Appalachian State football players sign with NFL teams as undrafted free agents

No Appalachian State football players were picked on the final day of the seven-round NFL draft, but at least three Mountaineers have joined teams as undrafted free agents.

Saturday's post-draft signings included outside linebacker Kennan Gilchrist to the Dallas Cowboys, offensive lineman Parker Collins to the Jacksonville Jaguars and safety Alex Gray to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On his Facebook page, Collins called it one of the biggest moments of his life.

"Being an undrafted free agent is only going to be motivation," he wrote.

Collins, a 304-pound lineman, played guard and center as a three-year starter for the Mountaineers.

Gilchrist was one of two outside linebackers in App State's 3-4 defensive scheme, and Dallas runs a 4-3 scheme with a middle linebacker, strong-side linebacker and weakside linebacker who is usually smaller than the strong-side backer.

After playing at 215 pounds as a senior, Gilchrist increased his weight to 230 in advance of App State's pro day in late March, when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds and had 26 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press.

Gilchrist had 89 tackles, 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage and three sacks as a senior.

"This guy plays harder than anyone I have ever been around," App State coach Scott Satterfield tweeted Saturday night.

Gray has NFL-ready size as a 220-pound safety who stands between 6-foot-2 and 6-3 with a wingspan measured at 80 inches. A three-year starter at App State, he had 197 career tackles and three interceptions.

http://www.journalnow.com/sports/asu/app_trail/appalachian-state-football-players-sign-with-nfl-teams-as-undrafted/article_64d08b4a-2d34-11e7-b545-c72ad41fae6e.html