By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE — The Indianapolis Colts were reported to have signed 15 players, including a former Northern Michigan University offensive lineman, on Friday.

That same day, the NFL team also released quarterback Nick Foles, who guided the Philadelphia Eagles to victory in the Super Bowl in 2018.

The Colts signed seventh-round pick Jake Witt of NMU, who played his last year and a half with the Wildcats as a tackle after beginning his collegiate football career as a tight end.

Reports said that Witt signed a four-year contract worth just short of $4 million — $3,936,340 — which includes a $96,340 signing bonus, according to the website www.spotrac.com.

Spotrac touts itself as the largest online sports team and player contract resource on the internet.

The lesser amount is guaranteed as his average salary is just under $1 million — $984,085 — with a 2023 salary of $750,000.

Witt, who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 302 pounds by the Colts, was one of just two NCAA Division II players taken in the seven rounds of the NFL Draft. His pick was 236th overall.

The other D-II pick was punter Ethan Evans of Wingate, also taken in Round 7 just 13 spots ahead of Witt.

Witt, who is listed on the Colts’ website, www.colts.com, as wearing No. 76, joins an Indianapolis draft class headed by No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson, a top-rated quarterback from the University of Florida.

Witt, a native of Bruce Crossing and graduate of Ewen-Trout Creek High School, became one of about two dozen NMU players, but the first since 1991, taken in the NFL draft.

The 23-year-old said he interviewed with 31 of the 32 pro teams before the draft and was contacted by several teams about the time the seventh round began on April 29 about possibly signing a free-agent contract.

Making him Indianapolis’ final-round pick made free agency a moot point.

Having played college football for only two years after playing basketball for two years at Michigan Tech, Witt is seen as a long-term NFL project with a strong upside.

Explosiveness and athleticism for an athlete his size he said were some of the attributes that teams including the Colts said they most liked about Witt in the run-up to the draft.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.