By Jeremy Hritz
After finishing up all of the Steelers draft pick profiles, it is now time to move on to the undrafted rookie free agents. In this series, which will cover all 10 UDRFAs, I will provide an overview and analysis of each prospect so you know what to expect, and how, potentially, the player fits into the Steelers plans heading into 2022.
Nick Sciba, K, Wake Forest
5’9, 191 kicker out of Clover, South Carolina, Nick Sciba had a successful kicking career at Wake Forest. Owns an ACC, NCAA, and Wake Forest record with 34 consecutively made field goals. Sciba is the 2nd most accurate kicker in the history of the NCAA, making 89.9% of all of his kicks. Made 54/67 field goals in his career, with a long of 49. Had a tryout with the Steelers in rookie minicamp, and secured a spot on the 90 man offseason roster.
Strengths of Sciba
Accuracy. It’s as simple as that, as evidenced by his 89.9% field goal success rate. Sciba also never missed on an extra point in his career.
Areas of Growth for Sciba
Distance. Sciba never hit a 50+ yarder at Wake Forest, and to have a chance in the NFL, doing so is a pre-requisite for success. Sciba will have to show he has the leg to hit field goals from these distances to compliment his impeccable accuracy.
Outlook for Making the Steelers 2022 Roster
While I despise making judgments on players’ possibilities on making the team, Sciba has no chance to beat out Chris Boswell who has been outstanding the last few seasons. However, Sciba could find a spot on the practice squad and be the insurance policy should Boswell ever get hurt. Losing a kicker due to injury can be debilitating to a team, so having a solid insurance policy can be beneficial. If Sciba can show enough promise, and leg, quite possibly he could land on the practice squad as a “just in case” prospect.