WVU’s Mr. Undrafted Playing in Super Bowl LVI
February 11, 2022 10:00 AM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mr. Undrafted is going to be playing in Super Bowl LVI for the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday evening.
Mr. Undrafted, of course, is West Virginia University's Quinton Spain, who adopted the catchy moniker for his Twitter handle after failing to get picked following his senior season for the Mountaineers in 2014.
He earned All-Big 12 First Team honors by ESPN.com and second team honors by the Associated Press following a senior season in 2014 that saw him help pave the way for the Mountaineers to average 499.8 yards and 33.5 points per game.
The 6-foot-4, 330-pounder from Petersburg, Virginia, played in 50 career games while making 38 career starts.
He thought he should have been taken high in the 2015 NFL Draft, but NFL teams thought otherwise. In an exclusive Zoom interview earlier this week with our Dale Wolfley, a portion of which is airing on today's Mountaineer Insider Podcast, Spain admitted he felt shame and embarrassment for slipping out of the draft.
"At the end of that draft, I had to look at my family and they saw me cry for the first time because it really hurt me," he said. "That was one of my goals and dreams, but after I got picked up by Tennessee (Titans) I knew I just needed an opportunity."
It was an opportunity Mr. Undrafted seized, and since then he's never looked back.
He surprisingly made the Titans in 2015 as an undrafted free agent and after spending some time as a reserve watching games in street clothes, he got his big break when coach Ken Whisenhunt got the ax at midseason.
Interim coach Mike Mularkey was the person who gave Spain his big break.
"My first year at Tennessee, coming into camp, I was hurt for OTAs and when they told me to get surgery and just sit out and heal up and be ready for camp I was like, 'I probably don't have a shot (of making the team),'" Spain recalled. "I was still going to work hard and do what I had to do, but when the final cut day came and I was in my hotel thinking I was going to get cut because it's hard for undrafted guys to make the team, I didn't get a phone call (notifying him he was released).
"Then, my agent called and told me I made the team. That was like a big relief and I was blessed," he said.
After Mularkey won a game against the New Orleans Saints to solidify his status within the Titans organization, he put Spain on the active roster and gave him a shot at left guard. Spain took the opportunity and ran with it. He started the final six games of the season, made the team again in 2016 and has been a starter for most of his seven-year professional career.
"Every year after that they drafted a guard and I beat him out for the position, so I just took off from there," he said.
Spain's four solid seasons at Tennessee led him to signing a one-year, unrestricted free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills prior to the 2019 season. He didn't allow a sack during the entire season, leading to a lucrative three-year, $15 million contract extension that was supposed to take him through the 2023 season.
But after two games, he lost his starting job to Cody Ford and Brian Winters and eventually he asked the organization to either trade him or release him.
"The situation in Buffalo, whether they were forcing me out or keeping me after they signed me was crazy," he admitted. "I was thinking to myself, 'I've been through this and I'm just going to bet on myself again.' I was going to force myself out of the building where I can go somewhere and show the league that I still have it."
Cincinnati is where he landed, and the Bengals inserted him into the starting lineup at left guard for the remainder of the 2020 season.
This year, he's started every game, including big playoff wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, Titans and Kansas City Chiefs to help the Bengals get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. The excitement and enthusiasm is off the charts in the Queen City as the Bengals make final preparations for just their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Spain and his teammates were allowed a little time to soak it all in.
"The first week we got everything situated by last Wednesday, and then we blocked all of that out and focused on football," he said. "Anything about who needs tickets now … you can't talk to me."
Spain said he is the first player from his hometown to play in a Super Bowl and to play on a winning team would be a dream come true.
"Winning it would be great because of my story and what I had to go through to get to where I am right now, the ups and downs of my life," he said.
Spain will become the 21st Mountaineer to play in the Super Bowl and the 14th since 2000. Linebacker Najee Goode, cornerback Rasul Douglas and wide receiver Shelton Gibson were the last to play on a Super Bowl winning team with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
Spain is proud of his Mountaineer heritage and said he returns to the Puskar Center to work out with Mike Joseph each off-season.
"I've always come back to do a little winter workout with the team, but I don't do the running part," he laughed. "Mike has always had a good plan for me and every time I come back he gets me right.
"I respect Mike and also the coaches because they still let me come into the building. I came back when Dana Holgorsen was there and now when Neal Brown got the job, he invited us to come back and work out.
"At first, I didn't know how that was going to work out, but then I came and (Brown) welcomed me with open arms and I respect that from him. I was happy to work out in their new weight room and new locker room," he added.
Spain said he will have a lifelong affinity for his alma mater because of West Virginia's great fan support, even those who also support the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"They're die-hard and West Virginia football is like their pro team, so they go real hard for their college team and that's the only team in the state unless they are a Pittsburgh fan," he laughed. "I know too many that are Pittsburgh fans, but they really like West Virginia though."
As does Spain.
"Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer," Mr. Undrafted says.
Sunday's big game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, will kick off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on NBC.
