Julius Welschof

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Julius Welschof
No. 44 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1997-03-12) March 12, 1997 (age 27)
Germany
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:FOS Altoetting
College:Michigan (2018–2022)
Charlotte (2023)
CFL Draft:2024G / Round: 2 / Pick: 13
(by Calgary Stampeders)
Undrafted:2024
Career history
Roster status:Active/international

Julius Welschof (born March 12, 1997) is a German professional American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Charlotte 49ers.

Early life[edit]

Welschof was born on March 12, 1997, in Germany.[1] He grew up in Miesbach, Bavaria, where he won youth championships in skiing.[2][3] He attended FOS Altoetting high school in Germany and graduated from there.[4]

After his graduation from high school, Welschof visited the United States in 2013, staying with a friend of his grandfather in Jacksonville, Florida.[3][5] He was told of American football and received a suggestion that he might be good at the sport, something Welschof initially did not believe, due to being 16 years old at the time and never having played the sport.[2][3] However, after watching a Jacksonville Jaguars practice, he "was hooked" and, upon returning to Germany, found a local club team, the Munich Cowboys, to play with.[3][5]

A tight end, Welschof won Bavarian all-star honors in his first season.[3] He later played defensive end as well.[3] After four years at Munich, Welschof decided to try to get an athletic scholarship to play college football in the U.S.[6] He learned of a service run by former Canadian Football League (CFL) player Brandon Collier called Premier Players International, designed to get European players opportunities in college football.[7] Welschof contacted Collier and informed him of his measurements and ability to run a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, then later proved his abilities to a doubtful Collier on a field covered in snow in below-freezing temperatures.[7]

In order to make enough money to attend camps in the U.S., Welschof worked as a manufacturer at a Krones factory and also took on another job renovating a house.[7][8] Afterwards, he began receiving significant attention and received offers from a number of different programs, being ranked as the 12th-best defensive end recruit and a four-star prospect by 247Sports.[7][9] He initially committed to play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but later flipped to the Michigan Wolverines.[10]

College career[edit]

Welschof redshirted as a true freshman at Michigan in 2018 and then appeared in one game during the 2019 season.[11] In 2020, he appeared in all six games and totaled six tackles along with a half-sack.[12] Entering the 2021 season, he was named to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic's "freaks" list, highlighting the most athletic college football players.[12] In 2021, Welschof appeared in all 14 games, one as a starter, and tallied 13 tackles as well as one pass breakup.[1] The following year, he appeared in all 14 games, mainly on special teams, and recorded six tackles, including being named Michigan's special teams player of the week following the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.[1] He entered the NCAA transfer portal following the 2022 season, ending his five-year stint at Michigan having totaled 25 tackles in 35 games played.[13]

Hoping to see more playing time, Welschof transferred to the Charlotte 49ers for his final season of college football in 2023.[14] Joining coaches Biff Poggi and Ryan Osborn, both of whom he worked with at Michigan, Welschof won a starting role with the 49ers.[5] However, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury four games into the year.[5] He had totaled four tackles in the four games, each of which he started, prior to the injury.[11] He ended his collegiate career with a total of 29 tackles.[15]

Professional career[edit]

Welschof returned from his injury in time to participate at the Charlotte pro day in front of National Football League (NFL) scouts, where he recorded a 10 feet 3 inches (3.12 m) broad jump.[5] After not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent to play outside linebacker, being given the Steelers' international roster spot afforded to all teams as part of the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).[16] He was also chosen in the second round (13th overall) of the 2024 CFL global draft by the Calgary Stampeders.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Julius Welschof". Michigan Wolverines.
  2. ^ a b Sabin, Rainer (June 17, 2022). "Euro Step". Detroit Free Press. p. B1, B8 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b c d e f Sugiura, Ken (December 15, 2017). "From Bavaria, a 'freak' defensive end is coming to Georgia Tech". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  4. ^ Balas, Chris (December 20, 2017). "Michigan Football Signee Bio: Defensive End Julius Welschof". Rivals.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kaye, Mike (April 19, 2024). "German-born Charlotte 49ers defender hopes to join NFL after years away from his family". The Charlotte Observer.
  6. ^ Feldman, Bruce (December 20, 2017). "Michigan's German D-Line Signee and the Trainer Who Believes Europe Has Many More Like Him". Sports Illustrated.
  7. ^ a b c d Stubbs, Roman (December 20, 2017). "From a German factory to Michigan: Meet an unlikely target of early signing day". The Washington Post – via archive.ph.
  8. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (December 22, 2017). "UM recruit Julius Welschof is German-born, factory-bred". The Detroit News.
  9. ^ "German Football Recruit Julius Welschof is Racking Up Scholarship Offers". HERO Sports. June 20, 2017.
  10. ^ Chengelis, Angelique S. (December 20, 2017). "Michigan flips German DE Julius Welschof from Georgia Tech". The Detroit News.
  11. ^ a b "Julius Welschof". Charlotte 49ers.
  12. ^ a b Zuke, Ryan (August 10, 2021). "Two Michigan players among top athletic 'freaks' in college football". MLive.com.
  13. ^ Alter, Marlowe (January 3, 2023). "Michigan football's Julius Welschof, Taylor Upshaw enter NCAA transfer portal". Detroit Free Press.
  14. ^ Hole, Isaiah (January 20, 2023). "Michigan football defender makes transfer commitment". USA Today.
  15. ^ "Julius Welschof College Stats". Sports-Reference.com.
  16. ^ Koelher, ALlison (April 27, 2024). "Steelers agree to terms with Charlotte UDFA OLB Julius Welschof". USA Today.
  17. ^ "Stamps Pick Fullback, D-lineman In Global Draft". Calgary Stampeders. April 30, 2024.
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