare physical ability) hoped he had made a big enough impression despite a knee injury and pandemic obstacles.
He had.
"We were all watching the rounds go by, pick after pick," Stepaniak says. "I didn't have a good gauge on where I would land. I knew since the injury late round or a free agent was a high possibility."
Then the Packers called on Saturday with the 209th pick.
"When I saw an unknown number call from the Green Bay area, my heart started pounding," Stepaniak says. "I answered it. It was one of their local scouts from this area."
The call confirmed what the TV showed via the remote draft.
"Everyone went crazy," Stepaniak says. "It was awesome."
Stepaniak, who had worked off pre-draft stress by chopping down trees at his grandmother's Ohio farm with former IU teammate Brandon Knight, now an offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, hadn't expected a Green Bay destination.
"I had an interview with them at the Combine. Since then I was in contact with a couple of their scouts, but nothing was definite. It was kind of shocking, but not a total surprise. They were among the teams on my radar if free agency was to happen. They picked me up. I just have to get up there."
Normally, team workouts in Green Bay would happen this week, but these are not normal times. Like the sports world and just about everything else during this pandemic, Packers facilities are closed, with no date for a reopening set.
"I don't think anyone knows," Stepaniak says. "That's the way of the world right now. We're waiting for those above football to declare it's safe."
In the meantime, there's plenty of work to do.
The Packers will have remote team meetings this week. Stepaniak will participate via his iPad.
"They'll start sending us videos to watch," he says. "There will be time for the rookies to acclimate."
Until he can physically join the team, he'll continue working out at home.
"I'm pretty set with what I need. There definitely could be things I could use to do better things, but that's the situation I'm in."
Stepaniak's NFL Combine results suggest he's better than a sixth-round pick, but three things hurt him -- the cancelation of IU's Pro Day because of the pandemic, a knee injury suffered while practicing for January's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and the fact he was unable to work out or meet with teams.
Still, you see a 6-4, 313-pound guy who bench pressed 225 pounds 37 times (the second most at the Combine), and it gets your attention.
Former IU wide receiver Nick Westbrook knows all about that. He spent five years with Stepaniak.
"I wasn't paying attention (when Stepaniak was drafted)," says Westbrook, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. "I was on my phone. My mom screamed out, 'Simon!'
"We all cheered. I texted him. It was awesome to see him picked by the Packers. That was one of my favorite teams growing up. It will be cool to see him there."
The Packers seek to build offensive line depth. They took two other offensive linemen in the sixth round -- Michigan's Jon Runyan Jr. and Oregon's Jake Hanson.
"The biggest thing for me is getting back healthy so my knee will let me perform at full speed," Stepaniak says. "I want to participate 100 percent in everything."
The plan is to be ready for July's training camp – if it is held.
"I'm hoping to be ready by camp or mid-camp, whenever that might be," he says. "It's whenever (doctors) clear me. From that point on, every day will be a battle trying to get one of those interior spots."
Stepaniak's background suggests he's ready.
In 458 passing attempts last season, he allowed just one sack and 14 pressures while earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. He started 31 games in his career, and played in 41 overall.
He was a big reason why the Hoosiers threw for a school-record 3,931 and tied the program record with nine 30-point games last season.
Stepaniak is the fourth IU offensive lineman to be drafted in the last four years, joining tackle Jason Spriggs (second-round pick by Green Bay in 2016), guard Dan Feeney (third-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017) and guard Wes Martin (fourth-round pick by Washington in 2019).
He also extends Indiana's streak of having at least one player drafted to seven-straight seasons. Eleven Hoosiers have been drafted in that stretch.
"That's something that we're proud of," IU head coach Tom Allen says, "but it involves way more people than myself. A lot of previous coaches and staffs had a lot to do with it, plus a lot of hard work by a lot of people."
While Spriggs has moved on to the Chicago Bears, he did give Stepaniak insight on what playing for the Packers is like.
"He said a lot of good things about the organization," Stepaniak says. "He said I'll fit right in. Be ready to give all you got because they'll give all they got."
Stepaniak is also the second player from Cincinnati Ross High School to be drafted by an NFL team. Offensive lineman Jay Bachman was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. He later played for Denver.
"It's kind of a surreal moment to be part of that legacy," Stepaniak says. "I'm pretty humbled."
Stepaniak grew up in Cincinnati Bengals country, but family loyalty has its limits.
"Now they'll be Packers fans," Stepaniak says.
That's not, he adds, a hard thing to become.
"I remember growing up watching (Green Bay quarterback) Aaron Rodgers play. It's just amazing with Lambeau Field and the history of that team. It will be a great experience. I can't wait to get up there and do everything I can."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The NFL challenge is clear. Simon Stepaniak knows that. The former Indiana offensive line standout has spent much of his life training for it.
Now that it's arrived courtesy of Saturday's sixth-round selection by the Green Bay Packers, Stepaniak knows what to expect.
"It's just competing every day," he says. "The NFL is a dog-eat-dog environment. I know what I'm stepping into. You've got to be 100 percent ready to go."
