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WRIGHT TWP. — Shakir Soto spent the majority of his Saturday with his phone in his hands, plugged into a charger in the wall, and his eyes glued to the television.
NFL Network’s draft coverage was on in every TV at the GAR grad’s draft party, which was at a family member’s house in Mountain Top, and Soto sat anxiously in a chair in the family room waiting for his phone to ring.
It was a long wait, but shortly before the seventh round ended, Soto received the final word that he’d be joining the Denver Broncos as a priority free agent.
“I’m blessed and I’m happy to get to Denver and get to work,” Soto said. “I’m from Wilkes-Barre. You don’t get opportunities like this all the time. I’m happy just to get this opportunity just to get this chance. I’m just blessed. All this hard work paid off.”
While he received plenty of phone calls and texts during the seven-hour long Day 3 of the NFL Draft, the one Soto was waiting for didn’t come until there were four picks left in the sixth round.
He got a call from a Broncos assistant coach that the AFC West team wanted him “bad” as an undrafted free agent. So the defensive tackle immediately called his agent, Cary Fabrikant, to start putting things in motion. Even though Soto had conversations going with other teams, Denver was where he wanted to be. By the end of the seventh round it was a “done deal” as he described it.
They were a team he was in contact with throughout the pre-draft process, and he had even heard from representatives within the last 10 days.
“Denver was the most consistent team I talked to. I had a great feeling I was going there,” Soto said. “The people from there liked me a lot. We vibed a lot.”
Once everything was final, the first person Soto wanted to break the news to was his mother, Rhonda Vieney.
He got up from his chair in the family room and went outside onto the deck. One of his family members told his mom to join him outside. There he broke the news that he’d be going to Denver and the two broke down in tears of joy.
“It’s great. My family’s happy,” Soto said. “We come from nothing. I’m the first of my generation of kids. I set the bar high for them. We have a lot of young athletes coming up. I try to lead by example.”
As the news started to break online, Soto was bombarded with text messages and social media alerts. Overwhelming as it was, it brought a smile.
“It’s just crazy. It shows you the support I have,” Soto said. “It shows you how much love the city has for me, and they give it back to me because I give it back to them. I show respect to Wilkes-Barre. I always go to schools, and things like that, and talk to kids.”
As Soto briefly thought about his future, he couldn’t help but picture the possibility of playing on the same defense as Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller, Aqib Talib, TJ Ward and Chris Harris Jr. The former University of Pittsburgh defensive tackle is excited to play in first-year head coach Vance Joesph’s defense.
Soto also got a call Saturday night from his Pitt teammate Tyrique Jarrett that the nose tackle signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent as well.
“It’s going to be cool lining up next to him. I’m excited for that,” Soto said of playing with Miller. “I was just thinking about all of that. It’s going to be crazy. It’s still crazy to me. It’s always been a dream for me.”
Even though Soto didn’t hear his name called during the NFL Draft, it didn’t matter. All along he knew he needed one chance and he got it.
Not to mention it was given to him by the team he wanted to go to all along.
“No matter if I got drafted the first pick or I didn’t, I’ll always be hungry. I always want more, I’ll never be satisfied,” Soto said. “I’m a kid from the Heights. I’m motivated. I’m going to try to do big things for the city of Wilkes-Barre. Try to influence these kids, my family, the kids that look up to me in the city. I do this all for everybody — my family, everyone from Wilkes-Barre, the 570, my supporters.”
Lewis making moves
Like Soto, Wyoming Valley West and Meyers alum Geno Lewis did not hear his name get called during the draft this weekend.
However, the former Penn State and Oklahoma wide receiver is making progress on the market as an undrafted free agent. He said Saturday night that his agent Marty Magid said he’s going to get a call Sunday morning “for an invite” to the Cincinnati Bengals’ rookie minicamp.
Lewis will have the opportunity to join Oklahoma teammate, running back Joe Mixon, who was taken by the Bengals in the second round.
Newins waiting for call
Former Misericordia punter Pat Newins also didn’t hear his name called, but he heard from a Washington Redskins scout Saturday night that he might have an invite to the team’s rookie minicamp with his name on it.
Newins said he would know whether or not it became official by Sunday morning.
Check back for updates.