Crim: With NFL draft looming, Culver-Stockton College’s Rupcich ready to see dream come true

CANTON, Mo. — The list of football players with ties to Culver-Stockton College who have been selected in an NFL draft begins and ends with Bob Hendren.

The offensive lineman, who enrolled in C-SC before transferring to the University of Southern California, was chosen by Washington in the seventh round in 1946, when the league featured 10 teams and two divisions. He appeared in 36 games for the Redskins over three seasons from 1949-51.

Seventy-six years later, Andrew Rupcich hopes to join him when the NFL conducts its annual college draft April 28-30 in Las Vegas.

“That’s something you dream about as a kid, getting into the NFL,” he said.

Whether Rupcich hears his name called during the three-day draft or signs as a free agent, he expects to be in an NFL camp next month. Once there, the 6-foot-6, 320-pounder plans to do demonstrate the ability and versatility deserving of a roster spot.

He’s come too far the last five years at Culver-Stockton to get this close to let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away.

“I’m a big believer in doing all the little things right to get the big things to come around,” Rupcich said. “It all starts when you wake up in the morning. The decisions you make impact your future. I’ve tried to be honest with myself, work hard and do the things that need to be done.”

An offensive tackle from Wonder Lake, Ill., Rupcich was a three-time AFCA/NAIA All-America first team selection. He was a four-time All-Heart of America Athletic Conference first-team choice and a two-time Associated Press NAIA All-American.

Writing for cbssports.com earlier this year, Emory Hunt said Rupcich “might be the best offensive lineman in NAIA history; that’s how dominant he was on film.”

However, he gained the most notoriety for completing one pass.

In the third quarter of a two-possession game against Benedictine in September 2019 at C-SC’s Ellison Poulton Stadium, Rupcich connected with Brody Hassel on a 44-yard pass play that set up a Nathan Barnes 1-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats lost 27-7, but the play became an internet sensation.

The video of Rupcich’s toss went viral and was used on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast. His 15 minutes of fame kept going as he was the first player from an NAIA school to win the Piesman Trophy, given annually since 2015 to a lineman who does something that transcends the position.

It is typically described as being given to a lineman who does un-lineman like things.

“It’s the fat man Heisman,” Rupcich joked at the time.

“The pass may have helped get me some recognition a little bit, but not as much as some might think.”

That’s because by then, his size and punishing blocking skills at left tackle were beginning to catch the attention of NFL scouts.

“The next spring a Chiefs’ scout showed up and took measurements and everything,” Rupcich said. “I was not getting the usual small-school treatment. That’s the moment when I first thought (the NFL) could be a reality.”

To understand how daunting making the jump from NAIA to the NFL can be, only five of the 2,853 players who appeared in the league in 2020 were from that division, according to USA Today.

“It’s hard to catch the eye of scouts at this level,” Rupcich said. “They buzz over a lot of small schools. I have to give a lot of credit to Coach (Tom) Sallay. He worked his butt off to pitch me to teams, to basically get them to come see me.

“You can’t teach size, and I have the size (for the NFL). And I’m able to move athletically. A lot of kids at this level don’t have size and athletic ability.”

His dominating play earned Rupcich an invitation to play in the National Football League Players Association Collegiate Bowl in late January at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. His coaching staff included former Cincinnati Coach Marvin Lewis and Jackie Slater, a Hall of Fame tackle with the Rams and offensive line coach.

Nearly 200 scouts, player personnel staff, general managers and head coaches were in attendance for the week of practice leading up to the game.

“Talking with my agent, we knew the single most important thing to get drafted or picked up is how you perform in one of those games,” said Rupcich, who moved inside from tackle to guard and was generally given high marks for his work that week against stepped-up Division I competition.

“The biggest thing was showing versatility. I wanted to show that I can play more than tackle. I can play guard and I can play center. I’ll play wherever a team needs me.”

He was the only NAIA player invited to the NFL Combine in early March at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, although he pulled a hamstring midway through the 40-yard dash, keeping him out of position drills and shuttles.

However, Rupcich had an opportunity to work out in front of scouts during the University of Missouri pro day later in March and was at the Chicago Bears local pro day last Friday.

All there’s left to do now is continue to train and wait.

Most NFL scouting services say Rupcich will need to improve his lateral quickness as a run blocker and strength as a pass blocker versus NFL rushers to have an opportunity to stick with a team. They project him as either a late Day 3 selection or a priority free agent signee.

Either would be quite an accomplishment for a player from Culver-Stockton, which set a record for most victories in program history last fall by going 8-3.

Aside from Hendren, the only Wildcat to appear in the NFL was Jason Kaiser, a college quarterback-turned-defensive back who appeared in one game for Dallas in 1998 after spending parts of two seasons in the Canadian Football League and parts of two more on practice squads in Kansas City and Dallas.

“Either way, I’m going to approach it the same way as I have the last five years here,” Rupcich said. “I’m a competitive person. I’m going to hold myself responsible. I always do things by the book, how it needs to be done.

“Undrafted free agents have a harder road, but at the same time, you get to choose the team … go to a team with the most opportunity. I’ll end up in a camp somewhere in May and my goal is to earn a roster spot.

“Playing in the NFL would be a dream come true.”