Saturday to Sunday: Cardinal Football Alumni

We love supporting our Cardinals even after they leave Ball State. No matter how long they’re in the NFL, it is impressive. Statistically speaking, not many high school football players end up playing in college and an even smaller amount make it to the NFL. It’s also exciting to see bsu alumni excelling in their field and doing something most of the country can’t. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at a few former Ball State Cardinals who either are currently in or formerly were in the NFL.

Alumni Currently in the NFL: Danny Pinter

Starting off with guard Danny Pinter, he was able to stay in Indiana by getting drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. Unfortunately he got injured over the summer and was placed on injured reserve and will miss the 2023-24 season. However, he started for the Colts last season and even scored a touchdown in 2021. As a lineman, that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment and it’s always exciting to see alumni do special things in the NFL.

https://www.colts.com/video/director-s-cut-danny-pinter-s-big-man-touchdown

He is currently on his last year of his contract so the goal and hope is his injury will not affect him either being re-signed by the Colts or getting picked up by another team in the league.

Alumni Currently in the NFL: Nic Jones

Next up is Nic Jones, a rookie corner-back. Nic graduated this past spring and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. He had some action in the pre-season but got injured during it. As the regular season started he healed up and is currently third on the depth chart. As the season progresses, look for him to get his shot to play in a game and prove he can be a valuable asset in the league.

Alumni Currently in the NFL: Amechi Uzodinma

Another spring graduate in his rookie season is Amechi Uzodinma. He just got drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers and plays corner-back. Unfortunately, like Danny Pinter, Amechi is on the injured reserve. There are not a lot of details about his injury, but whenever he’s healthy he can hope to get a chance to play some snaps for the Chargers and showcase his skills. It will be very fun to watch both Amechi and Nic throughout their careers and bring more success to the legacy of alumni in the NFL.

Alumni Currently in the NFL: Willie Snead

The last alumni we had on an active roster is Willie Snead. Currently, he is just on the practice squad for the 49ers but he’s had a pretty successful career in the NFL considering that he wasn’t drafted but signed on as a free agent. Snead started his career in 2014 bouncing around on different practice squads and made his regular season debut in 2015. He’s played for 5 different teams throughout his career and even got to play with NFL legend Drew Brees. Over his 8 years he’s acquired 279 receptions for 3431 yards and 16 touchdowns. What’s maybe his most impressive stat is in 2016 while on the Saints he threw a 50 yard touchdown as part of a trick play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mD5kjLYjWs.

Snead throughout his career has proven he can play an important role on any team and help them win games. It’s unclear how much longer Snead can or wants to play in the league, but either way he’s already earned the respect of fans and should be proud of his hard work. It’s hard enough to make it to the league, and it’s even harder to play for multiple seasons. Snead earned himself starting spots on more than one team which alone is an accomplishment. Whenever he decides to hang up the cleats he can forever reminisce on a special career.

Alumni Formerly in the NFL: Keith Wenning

There have been dozens of Ball State alumni that have either gotten drafted or signed to teams in the NFL, so we’re just going to highlight two more recent ones. Most recent is Kieth Wenning, a quarterback who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. He played for 4 different teams in the NFL and also was part of the practice squad for a short time in the Canadian Football League. According to his Instagram page, since his time in football is over he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids and still supports Ball State.

Alumni Formerly in the NFL: Jonathan Newsome

Another alumni drafted in 2014 was Jonathan Newsome. Just like Danny Pinter, Newsome was able to stay in Indiana by getting drafted by the Colts. Newsome was actually the first Ball State player to be drafted by the Colts and so far as of today Newsome and Pinter are the only two Ball State Alumni to be drafted by the Colts. Unfortunately, his time in Indy was cut short as he was released in 2016 due to an arrest. However, in his short time he put up pretty impressive numbers. He had 6.5 sacks his rookie year, which was the most by any Colts player that year and was the third most by a Colts rookie in franchise history.

https://www.colts.com/news/colts-unlikely-sack-leader-ready-for-the-playoffs-14695628.

After getting released by the Colts, he spent some time on a few different Canadian Football League teams. Newsome announced his retirement from professional football in 2021, but a year later he came out of retirement to play in the United States Football League. It’s great to see Newsome still purchasing his passion of playing professional football despite a setback early in his career.

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