EDWARDSVILLE - One day after A.J. Epenesa was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 2020 National Football League Draft, another former Edwardsville standout football player will be going to the NFL.
Former Tigers' offensive lineman Nick Kaltmayer was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday after not having been selected during the Draft's seven rounds.
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Kaltmayer, who graduated from Edwardsville High in 2014, was a second-team All-Southwestern Conference lineman as a junior and a first-team all-conference selection in his senior season. He was also first-team All-Metro in his senior season as selected by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and an Illinois all-academic pick. He started his college career at Western Illinois, playing in six of the Leathernecks' last seven games, starting against eventual NCAA Football Championship Subdivision National Champion North Dakota State. He transferred to Kansas State the next season, sitting out 2016 as a redshirt, and in three years playing for the Wildcats, started against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl, and helped K-State to a team bowl record 344 yards rushing in a win over the Bruins. He earned second team All-Academic honors in the Big XiI Conference, making the first team in his final two years.
Kaltmayer, who stands 6' 8" and weighs 311 pounds, was also named to the ESPN All-Bowl team for his performance against UCLA in 2017, and this past season, was part of an offensive line that helped the Wildcats to a 178 yards-per-game average, fourth best in the Big XII, and the team's 29 rushing touchdowns were third best in the conference. Kaltmayer was also named honorable mention on the coaches All-Conference team, and appeared in 37 career games for K-State.
According to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the NFL Players' Association, undrafted free agents sign a three-year contact with teams, with a right to renegotiate the contract following the players' second season. The player can become a restricted free agent following his fourth season in the league, then an unrestricted free agent after his fifth season. A player can also receive a signing bonus based upon a pool of money that's a part of a team's salary cap restrictions. There is also no limit about how much guaranteed money a undrafted free agent can earn in base salary.
In other undrafted free agent signings, Missouri offensive lineman Trystan Colton-Castillo signed with the Baltimore Ravens, while cornerback DeMarkus Acy signed with the San Francisco 49ers. There have been no announcements regarding undrafted free agents from Illinois as of yet.
