Former Polish League Player Monté Gaddis Waiting For His NFL Shot

| American Football | 11/12/2015

Most players would do almost anything to get a chance to play in the biggest league in the world, the NFL. The hours and energy each one of them has devoted to the game would be impossible to count. Each one will tell you that one of the biggest lesson you learn as a football player is never to quit.

Poland - Gdynia Seahawks - Monte GaddisWell, Cleveland native Monté Gaddis may well epitomize the “never quit” doctrine more than most.

Gaddis, who played for the Polish champion Gdynia Seahawks in 2015, has been standing outside the Cleveland Browns headquarters for past three days, in pouring rain and bitter cold, asking to have a chance for a tryout with the team.

Now it seems as if his vigil may pan out. Wednesday, Browns General Manager Ray Farmer emerged from the building and walked and chatted with the 23 year old native of Cleveland. Although the conversation did not produce an immediate tryout, Farmer asked Gaddis for a copy of his game film from Poland.

He will also study film from Gaddis’ career at Towson University where he was a walk-on, and eventually earned a scholarship and became an All American. When he didn’t get drafted or earn an NFL tryout he opted for Europe and the Seahawks. But he never gave up on his dream. He believes he can play at the highest level.

 “Yes, I believe so,” Gaddis said, when asked if he could play in the NFL. “It’s not only the skill set, but the mindset, also, the mental toughness. Just me being humble with the things I’m doing off the field.”

As of late Wednesday, nothing more had happened from the Browns, so Gaddis will continue waiting and hoping while his cadre of supporters around the country and the world grows.

“It would mean a lot to me,” Gaddis said, when asked how he would feel about a tryout with the Browns. “But to be honest, the one thing I really want to do is just be able to make the team, put on the helmet and just prove myself right that I belong there.”

Tweets are pouring in with support for the “Gaddis” campaign and his band of Twitter followers is growing exponentially in number. And judging by some of the tweets, Monté Gaddis is not only garnering support for himself, but providing inspiration for others who also share the same dream.

 

Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.