One interesting prospect that the Steelers signed this offseason was the German product Julius Welschof. While he hails from Germany, Welschof played five years of collegiate football in America albeit he didn’t start playing at that level until he was 21 years old. Now, the rookie is 27 years old and is trying to stick in the NFL.
“I’m trying to keep [my age] low-key,” Welschof said while chuckling to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I started late but I say better late than never.”
Welschof moved to the United States when he was 16 years old and never heard of football until that point. Upon arrival, Welschof was already huge in comparison to his peers and a friend suggested for him to start playing, which he did.
“He said, ‘You should definitely start playing football. You can play college football. I know you can,’” Welschof told Chris Adamski of Trib Live. “But I was 16 by that time. I was like, ‘I don’t think so. I am pretty late to the game, I don’t know if that’s possible. I don’t even know anything about it.’”
The first thing to stick out to him, due to his own size, were the tight ends. While he ended up on the defensive side of the ball, that initial impact led Welschof to where he is today.
“Not knowing football, you kind of watch games and you always would see the tight ends catch touchdowns,” Welschof said. “Then you want to be the guy who catches touchdowns, so I tried it.”
When Welschof started playing he was able to stand out from his peers due to his athleticism but he was still very raw as a prospect. Eventually his potential and frame led him to playing his collegiate football at the University of Michigan and then Charlotte,
“I was still pretty skinny. My technique, looking back, was really bad,” Welschof said. “It was more just speed. We would have have two practices a week. And we had no playbook.”
With the NFL new rules that allows an extra spot on practice squads for international players, Welschof is in a good position to earn a spot there. While there may be more qualified outside linebackers for a practice squad spots, with the free spot and his frame, Welschof is an easy choice to occupy that spot.
“Definitely, that’s a good advantage for me coming from Germany and not having played any high school previously,” Welschof said of the NFL’s new rules.
While Welschof impressed enough to earn a contact, he will need to cause chaos in training camp and the preseason in order to make the final roster. As that is unlikely, Welschof is just looking towards his time at training camp and hoping to stick on the practice squad.
“I’ve heard we’re all in the dorms, but I’m sure it’s good for team bonding,” Welschof said. “I’m looking forward to [the fans]. I’ve heard it’s a whole thing.”
44 • Julius Welschof, Outside Linebacker, Charlotte
6-foot-7, 257 pounds, 27 years old, 1st Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Julius Welschof as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. He signed as a priority free agent on April 27, 2024.
Last season: During his lone season at Charlotte, Julius Welschof won a starting job out of camp and looked to have a breakout season. His season was cut short after just four games due to a season-ending injury. In his four games for the 49ers, Welschof logged four tackles.
College: Residing from Germany, Julius Welschof played the majority of his colligate football at the University of Michigan. During his first season on campus, Welschof did not see any game action and spent the year on a redshirt. In 2019, Welschof played in his first career game but did not log any official stats.
Welschof received his first serious playing time in 2020 as he played in six games for the Wolverines. He recorded a half of a sack which was his only credited sack of his collegiate season.
In 2021, Welschof played in 13 games and recorded 11 tackles. As a redshirt senior, Welschof seen time in just four games. He decided to transfer and use his last year of eligibility at Charlotte.
In his six colligate seasons, Welschof played in 28 games and totaled 27 tackles, half of a sack and a half of a tackle for loss.
| Year | School | GP | Tackles | Sacks | TFLs | FFs |
| 2018 | Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Michigan | 6 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 2021 | Michigan | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Michigan | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Charlotte | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Salary cap and future: Julius Welschof signed with the Steelers as a priority undrafted free agent. This means that his contract is for three years, pending that he stays on the roster. His contract is worth $2.835 million in total money.
He will cost $796,666 against the team’s cap space if he makes the final roster in 2024.
The rest of the 90:
