Exeter and Penn State grad Michal Menet 'overwhelmed' by getting picked in NFL draft
May 3—Michal Menet did his very best not to stare at a television screen and watch the NFL draft for hours upon hours Saturday.
At home in Berks County, the former Exeter and Penn State offensive lineman set up a par-3 golf course for him and his friends. He played cards. And he waited. A long time.
"It was really difficult," Menet said. "It was definitely a little stressful. It was hard to wait, but it was well worth it. I'm going to love my time out in Arizona."
With 13 picks left in the NFL draft, the Cardinals selected Menet in the seventh round with the 247th pick and fulfilled his childhood dream.
"It was obviously getting very late in the draft," he said. "I hadn't given up on the fact that I would be drafted, but I wasn't focused too much on it anymore. I was talking to my aunt and uncle and my two cousins when my phone rang. I looked down and saw it was from Phoenix, Ariz.
"I answered it. It was Coach (Kliff Kingsbury). He said, 'We love you. We really want to have you out here. We think you'd be a good fit for us.' That was pretty much the resounding message I heard from everybody out there."
Menet also spoke with owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Steve Keim, a Harrisburg native and a former offensive lineman at Red Land High School and North Carolina State. When the call ended, a wild celebration ensued at the Menet home.
"I was overwhelmed," Menet said. "I was incredibly happy, grateful and proud. It was an amazing phone call and a huge moment for me and my family. I was definitely shocked at first but so grateful and happy.
"I've said from the beginning that it didn't matter to me where I got drafted. I just wanted a shot to show what I can do. Ultimately that's what I got."
He was a three-year starter at center for Penn State, missing just one game in that stretch, and a two-time team captain. He was named to the All-Big Ten third team by coaches and media last season.
The Nittany Lions went 24-11 the last three seasons with Menet anchoring the offensive line.
The Cardinals traded a third-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in March to acquire 10-year veteran Rodney Hudson, who's expected to be the starting center. Lamont Gaillard, a sixth-round pick by Arizona in 2019, is the other center on the roster. He played in 13 games last season and started twice.
"I think Rodney Hudson is the best center in the league," Menet said. "I'm extremely excited to learn from him and to contribute to the team no matter what that looks like. I've always been a team-first guy. That's definitely not going to change now.
"Whatever my role is going to be, I'm going to attack it at 110%."
Ourlads' NFL Scouting Services rated Menet as the fifth-best center in the draft. He was projected to be taken anywhere between the fourth and seventh rounds. He was the eighth center selected in the draft, the second in the seventh round after the Raiders took Pittsburgh's Jimmy Morrissey with pick No. 230. Menet and Morrissey trained together in the winter at Exos in Pensacola, Fla.
"I'm so happy for Jimmy," Menet said. "He's worked so hard and overcome a lot. He started his career as a walk-on at Pitt and worked his way up to getting a scholarship. I was incredibly happy for him."
He also was thrilled when he learned that he was the second of three consecutive Penn State players drafted, between defensive end Shaka Toney (Washington) and guard Will Fries (Indianapolis).
"I was on the phone with the Cardinals when Shaka got picked," Menet said. "I didn't know that until I got off the phone. Then I was celebrating with my family and everybody. I was out on the deck and somebody from inside yelled that Will got picked. It was an awesome moment.
"Those guys are my brothers. They're family. I couldn't be happier. When I did realize the three of us went right in a row, I thought it was pretty funny and awesome. All of our guys have a place."
