Milanese, Faulk also sign with NFL teams

Stephen Faulk and Rob Milanese each were second-team All-Ivy performers in their senior seasons for the Penn football team. Each graduated from Penn this past December.

Their paths continue to overlap, as each signed identical NFL contracts a week after going undrafted in the NFL Draft held on April 26-27.

Both players signed one-year deals contingent upon them making the rosters. If they are on the 53-man NFL roster, they will make the $225,000 minimum.

The two teammates are being broken up however, as Faulk signed with the San Francisco 49ers while Milanese joined the New England Patriots.

Milanese was a star wide receiver for the Quakers and set virtually every pass-catching record at the position.

For Faulk, who will play cornerback for the 49ers, Milanese is the standard of excellence against which NFL players are to be compared.

"It's like guarding Rob Milanese," Faulk said. "But there are four or five of them. Every one of them is a Rob Milanese."

Due in part to the relative anonymity of the Ivy League, each was forced to take the circuitous path of free agency to their first mini-camps.

"The Patriots' offensive coordinator, Charlie Weiss, called me," Milanese said. "He told me he'd give me a chance to compete for a spot. That was all I could really ask for."

Faulk also had to earn the chance to compete for a roster spot.

"They wanted to bring me in for basically a tryout," Faulk said. "And after that, they wanted to see if they would keep me."

"It went well and someone saw something that they liked, so they signed me and brought me for the next mini-camp," he added.

The 49ers' next mini-camp begins tomorrow.

Despite also drawing interest from the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, it seemed to Milanese that the situation with the Patriots offered the best opportunity to make the team.

"I felt [New England was] more interested in me," Milanese said. "And I felt they weren't as locked in at the position."

One sign of that was the Patriots acquiring not one, but two Ivy League pass-catching stars. The Patriots also signed Brown's Chas Gessner.

Milanese and Gessner each have Art Weiss representing them and therefore got to know each other during pre-draft workouts.

"We don't really play the same position," Milanese said. "They're even considering [Gessner] at tight end. But I guess, when it comes down to it, we're competing."

Milanese lacks prototypical wide receiver size, standing at a mere 5'10" and weighing 175 lbs. This has led to comparisons to another former undrafted free agent -- Wayne Chrebet of the New York Jets.

"I hopefully can do the same things he does -- get open on the quick inside routes and catch the ball well," Milanese said.

Due to their status on the bottom of the NFL food chain, each lives with the knowledge that one bad performance can leave them looking for a new team.

"I'm just working hard to make it to the next day, then to the next day, just to make it to July," when training camp begins, Faulk said.

"I try not to think about it," Milanese said. "I'm trying to prove to people that I'm good, so I'm not trying to think about the mistakes. I'm thinking about making the big plays that will impress people."

But Faulk will enjoy his career -- regardless of its duration.

"Whether it's another 10 minutes, another 10 days, another 10 years, I'll enjoy every minute of it," Faulk said. "I'm enjoying every time I step out on the field, every rep... every receiver I cover."

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