Colts are giving a former 5 star high school recruit the chance to prove the NFL made a big mistake not drafting him
Indianapolis Colts signed an undrafted free agent following the 2026 NFL Draft, a highly sought-after five-star recruit out of high school. He hopes to prove the league made a mistake passing on him.
The Indianapolis Colts built a talented class with eight picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team didn’t stop shaping their rookie class there, though. They have added multiple talented players through the undrafted free agency market.
Making an NFL roster as an UDFA is an uphill battle. But the Colts are a good spot for UDFA’s this season, due to how thin their roster is across the board.
One of the team’s signings isn’t used to not being chosen. In fact, after high school, he saw prestigious colleges lining up to sign him. Now he will focus on proving to the league that they made a big mistake not drafting him.
Colts sign Penn State OT Nolan Rucci
Rucci is a former five-star high school recruit out of Pennsylvania in the 2021 class. He earned 29 offers in total from big hitters in the college football world, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State.
He ended up choosing Wisconsin over all of those programs. Gifting Wisconsin the fifth-highest offensive tackle recruit of the class. He spent the first three years of college at Wisconsin, but didn’t carve out a role as he’d hoped, never starting a game for the Badgers. Leading him to transfer to Penn State ahead of the 2024 season.
Penn State OT Nolan Rucci college stats and facts
Rucci didn’t have the type of college career you typically see from a five-star recruit. He had to be patient and wait for his moment to shine. That moment game during the last year and a half of his college career.
- 18 career college starts (All with Penn State)
- 17 starts at right tackle, 1 start at left tackle
- Only 1 sack allowed in 2025
- Only 1 penalty in 2025
- 75.4 PFF overall grade (Ranked 41st out of 632 college offensive tackles
Colts have a role for Nolan Rucci to compete for to make the 53-man roster
After just a year and a half as a starter, Rucci earned a gradeable grade from multiple draft analysts. His 6-8, 314 lbs build, and 83.5″ wingspan give him an exciting projection. He also moves quicker off the snap than you’d imagine looking at his size, even with a lackluster 5.44 40-yard dash.
He’s going to compete with former draft pick Blake Freeland to be the Colts swing tackle. Freeland struggled mightily the last time we saw him play and missed all of last season with an injury.
Rucci is going to have a legit shot to make the 53-man roster in Indianapolis. If he accomplishes that goal, I think he will successfully prove to the rest of the NFL that they made a mistake not drafting him. And he could end up being a solid addition to the Colts NFL Draft class.
