CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – There was a buzz of excitement in the hallways of the Hawthorne Suites hotel just after 3:40 p.m. in Champaign on Friday following a string text-message pings hinting that former Kent State star Roosevelt Nix had made the final 53-man roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A tweet by Zac Jackson of ProFootballTalk.NBCsports.com confirmed the news.
Nix cemented his spot on the roster last night with a blocked punt in the Steelers final preseason game, completing the long shot and transforming himself from a college defensive lineman into an NFL full back. News of his big play on special teams reached the Kent State contingent in Illinois late in the team's 8 pm walkthrough at Memorial Stadium.
What Nix has accomplished is inspiring to everyone here. It follows in the long tradition of undrafted free agents from Kent State making NFL rosters. Could the news help to inspire another surprise as Kent State tries to upset the Fighting Illini?
Next Thursday's NFL opener will be all the more exciting for Kent State fans with five former Golden Flashes on the rosters of the Steelers and Patriots – Nix, James Harrison and Dri Archer with the Steelers and Julian Edelman and Josh Kline with the Patriots.
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