The phone call that changed Stepaniak's life came while he was at his mother's Ohio home waiting, wondering and watching.
The NFL Draft had stretched into its third and final day. The sixth of seven rounds was coming to a close and a guy with imposing size (6-4, 313 pounds) and strength (making The Athletic's Bruce Feldman's Freaks list that showcased players with rare physical ability) hoped he had made a big enough impression despite a knee injury and pandemic obstacles.
He had.
"We were all watching the rounds go by, pick after pick," Stepaniak says. "I didn't have a good gauge on where I would land. I knew since the injury late round or a free agent was a high possibility."
Then the Packers called on Saturday with the 209th pick.
"When I saw an unknown number call from the Green Bay area, my heart started pounding," Stepaniak says. "I answered it. It was one of their local scouts from this area."
The call confirmed what the TV showed via the remote draft.
"Everyone went crazy," Stepaniak says. "It was awesome."
Stepaniak, who had worked off pre-draft stress by chopping down trees at his grandmother's Ohio farm with former IU teammate Brandon Knight, now an offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, hadn't expected a Green Bay destination.
"I had an interview with them at the Combine. Since then I was in contact with a couple of their scouts, but nothing was definite. It was kind of shocking, but not a total surprise. They were among the teams on my radar if free agency was to happen. They picked me up. I just have to get up there."
Normally, team workouts in Green Bay would happen this week, but these are not normal times. Like the sports world and just about everything else during this pandemic, Packers facilities are closed, with no date for a reopening set.
"I don't think anyone knows," Stepaniak says. "That's the way of the world right now. We're waiting for those above football to declare it's safe."
In the meantime, there's plenty of work to do.
The Packers will have remote team meetings this week. Stepaniak will participate via his iPad.
"They'll start sending us videos to watch," he says. "There will be time for the rookies to acclimate."
Until he can physically join the team, he'll continue working out at home.
"I'm pretty set with what I need. There definitely could be things I could use to do better things, but that's the situation I'm in."
Stepaniak's NFL Combine results suggest he's better than a sixth-round pick, but three things hurt him -- the cancelation of IU's Pro Day because of the pandemic, a knee injury suffered while practicing for January's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and the fact he was unable to work out or meet with teams.
Still, you see a 6-4, 313-pound guy who bench pressed 225 pounds 37 times (the second most at the Combine), and it gets your attention.
Former IU wide receiver Nick Westbrook knows all about that. He spent five years with Stepaniak.
"I wasn't paying attention (when Stepaniak was drafted)," says Westbrook, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. "I was on my phone. My mom screamed out, 'Simon!'
"We all cheered. I texted him. It was awesome to see him picked by the Packers. That was one of my favorite teams growing up. It will be cool to see him there."
The Packers seek to build offensive line depth. They took two other offensive linemen in the sixth round -- Michigan's Jon Runyan Jr. and Oregon's Jake Hanson.
"The biggest thing for me is getting back healthy so my knee will let me perform at full speed," Stepaniak says. "I want to participate 100 percent in everything."
The plan is to be ready for July's training camp – if it is held.
"I'm hoping to be ready by camp or mid-camp, whenever that might be," he says. "It's whenever (doctors) clear me. From that point on, every day will be a battle trying to get one of those interior spots."
Stepaniak's background suggests he's ready.
In 458 passing attempts last season, he allowed just one sack and 14 pressures while earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. He started 31 games in his career, and played in 41 overall.
He was a big reason why the Hoosiers threw for a school-record 3,931 and tied the program record with nine 30-point games last season.
Stepaniak is the fourth IU offensive lineman to be drafted in the last four years, joining tackle Jason Spriggs (second-round pick by Green Bay in 2016), guard Dan Feeney (third-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017) and guard Wes Martin (fourth-round pick by Washington in 2019).
He also extends Indiana's streak of having at least one player drafted to seven-straight seasons. Eleven Hoosiers have been drafted in that stretch.
"That's something that we're proud of," IU head coach Tom Allen says, "but it involves way more people than myself. A lot of previous coaches and staffs had a lot to do with it, plus a lot of hard work by a lot of people."
While Spriggs has moved on to the Chicago Bears, he did give Stepaniak insight on what playing for the Packers is like.
"He said a lot of good things about the organization," Stepaniak says. "He said I'll fit right in. Be ready to give all you got because they'll give all they got."
Stepaniak is also the second player from Cincinnati Ross High School to be drafted by an NFL team. Offensive lineman Jay Bachman was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s. He later played for Denver.
"It's kind of a surreal moment to be part of that legacy," Stepaniak says. "I'm pretty humbled."
Stepaniak grew up in Cincinnati Bengals country, but family loyalty has its limits.
"Now they'll be Packers fans," Stepaniak says.
That's not, he adds, a hard thing to become.
"I remember growing up watching (Green Bay quarterback) Aaron Rodgers play. It's just amazing with Lambeau Field and the history of that team. It will be a great experience. I can't wait to get up there and do everything I can."
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