“You’ve got to be a good enough player, bottom line, to get taken,” Siedlecki said. “But they like the intelligence factor. They like to have some guys like that in the locker room. I think it gives them an edge. They know they’re getting a quick learner.”

DANTE WATCH

While both Lawrie and Cramer took one step closer to realizing their dreams of playing professional football, former Harvard captain Dante Balestracci remains on the outside looking in, undrafted and unsigned after Sunday’s final pick.

Both Carl Morris ’03 and Jamil Soriano ’03 went unpicked in last year’s draft before inking deals with NFL clubs.

Balestracci was projected as either a late-round pick or a “priority free-agent signing,” generally signed in the weeklong aftermath of the draft. Priority free agents are entitled to a baseline level signing bonus, while training camp signees receive no such guarantees.

Though he has yet to receive any concrete offers, Balestracci indicated that the majority of interest has come from the AFC, sentiment he hopes his agent will capitalize on in the form of a contract within the next week.

“The main thing is to try to get signed, be out there with some type of film, playing against other guys,” Balestracci said. “That will open up a lot of doors, NFL Europe, training camp.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.