Vince Kowalski worked out for the Eagles on Wednesday April 9, 2015

For former Villanova standout offensive lineman Vince Kowalski, these past few months are familiar territory.
Four years ago, he was a star lineman from a top notch football program at Williamstown High School in South Jersey.

Kowalski did not fit exactly into the FBS (Division 1) mold for an offensive lineman so he ended up on the Main Line at the smaller but outstanding Villanova FCS (Division 1A) football team.
It was a great landing place for Kowalski, and an opportunity to play a lot of football and develop into the player he always believed he could be.

Since the end of the 2014 season, Kowalski has been making the rounds of NFL and NFL-related combines, pro days and private workouts with the goal of landing a spot on a pro football training camp roster.

Vince Kowalski with the Braves National Honor Student Varsity Football Athletes:
From Left to right: R. Stanzione , Vince Kowalski (Villanova 2015, WHS 2011), B.Paige and N. Chamberlin (N. Kendrick absent)

Kowalski is right back in the same place he was as a Brave under Williamstown coach Frank Fucetola; Trying to get a chance to make to the next level.

“It doesn’t really bother me,” Kowalski said. “It’s been fun. It was the same thing coming out of high school. A lot of people thought I was too small going into college. They thought I couldn’t put on the weight to play offensive line. That’s probably why a lot of the big schools didn’t look at me. I think that was their No. 1 reason… that I was too skinny out of high school. I ended up proving them wrong. I am up to 300 pounds now, the size of most college offensive linemen, and professional offensive linemen. So I proved I could put on that size and weight.
“Just because I come from Villanova doesn’t mean I’m not a good football player. I believe I can handle the next level and I believe I can do just as good as the other guys. I just need the opportunity prove myself. I need to be in the right situation and have a little bit of luck at the same time.”

Defensive lineman Howie Long, running back Brian Westbrook, offensive lineman Ben Ijalana and wide receiver Brian Finneran are just a few of the players the Wildcats have seen make it to the NFL level and succeed.
Small schools, much smaller programs than Villanova, have produced players that not only thrived in the NFL but had an impact.

Scores of offensive lineman such as Eagles Hank Fraley, Jaamal Jackson and most recently Todd Herremans did not play at the FBS level but were productive players at the NFL level.
Kowalski brought up this year’s Super Bowl to give another example and position.

“You can talk about that at any position,” Kowalski said. “You look at Malcolm Butler from New England, he played at Division II West Alabama and he made the biggest play in the Super Bowl. So with these (NFL) teams, what I’m finding out, is it doesn’t matter where you come from, they’re going to find the good football players whether it’s FBS, FCS or Division III they are the going to find these guys. It gives you the optimism that there are scouts and teams out there looking for people…at schools like Villanova for guys like me. Hopefully I’ve done everything I can to impress them just to get an opportunity.”

Last Wednesday Kowalski was invited to work out for Eagles coaches at the NovaCare Center.

“It was a really cool experience,” Kowalski said. “Growing up, being an Eagles fan, from that aspect it was cool getting to work out in front of the coaches, the front office and everyone on the staff.
I had a really good day, all we did was just some positional stuff, that’s all they had the linemen do. It was 45 minutes of strict positional work.”
Results?

“I thought I did really well,” said Kowalski, listed at 6-foot-4, 309 pounds. “I really don’t have anything I am looking back on saying I wish I did differently. I thought I moved well, I thought I had good techniques. I’m the only lineman they asked to stay at the end to talk with the coaches. That’s a good sign I believe. Then I sat with one of the assistant line coaches a little bit afterwards.“

Kowalski said he did not meet head coach Chip Kelly last week but said he met him earlier in the pre-draft process.

“I did not talk to him on Wednesday, but I actually met him in Arizona when I was at the NFL Super Regional combine,” Kowalski said. “He came up to me and talked to me for a few minutes. “
Kelly is well known for his attention to his offensive line. The Eagles coach brought in at least 19 offensive linemen for training camp his first year and at least 15 players last year.

So it is not a surprise a guy like Kowalski would end up on Kelly’s radar screen.

Left to right: Vince Kowalski, Villanova OL, Class 2015, Head Coach Frank Fucetola, Williamstown Braves, Temple Linebacker, Class 1972,
Defense Coach Ryan D’Imperio, Williamstown Braves, Rutgers Linebacker, Class 2010, NFL 6th Round Draft Minnesota Vikings (as Fullback), CEO 44 Football Training, LLC

Sometimes not being drafted can help a player ranked in the pack as Kowalski is on most draft websites . What is better? Getting picked in the sixth or seventh round by a team like the Dallas Cowboys, a team with an outstanding offensive line or being signed as a few agent by a team that is struggling in the area you have a real chance to catch on with?

“I’m expecting to be an undrafted free agent,” Kowalski admitted. “I’m not expecting to go in the draft coming from Villanova. But I’m fine with that. All I can ask for is the opportunity. And if the opportunity is going to present itself as an undrafted free agent, that’s the best I’m going to get. I’m going to take advantage of it. I have to take advantage of every rep I get in camp because I might only get one rep while I’m in there. I’ve got to make the most of it to stay on the roster. “