CHERRY TWP — Moniteau graduate Brice Schwab has accepted a contract as a non-drafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 6-foot-7, 309-pound right tackle started for Arizona State last season. He was benched by the Sun Devils midway through the 2010 season. He was red-shirted the following year.

“It was at that point I had to stop doing what I wanted to do and started doing what I needed to do,” Schwab said. “That benching made me prioritize my life.

“From that point, I just went after my dream.”

Schwab was contacted by six NFL teams during the final day of the draft Saturday.

“Nerve-wracking, that’s how it was,” he said. “A team would call and ask me the same questions. They all wanted to know what the other teams were thinking.”

When the draft ended, 14 NFL teams made Schwab free agent offers. He and his agent quickly narrowed those choices to the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay.

Schwab said the Cardinals showed plenty of interest in him throughout Saturday “and I thought they were going to pick me late.

“They called and said they didn’t know if it was going to work out.”

When it didn’t, Schwab turned his attention toward Tampa Bay.

The Bucs did not draft an offensive lineman and are bringing in one other lineman as a non-drafted free agent — Jason Weaver of Southern Mississippi. Weaver is not a tackle.

Schwab said the Bucs told him they had interested in selecting him with a draft pick, “but they gave up some picks in the (Darrelle) Revis trade and that hurt my chances.

“Tampa Bay is the best opportunity for me,” Schwab said. “It’s going to be tough, I know, but there’s a fire lit under me right now. I’m going down there to give it my all.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m not going to short myself.”

Schwab is flying to Tampa next week and will officially sign his contract then before undergoing a series of workouts with the team. He will become the first Moniteau graduate to sign an NFL contract.

“Brice stopped by my office for a visit before the draft and I told him that no matter what happens, I’m proud of him,” Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell said. “There were two or three times during his life he could have quit, just given up, and nobody would have blamed him. I wouldn’t have blamed him.

“But that kid just kept on going.”

Schwab was a Division I college prospect coming out of high school, but his academic standing at the time forced him to go the junior college route. Two years later, he accepted an opportunity to play for USC, but a coaching change there caused that situation to crumble.

He wound up at Arizona State, but was benched two years ago before coaching changes there gave him another shot.

“To get this far, it’s a process that goes beyond physical ability,” Campbell said. “After a while, it becomes more mental than physical.

“Brice just really, really wanted this. He refused to quit on it. This is a great thing for him, a good thing for Moniteau.”

Being the first player from Moniteau — and one of very few from the Keystone-Shortway Athletic Conference — to get an opportunity in an NFL camp has not hit Schab just yet.

“No, it hasn’t,” he admitted. “This is such a tough process and it’s not over yet.

“I’ve always been goal-oriented and I’m still pursuing that goal. I’m from a small town and I’m proud of where I’m from. My family gave me the work ethic I have. I’m going to give this all I have.”