Alongside Reece Udinski ’21, former VMI quarterback, U.S. Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Robert Soderholm ’22, former VMI long snapper, attended the Seahawks minicamp. Soderholm and Udinski played on the 2020 VMI football team when the Keydets won the Southern Conference title with a 6-1 record in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season.—Photo courtesy VMI Athletics.
Reece Udinski ’21 and U.S. Army Reserve 2nd Lt. Robert Soderholm ’22, fellow alumni and former teammates, attended the Seattle Seahawks rookie minicamp tryouts May 12–15, 2023. As undrafted free agents vying for a spot at a rookie minicamp, Udinski and Soderholm were just hoping for an invite, but they would end up being invited to and choosing the same team, the Seahawks. After a high-stakes weekend of tryouts, Udinski, a quarterback, and Soderholm, a long snapper, competed to be signed and once more play for the same team.
Udinski and Soderholm played on the 2020 VMI football team when the Keydets won the Southern Conference title with a 6-1 record in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Soderholm received 2021 and 2022 First Team All-SoCon honors as well as All-American honors while at VMI. Udinski finished his Keydet career as the first player in program history and sixth all-time in Southern Conference history with 7,877 career passing yards. He then transferred to the University of Maryland before playing as a graduate transfer at the University of Richmond, where he completed a career-best 378-of-515 for the second-highest completion percentage (.734) in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2022 as well as received the 2022 Bill Dudley Award as the top college football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The four-day minicamp was packed with physicals, meetings, two consecutive days of regular season practice, and a final day of meetings and interviews as the Seahawks coaches assessed the skill levels of drafted players as well as undrafted free agents and finalize their roster. For UFAs like Soderholm and Udinski, the minicamp gives them a second chance to join a team despite not receiving a contract in the annual NFL draft. “It’s like a job interview,” Soderholm explained, in which drafted players may get released if they don’t meet expectations, while UFAs may be signed if they perform well.
Reece Udinski ’21, former VMI quarterback, attended the Seattle Seahawks minicamp May 12–15, 2023. Udinski finished his Keydet career as the first player in program history and sixth all-time in Southern Conference history with 7,877 career passing yards.—Photo courtesy Udinski.
In those four days, especially the two days of practice, the high pressure might get to some athletes, but Soderholm and Udinski planned to keep their cool. “When you get to the NFL level, everything’s kind of in the spotlight. There’s definitely a lot of pressure to play well, but for myself, I’m just going to continue to be who I am,” said Udinski in a conversation before the minicamp. “It is definitely going to be a really cool experience, but it takes a lot of hard work to get here. There are a lot of great players who are going to be there, so I really have to play well.”
To keep his skills sharp between Richmond and the NFL draft, Udinksi trained at Training Haus, a professional sports facility. Meanwhile, Soderholm has not only been keeping up his football training but also completing military training for the U.S. Army Reserve—a commitment he will maintain by performing mandatory training in the off-season.
The night before invitations arrived, Udinski recalled talking on the phone with Soderholm about the teams they were interested in and joking about the possibility of joining the same team. “We kind of joked about it, thinking there’s not a chance that is going to happen because there are 32 teams. Little did we know, the next day, we ended up both going to Seattle,” said Udinski.
As they tackled the minicamp together, Soderholm and Udinski were equally excited regardless of the outcome. “I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Soderholm. “I get to be with a fellow football player and cadet at the NFL, just having that opportunity.”
Once the minicamp weekend concluded and the roster results were in, Udinski and Soderholm would ultimately not make the Seahawks team this season.
The assistant editor assists the editor-in-chief in various tasks relating to the production of quarterly and monthly publications, as well as prepares written materials for publication. The assistant editor serves as liaison between class agents and chapter presidents and the Agencies’ publications, as well as provides backup photography for events.
