Nick Samac describes the moment he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens
“You OK playing for a Harbaugh?”
Those were the first words that Michigan State center Nick Samac heard from Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as Samac was drafted by the Ravens in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Harbaugh and the Ravens selected Samac with the No. 228 overall pick in the seventh round of the draft, which took place in front of a record-setting crowd in Detroit.
"I'm blessed to be a part of that amazing organization and prove to everybody that this was a great pick,” Samac said on Saturday evening. “It's definitely been a journey throughout my last year, and just been doing everything to get back right. And I've been on a good path. I’m kind of speechless.”
Samac’s journey as a Spartan was full of ups and downs. From coming in as a Mark Dantonio recruit, to going through two coaching changes, playing through a partial pectoral tear and suffering a season-ending broken left fibula, Samac has gone through adversity.
"I would say handling adversity comes with just experience,” Samac said. “Obviously Michigan State got dealt a good bit of adversity. And I think just going through it through the years, having good mentors when I was younger and to see how they handled adversity, and then growing into my own person and own leader, I think that's the main thing. You experience things and learn how to handle different situations based on that. I've always just prided myself on just being the best I can be every single day and never changing who I am.”
Going through all that adversity made getting the phone call from Baltimore's NFL organization all the more sweeter.
"It's been a long weekend waiting to hear my name called," Samac explained. "So when that call came in, you're never really 100 percent sure what's gonna happen. It was getting close to the end. So when I got that phone call and I was told the news, I started getting a little shaky and a little emotional there. My Dad grabbed me, and any time I'm in a moment like that and my Dad touches my shoulder or my back, I instantly break down. It was a great moment to be right next to my Mom and Dad during that experience. And, yeah, speechless like I said. It was an insane moment. I’m still trying to take it all in.”
Injury wise, Samac said that his clearance date is just a couple weeks away as he finishes recovering from his broken left fibula injury that he suffered against Indiana.
Samac does have some positional versatility, as he also has experience playing as a guard in high school. Playing guard is something Samac may have to do with Baltimore, considering Tyler Linderbaum, a former first-round draft pick, is currently the starting center for the Ravens.
“I think I have good size and I have all the tangibles,” Samac said about his comfortability playing guard. “I can play anywhere coach needs me to be and I’m happy to fit in anywhere.”
Wherever Samac plays for the Ravens, he thinks they are getting a quality player that will overcome challenges.
"They get a hard-worker, somebody that's gonna bring it every single day, 110 percent,” Samac added. “I'm not gonna back down from any challenge, and I'm gonna overcome any adversity that comes my way."
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