By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Ross Kolodziej wasn't sitting at home with friends and family watching the National Football League Draft on television last weekend, as many draft hopefuls do, waiting for the telephone to ring and his name to be called on ESPN.
Instead, a friend watched his cellular phone while the 1995 Stevens Point Area Senior High graduate threw the shot put for the Wisconsin Badgers at a track and field meet outside of Los Angeles, Calif.
The big call came for Kolodziej, a three-year starter on the defensive line for the Badgers, from the New York Giants on Sunday, April 22, when the Giants picked him with the 30th pick in the seventh round, 230th overall.
Kolodziej, who was not throwing at the time, had walked up the hill that overlooks the track to watch part of the meet. "Actually I was on the line with Indianapolis and I clicked over," he said.
A front office employee of the Giants was on the other line, Kolodziej said. "He said, 'Ross, have you been drafted yet?' I said, 'No.' And he said, 'Good, you're a New York Giant.'"
It's a bit ironic that Kolodziej was on the phone with a representative of the Indianapolis Colts when he was drafted. That franchise, when in Baltimore, picked Rick Reichardt in the 17th round of the 1965 draft. Reichardt is the only other Stevens Point high school player to be selected.
Kolodziej thought of watching the draft with his family in Stevens Point or staying in Madison with roommate and fellow draftee Jason Doering (Indianapolis, sixth round), but he decided to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
"I thought it would allow me to get away from (the draft), but in a way it was sort of stressful," Kolodziej said. It was a relief, he said, when the Giants made the pick.
"When they called me, I talked to the head coach, Jim Fassel. He was one of the first people I talked to," Kolodziej said. "They said they were just really pleased to be able to pick me. They said that I'd come in and be basically sitting at the second string."
Kolodziej wasn't projected to be selected on the draft's first day, Saturday, April 21, which covers the first three rounds. But he said he was in contact with several teams throughout the draft Sunday, including the Philadelphia Eagles and the Carolina Panthers.
"I started getting calls before the second day started," he said. "That gave me a false sense of security. I thought I'd be going really early. I was really talking to about 12 teams that seemed like a really good situation."
The former SPASH star ended up with the Giants, who were the National Football Conference's representative in last year's Super Bowl.
"That was a team I was really holding out for," Kolodziej said. "So it really worked out for the best.
"You couldn't really hope for a much better situation to be brought into. I'm really excited to first have the opportunity to play, and second to have the opportunity to play for such a great organization."
He joins a trio of former Wisconsin teammates in New York, including running back Ron Dayne, the Heisman Trophy winner from the 1999 season and New York's first round pick in 2000. Linebacker Pete Monty and offensive lineman Derek Engler have both been with the Giants since the 1997 season.
Kolodziej will get his first taste of the NFL this weekend, as the Giants hold a mini-camp for rookies. The camp is optional for veterans.
"All I got was a little bit of information (Wednesday night)," he said. "We'll get there and they'll do some testing and then we'll have real basic type practices. It's more of a learning type of situation."