It’s the time that dreams come true: the NFL Draft.
For most athletes, the fantasy of being selected by an NFL team has been many years in the making. From the traditional first game of catch in the back yard, through stellar high school and college careers to this point of now waiting for the phone to ring during an elongated weekend in late April.
For others, such as Habakkuk Baldonado, the dream was only forged a handful of years ago, and not in one of the fifty states that span America, but in the less likely setting of Rome, Italy.
Baldonado, a six-feet-five, 260 pounds defensive end coming out of the University of Pittsburgh, first discovered the gridiron at the age of 13 and four years later was pulling on the Azzurri of the Italian junior national team. Now, he is an effective edge rusher - one of the most coveted commodities in modern football - anticipating that life-changing phone call from an NFL team’s general manager or coach.
“I hope most people know right now that I’m from Rome, Italy – I’m not even American,” said Baldonado, keen to stress the early stages of his development when talking at the NFL Combine in March.
The latest wave of Italian youth talents following in his footsteps breezed past Great Britain 34-0 earlier this month in the IFAF European U19 Championship and will now play for fifth place in the final standings September against Germany. If Baldonado can develop from that very same junior national team platform to a potential NFL Draft pick – he is a projected sixth or seventh round selection - why shouldn’t they?
The relative novelty of a European player being plucked from the stable of college standouts to play on any given Sunday is nothing new. As far back as 1994, defensive back Romeo Bandison from The Hague, who had played amateur football in the Netherlands, was taken by the Washington Redskins in the third round.
And there have been several others.
Among them, Sebastian Vollmer was a beast of a teenager when he lined up for Team Europe, selected from stars of U19 football from across the continent in 2003 at the NFL Global Junior Championship, an international tournament played annually during Super Bowl week in the host city. The native of Kaarst, Germany, literally stood head and shoulders above his peers and was recruited by the University of Houston. The New England Patriots selected Vollmer in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he went on to start at left tackle and win Super Bowls XLIX and LI.
Compatriot Bjoern Werner was an unprecedented 24th overall selection of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, having at one time been talked about as a top three pick. The defensive end’s roots were firmly entrenched in German youth football. He played for his hometown Berlin Adler and represented the German national team at the 2009 IFAF U19 World Championship, helping to secure fifth place with wins over New Zealand (52-7) and Sweden (14-0).
Werner was also a member of the inaugural IFAF World Team, while attending the Salisbury School in Connecticut. Playing every game during three years at Florida State, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 before the Colts came calling.
Back to Baldonado. His performances with the Italian junior squad came not long after he had been intrigued enough by watching the performances of Ray Lewis and Richard Sherman on YouTube to take up the sport. Baldonado stood out enough for one of his coaches to recommend he should be pursued by the Clearwater Academy International in Florida. There, he played one season at the high school level recording 30.5 sacks and 83 tackles and even caught two touchdowns when lining up on offense, earning attention from college recruiters.
Baldonado started 22 games and played in a total of 40 for Pitt, leading the team with 9 sacks in 2021, earning ACC second team honors as the Panthers won the ACC Championship. The Italian was considered a potential first round pick, or Draft sleeper before the 2022 college football campaign, but injury disrupted his anticipated rise last season. Invitations to the East-West Shrine Bowl and the NFL Combine were still forthcoming.
As for this weekend, according to one mock draft, Baldonado is a potential fifth round selection, while another predicts he will head to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 252nd overall pick, seven spots before the player given the Mr. Irrelevant tag. He is regarded as a raw talent who like Vollmer before him has a high ceiling.
Wherever the former Lazio Marines and Italian junior national team standout lands the message is clear to young football players, not only in Italy but across the expanding international reach of American football: set big goals because on nights like these, your dreams can come true.
Photo courtesy of University of Pittsburgh
