PRINCETON: Catapano selected by Chiefs
Mike Catapano came out of Bayville, N.Y., five years ago ready to do whatever he could to excel at Princeton University.
He’s ready to do the same now for the Kansas City Chiefs after they made him the first pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft Saturday.
”I ended up at a great place, and I’m fulfilling a long-time dream of mine,” Catapano said. “And it’s just beginning.
”I’m really excited about that,” he added. “It’s a clean slate. It’s a fresh opportunity. That’s great for me. Coming into the league and having an organization in a time of change and renewal, everything is fresh and new. I’ll do my best to make the most of my opportunity.”
The Ivy League’s top defensive player in the 2012 season, Catapano was the 207th overall pick in the draft. He was at home in Bayville with a small group of friends and his family when he got the news.
”I almost fell off my chair,” Catapano said. “It was just a rush of emotions. Then we see my name came up on the screen.”
His selection ended a waiting game. The first round of the draft was last Thursday, with the second and third rounds following on Friday and the final rounds of the draft Saturday.
”It’s obviously very stressful,” Catapano said. “One thing, in the whole process you feel like you have some control of it. Your pro day, the East-West Shrine Game. Then the draft, it’s out of your hands. Your fate is being toyed with and you have no say in what happens. You just let the cards fall where they may.”
Catapano is the first Princeton University players selected in the draft since Dennis Norman was picked by the Seattle Seahawks in 2001. Norman made the roster and played eight seasons in the NFL.
”The key,” said PU head coach Bob Surace, a former Cincinnati Bengals assistant, “is getting to spot where you can make a team. It’s not like college. We have 100 people. We can’t cut or trade them. It’s a business. If he doesn’t do as well as they’d like, they’ll cut him.”
Surace does not expect that fate to befall the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Catapano. He sees a lot going Catapano, who led the Ivy League with 12 sacks among his 41 total tackles.
”As a college coach, you see a guy every single day how he works, his effort and leadership and focus in meetings,” Surace said. “He knocks all those intangible things out of the park. The thing that surprises people, both at the East-West game or the pro combine, is how athletic he is. They’ll be really surprised at not only is he a tough guy, but he’s real athletic.”
Catapano rode that athleticism at Princeton into a draft-day selection. He came out of Bayville, where he had been a running back. Some Ivy teams wanted him in the defensive backfield, other teams wanted him at the offensive side, yet Princeton asked him to try the defensive line.
”I credit them,” Catapano said. “It’s a tough task projecting a 215-pound running back, who never played a down of defense in life, to play defensive end. I played it from the beginning. I’m very thankful for the opportunities I was given to proceed at the defensive end position.”
Catapano may be making another position move in the NFL. Preliminary reports by the Chiefs and their first-year head coach Andy Reid, formerly Philadelphia’s head coach, call for Catapano to move to an outside linebacker position under new defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.
”This would be a much smaller one,” Surace said of the move. “They play the 3-4, so that’s going to be a pass rusher. (Sutton) came from Green Bay where he had Clay Matthews and Coach Reid, he had guys like the Trent Coles of the world. My guess is he’ll be in a position where he’s moving forward more than backward. We had to drop him at times, but it’s a little different covering NFL guys, but he’s fluid.
”The biggest transition he’ll have is special teams. He’ll have to live in the office. The guys that make teams, most of them will play special teams, even high picks.”
Catapano is determined to do everything he can to make the 53-man roster for the Chiefs. He will attend a rookie camp that begins May 10 to get his first look at his fellow rookies and how he fits in the Kansas City schemes.
”There were a lot of teams that were thinking of putting me at outside linebacker,” Catapano said. “I think I have the athleticism to excel at that. The things I do well don’t change from defensive end to outside linebackers.
”I have good hands. I played running back in high school so I’m familiar with catching the ball, covering and making the grabs and going after the quarterback is stuff I’m comfortable doing.”
As an outside linebacker, Catapano will still have the opportunity to do what did best for the Tigers — rush the passer. His 12 sacks were the most by a PU player in 15 seasons, and Catapano will be working to ensure he can disrupt offenses the same way at the next level out of a new spot on the field.
”I think I’m more equipped because I’m probably one of the hardest workers in the draft,” he said. “I’m a guy that’s not going to stop. If I’m going to have to learn a new position, that’s what I’m going to do. There is no stop or slow down that really could affect me. Some people call me stubborn. I’m ambitious.”
Catapano will be joined by 2012 PU co-captain Andrew Starks in trying out for the NFL this year. Starks is a non-drafted invitee to the Chicago Bears rookie camp May 10. The Tigers are hopeful that both can stick, and Surace has offered his encouragement as they try to represent Princeton at the next level.
”He’s always been so supportive,” Catapano said. “The whole Princeton family has. The Princeton family has rallied around me and showed me support. I was proud to show Princeton on TV that day.”
The NFL will be a big jump from the Ivy League action, though the Ancient Eight had three players selected in the NFL draft this year. Now they have to make their respective rosters.
”At the end of the day,” Surace said, “you want tough guys, smart guys, you want guys that aren’t going to get in trouble and guys that are going to help build championship culture. I think Mike has those in abundance.”
Catapano is anxious to start the transition and prove that he belongs in the NFL.
”I’m going to have to get used to the speed of it all,” he said. “It’s a bunch of the best athletes in the country. It’s not like you play a team and they have a good guy in one spot. Everyone is athletic. I saw that for the first time at the Shrine game. The whole game is faster. You have to react faster.
”It’s not something you can prepare for. It’s trial by fire. You get in there and learn quick. That’s the only way you can do it.”
Catapano feels he has prepared himself as much as possible for the NFL. He will have his opportunity to prove why he was a draft selection when mini-camps open.
”One on one, I’m confident in myself,” he said. “I’m ready to put myself up against the best. Coming from the Ivy League, and coming from the East-West game, I had a lot of success. I think that’s a good thing. I’m not used to getting blocked. That feeling that I’m going to win the one-on-one battle, that’s going to help me.”
Catapano goes into the next step with confidence. There is an NFL team that thought enough of him to pick him. He was able to enjoy the moment when his hard work through his Princeton career paid off with his selection. There is still a lot of hard work ahead, but it is nothing new to Mike Catapano, who is living out his dream.
”I love the game,” he said. “I love being around it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”