Union City's Gonzalez signs with Arizona Cardinals

Union City's Steven Gonzalez (74), who signed a free agent contract with Arizona Sunday

As the National Football League Draft moved into the middle rounds this weekend, Steven Gonzalez stopped watching as intently as he was in the earlier rounds.

“I really kept up with it,” said the Union City native, who last fall completed a brilliant four-year career at Penn State as an offensive guard. “But once we got to the fifth round, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.”

So thus the lifelong dream of being selected in the NFL Draft had already become a distant memory.

“Sure, I was disappointed,” Gonzalez said. “There were a lot of mixed emotions going on. I really thought I was a draftable player. I thought I did well enough last year to get taken. A lot of things were working against me. I did get a little frustrated.”

Gonzalez had all the ingredients needed to get selected in the draft, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The two-time All-Big Ten selection, who played guard for the Nittany Lions despite having tackle size at 6-foot-4 and 341 pounds, was not taken in the draft, despite going into the draft as the No. 5 ranked guard in the entire country.

However, Gonzalez’s disappointment did not last very long, because he received a call from the Arizona Cardinals during the draft that if no team selected him, the Cardinals were interested in signing Gonzalez to a free-agent contract immediately after the draft.

“They said that they were not drafting any more linemen for the rest of the draft, but they were interested in signing me,” Gonzalez said. “I thought it was a good fit.”

Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. Gonzalez signed a free agent contract with the Cardinals and will head to the Cardinals’ training camp as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is cleared.

“I’m very excited,” Gonzalez said. “It’s an amazing place. I ended up with a really good team. I’m very excited for the opportunity to get a chance to play in the NFL.”

Gonzalez becomes the third Union City product to sign a free agent contract with an NFL team, ironically all three offensive linemen. Former Rutgers tackle Pedro Sosa signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and former Florida State national champion guard Josue Matias signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2015. Matias was the first player born in the Dominican Republic to play in the NFL.

Matias and Gonzalez are very close friends and Matias has served as a mentor to Gonzalez since Gonzalez was a little boy.

“I talk to Josue all the time,” Gonzalez said of Matias, who is currently on the coaching staff at Florida State. “He gives me advice all the time. He set the example for all of us to follow. I’m always going to ask him questions about what it’s like in the NFL. I’m lucky to have him.”

Gonzalez said that he spoke to “about five teams” after the draft was completed, but thought that Arizona was the best fit, blocking for players like quarterback Kyler Murray (the former Heisman Trophy winner out of Oklahoma) and newly acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

“My main goal now is to make the team,” Gonzalez said. “I have to learn the playbook and get ready to block for Kyler if I’m so fortunate. Blocking for him really doesn’t change much for what I’ve done already at Penn State. I’m used to blocking for a mobile quarterback (Sean Clifford). I think I can fit in well with the guys they have.”

Gonzalez said that he was first surprised that the Cardinals showed interest, because they didn’t contact him after the season ended.

“But then last month, they called me and let me know they might draft me,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said that the Cardinals are “a team on the rise and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

For now, Gonzalez will be working with the training group FASST based out of Lyndhurst, who have been training him for the last five years.

“I feel really good, really strong,” Gonzalez said. “I’m ready to go to work.”

Wilber Valdez, Gonzalez’s coach at Union City, said that he was a little taken back that Gonzalez wasn’t drafted.

“We were all surprised he wasn’t drafted,” Valdez said. “We thought he had a good shot. He was blocking guys for the last three years at Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State. I understand that it’s a business, but I don’t understand how he wasn’t taken. But he’s going to get a great shot to impress some people. I think he would have benefitted from having a pro day.”

Gonzalez’s pro day in front of all the NFL scouts was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“The pro scouts would have seen how much of a quality kid Steven is,” Valdez said. “A lot of the teams were flying blind with the draft. Steven is a bright kid, a respectful kid who blows people away with his presence.”

Valdez said that Matias went through the same dilemma five years ago.

“Josue was projected by some as a first round pick and he dropped all the way out,” Valdez said. “It’s a real tricky business, this NFL Draft. This is eerily similar to Josue Matias. I don’t know what the formula is to drafting an offensive lineman. But Steven is a kid who played for three solid years at Penn State and made All-Big 10 twice. He’s a great kid. He’s humble. I know he’s going to go out there and work his tail off. I think he’ll impress people with his football knowledge.”

Gonzalez will remain in New Jersey until everyone is given clearance to travel. For now, he’s home and trying to soak in the idea that he’s headed to an NFL training camp later this summer.

“It’s a blessing,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of people work hard, but never get a chance to have a moment like this. Words can’t explain how I feel. I’m still in shock.”

When Gonzalez was playing football at Union City, one of his biggest fans was his father, Jorge, who tragically died right before Gonzalez signed his letter of intent to attend Penn State. While everyone was celebrating the grand signing day, Steven Gonzalez was still in mourning over his father’s passing. But today, now that his son is officially a pro football player, the late Jorge Gonzalez would have been so extremely proud, probably wearing a Cardinal hat and jersey already.