Mr. Undrafted, of course, is West Virginia University's Quinton Spain, who adopted the catchy moniker for his Twitter handle after failing to get picked following his senior season for the Mountaineers in 2014.
He earned All-Big 12 First Team honors by ESPN.com and second team honors by the Associated Press following a senior season in 2014 that saw him help pave the way for the Mountaineers to average 499.8 yards and 33.5 points per game.
The 6-foot-4, 330-pounder from Petersburg, Virginia, played in 50 career games while making 38 career starts.
He thought he should have been taken high in the 2015 NFL Draft, but NFL teams thought otherwise. In an exclusive Zoom interview earlier this week with our Dale Wolfley, a portion of which is airing on today's Mountaineer Insider Podcast, Spain admitted he felt shame and embarrassment for slipping out of the draft.
"At the end of that draft, I had to look at my family and they saw me cry for the first time because it really hurt me," he said. "That was one of my goals and dreams, but after I got picked up by Tennessee (Titans) I knew I just needed an opportunity."
It was an opportunity Mr. Undrafted seized, and since then he's never looked back.
He surprisingly made the Titans in 2015 as an undrafted free agent and after spending some time as a reserve watching games in street clothes, he got his big break when coach Ken Whisenhunt got the ax at midseason.
Interim coach Mike Mularkey was the person who gave Spain his big break.
"My first year at Tennessee, coming into camp, I was hurt for OTAs and when they told me to get surgery and just sit out and heal up and be ready for camp I was like, 'I probably don't have a shot (of making the team),'" Spain recalled. "I was still going to work hard and do what I had to do, but when the final cut day came and I was in my hotel thinking I was going to get cut because it's hard for undrafted guys to make the team, I didn't get a phone call (notifying him he was released).
"Then, my agent called and told me I made the team. That was like a big relief and I was blessed," he said.
After Mularkey won a game against the New Orleans Saints to solidify his status within the Titans organization, he put Spain on the active roster and gave him a shot at left guard. Spain took the opportunity and ran with it. He started the final six games of the season, made the team again in 2016 and has been a starter for most of his seven-year professional career.
"Every year after that they drafted a guard and I beat him out for the position, so I just took off from there," he said.
Spain's four solid seasons at Tennessee led him to signing a one-year, unrestricted free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills prior to the 2019 season. He didn't allow a sack during the entire season, leading to a lucrative three-year, $15 million contract extension that was supposed to take him through the 2023 season.
But after two games, he lost his starting job to Cody Ford and Brian Winters and eventually he asked the organization to either trade him or release him.
"The situation in Buffalo, whether they were forcing me out or keeping me after they signed me was crazy," he admitted. "I was thinking to myself, 'I've been through this and I'm just going to bet on myself again.' I was going to force myself out of the building where I can go somewhere and show the league that I still have it."
Cincinnati is where he landed, and the Bengals inserted him into the starting lineup at left guard for the remainder of the 2020 season.
This year, he's started every game, including big playoff wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, Titans and Kansas City Chiefs to help the Bengals get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. The excitement and enthusiasm is off the charts in the Queen City as the Bengals make final preparations for just their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Spain and his teammates were allowed a little time to soak it all in.
"The first week we got everything situated by last Wednesday, and then we blocked all of that out and focused on football," he said. "Anything about who needs tickets now … you can't talk to me."
Spain said he is the first player from his hometown to play in a Super Bowl and to play on a winning team would be a dream come true.
"Winning it would be great because of my story and what I had to go through to get to where I am right now, the ups and downs of my life," he said.
Spain will become the 21st Mountaineer to play in the Super Bowl and the 14th since 2000. Linebacker Najee Goode, cornerback Rasul Douglas and wide receiver Shelton Gibson were the last to play on a Super Bowl winning team with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
Spain is proud of his Mountaineer heritage and said he returns to the Puskar Center to work out with Mike Joseph each off-season."I've always come back to do a little winter workout with the team, but I don't do the running part," he laughed. "Mike has always had a good plan for me and every time I come back he gets me right.
"I respect Mike and also the coaches because they still let me come into the building. I came back when Dana Holgorsen was there and now when Neal Brown got the job, he invited us to come back and work out.
"At first, I didn't know how that was going to work out, but then I came and (Brown) welcomed me with open arms and I respect that from him. I was happy to work out in their new weight room and new locker room," he added.
Spain said he will have a lifelong affinity for his alma mater because of West Virginia's great fan support, even those who also support the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"They're die-hard and West Virginia football is like their pro team, so they go real hard for their college team and that's the only team in the state unless they are a Pittsburgh fan," he laughed. "I know too many that are Pittsburgh fans, but they really like West Virginia though."
As does Spain.
"Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer," Mr. Undrafted says.
Sunday's big game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, will kick off at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on NBC.
You Can Never Have Too Many Headlocks
Wednesday, April 01
Cam Cook | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Coach Jay Boulware | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Coach Rich Rodriguez | March 30
Tuesday, March 31
