Less than a year ago, Azusa Pacific’s long snapper Matt Orzech delivered his last snap as a Cougar in a tough 57-0 loss that ended the playoff hunt. His storied career with APU football spanned six seasons from 2013 to 2018 — although injuries limited him to just two games total between 2016 and 2017 — but his hard work paid off. On Sept. 8, he became the fourth APU alumni in history to play in the National Football League, donning the gold and teal of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Orzech’s newfound journey in the NFL was not without twists and turns, but it did start hopeful. After finishing his career as a Cougar, Orzech liked his chances to reach the next level.
“After going through a specialist combine and my pro day, I was definitely feeling good about my chances [of getting] an opportunity in a mini camp with a decent chance to get a contract offer,” recalled Orzech.
Orzech was not among the 254 players taken in the NFL draft on April 25-27, but his dream opportunity came just a week later. On May 3, the Baltimore Ravens signed him as an undrafted free agent.
He spent the summer in Baltimore participating in organized team activities and mini-camp. Eventually, preseason arrived. Orzech earned significant playing time in all four games, highlighted by Orzech taking all long snapping duties in the final preseason game. Nonetheless, the sheer difficulty of making an NFL roster as an undrafted free agent was undeniable.
“I knew it was unlikely that they would keep me, but they have a reputation of training up [specialists] and helping to get them onto other rosters,” Orzech explained.
Sure enough, he was one of the 28 players to be waived by the Ravens at the end of the preseason. After about four months in the organization, he was back to the drawing board.
Orzech headed back home to Southern California to develop a long term plan to stay in shape and maintain his skills. He hoped that an injury or lack of depth at long snapper in another organization would eventually land him a workout — and potentially another shot at the NFL.
Roughly 48 hours after being waved, Orzech found himself at a grocery store in Huntington Beach collecting the necessary ingredients for a barbecue at his uncle’s house. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was his agent, who had some very good news to share.
Orzech recalled, “I was just kind of exploding in the grocery store and my cousins were standing in line at the cashier, and they’re confused looking at me like, ‘What’s happening? Why is he running away to answer the phone?’”
The Jacksonville Jaguars had acquired him off the waiver wire. The next step toward his dream was realized. And he had found out in a grocery store.
Orzech had no choice but to fly out immediately after receiving the phone call, leaving his mom and wife to pack up his house. His grandpa also offered to fly out, rent a moving truck and drive across the country to transport his belongings.
One week after receiving the phone call, amid the logistical chaos of moving across the country, Orzech suddenly had a game to play. The Kansas City Chiefs were coming to town for the season opener. Considering the whirlwind of craziness that Orzech had just endured, flipping the switch to game mode was a difficult task.
“Hey, you’re cut. Go home. Oh never mind you’re on a team. We’re flying you out. Move in. Figure all that stuff out. And now it’s game day. But once I was out there, it was awesome,” described Orzech.
Jacksonville ultimately lost 40-26, but Orzech played six snaps with the special teams unit during the game that would go down forever as his NFL debut. But even now, as he dons an NFL uniform, Orzech has not forgotten the Cougar red, white and black that pushed him to get there.
“It couldn’t have been a better place to go from being a high school kid to being a man out in the real world, and I can’t say enough about the coaches,” said Orzech.
From the beginning, Orzech recognized how genuine the APU coaching staff was during a recruiting process that is notoriously showy. He also praised the coaches on how they contributed to his personal development by demonstrating what it means to be a godly man.
On a practical level, Orzech quite literally credits the possibility of his NFL career to his APU coaches. Were it not for a nudge from head coach Victor Santa Cruz, Orzech probably would’ve never discovered his position.
One day, Santa Cruz called Orzech’s name during practice. Orzech was terrified he had done something wrong. Fortunately, that was not the case. The team’s main long snapper had suffered some sort of injury, so Santa Cruz was looking to draft a replacement — namely, Orzech himself.
Orzech had no idea what a long snapper was, but Santa Cruz was well aware of Orzech’s background as a pitcher for the APU baseball team.
With that in mind, Santa Cruz tried to explain the task of long snapper in terms Orzech would understand: “It’s kind of like pitching, but between your legs and upside-down.”
Orzech was skeptical, but that didn’t stop him from accepting the task. Soon after, he was selected to be the starting long snapper, a job he would occupy throughout his six-year Cougar career. Now, he’s taken his craft to the NFL.
Less than a year ago, Orzech played his last home game with APU in front of 5,096 fans at Citrus Stadium. On Sept. 8, Orzech played his first game in Jacksonville in front of 60,157 fans. He is aware of the difference — and the hostility that may come with representing his faith before an audience that size.
“Christ isn’t necessarily what you think of when you think of the NFL,” Orzech admitted.
However, he is determined to shine his light wherever he goes, hoping to live up to the standard of a “warrior man” that coach Santa Cruz implanted in him during his time as a Cougar.
“One of the most exciting parts for me [is] the interactions you can have with people and fans that care a lot about what you do. It seems so simple because you’re just playing a game, but it has this ‘it’ factor that impacts people’s lives,” shared Orzech.
According to APU Sports Information, Orzech is the first APU alumni to make a week one NFL roster in his rookie season since Christian Okoye in 1987. His story is illustrative of renaissance in every way. Even as his journey in Baltimore came to a disappointing conclusion, his dream was reborn in Jacksonville — and it’s just getting started.