Prepping to be Panthers
PITTSBURGH — Their impact may not be felt at Heinz Field this season.
But in coming years? They only hope.
Butler graduates Jake Kradel and Nick Stazer are a pair of freshman guards on the University of Pittsburgh football team. They arrived there through radically different means.
Kradel, at 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, was heavily receruited by the Panthers and verbally committed to Pitt his junior year. He graduated from Butler early and enrolled at Pitt last winter, taking part in spring practice.
“That definitely put me ahead of the game a little bit, at least with the freshmen who came in this summer,” Kradel said. “And I was able to log a 3.2 grade point average while picking up 15 credits.”
Kradel is majoring in business.
The 6-4, 295-pound Stazer is at Pitt, well, partially because of Kradel.
“One of their coaches was at a Butler practice last year talking to Jake when I happened to walk by,” Stazer said. “He noticed my size and Jake told him about me.
“The guy came over and talked with me, said they'd keep an eye on me, and they eventually invited me to walk on.”
Stazer played only one year of varsity football — his senior season — and made a consistent impact along the line of scrimmage for the Golden Tornado last year.
He is majoring in education.
“To be honest, playing D-1 football was in the back of my mind when I decided to play my senior year,” Stazer said. “If that didn't work out, I probabably wasn't going to play college ball at all.”
Akron also had interest in Stazer, who decided to take the walk-on opportunity with the Panthers. He and Kradel are not roommates, however.
“Jake had a roommate before I came here, so he stuck with him,” Stazer said. “But it's cool being here with him. Even though our team didn't win many games last year, we feel like we're representing Butler when we take the (practice) field.
“We haven't talked about possibly starting together for Pitt's offensive line in a couple of years or so, but I've thought about it and I'm sure he's thought about it.”
Kradel is hopeful of getting on the field in some capacity for the Panthers in a few games this season. He said the NCAA's new red-shirt rule may help him achieve that goal.
“You can play in as many as four games and still be red-shirted,” Kradel said. “If I can get on the field goal unit or see some snaps as a back-up ... anything that would help in my development.
“Taking part in spring ball, I was able ro learn a lot about my footwork and got a little acclimated to the speed at this level. But when I first got the playbook, man, it was huge.
“I was confused about half the plays when I was out there,” he added.On occasion, Kradel has lined up against some of the Panthers' starting defensive linemen. Most of the time, he's been squaring off against other freshmen and younger players.“It's been a great experience and I have an idea about what I have to do to play here,” he said.Stazer admitted he's still “going through the process that every first-year college player has to go through.”He has primnarily been practicing with other freshmen.“We all have to get stronger, get faster,” he said. “It's going to take a lot to get to the level I need to be at to play for Pitt.“I fully expect to get red-shirted and I could use that time to prepare.”Kradel has been working at left guard, Stazer at right and left guard.“I just want to be ready,” Kradel said. “I'm not in the mix (for playing time) now, but if a couple of injuries happen ... you never know. Things change.”
