Peter Skoronski was the only player to decline NFL draft invite. His life story explains why

Long before the NFL became a reality, little Peter Skoronski dreamed big about being a lot of things — a lifeguard, a crossing guard, an airport worker.

And a musher. Wait, a musher?

The Tennessee Titans' first-round draft pick, an offensive lineman out of Northwestern who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 313 pounds, wanted to be the guy who controls the dogs from a sled in the Iditarod.

"One year we found someone that had the Huskies and the sleds ... " Skoronski's father, Bob, said Friday after watching his son's introductory press conference at the Titans' practice facility.

"His uncle actually gave him that for his birthday," Skoronski's mother, Anne, added.

"He was standing on the back of one of the sleds and did the mushing," his father continued. "He was a small, little boy but he was really into that."

While those dreams of being pulled across the Alaska wilderness grew smaller as Skoronski grew larger, he still is an avid follower of the famous sled dog race.

Skoronski's parents didn't allow him to play football until he was a 12-year-old sixth-grader playing against seventh- and eighth-graders. They couldn't remember exactly how big their son was then, but he was big enough that he had a stripe on his helmet, signifying he wasn't allowed to carry the ball.

"I had to play O-line," Skoronski said. "So there wasn't really much of a question about it. I was an O-lineman right off the bat."

What type of offensive lineman Skoronski will be for the Titans — a tackle, which he played in college, or a guard — remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure: the kid who received a tackling dummy as a birthday gift when he was younger, the not-so-little kid who would sit in his backyard and draw up football plays, is in the NFL now, the 11th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Passing on pomp and circumstance

Thursday, the biggest day of Skoronski's life, began with a workout at Northwestern. He spent the afternoon doing more exercises at home, trying to spit out the nerves that came with waiting to hear his name called.

But Skoronski wasn't going to hear his name called in Kansas City, where the draft was being held. The only one of 18 players to turn down the NFL's invitation to attend the draft, Skoronski instead chose to share the moment at a local pizzeria called Piece, where he was christened, in which his father is an investor.

The pomp and circumstance of the draft wasn't Skoronski's jam, which is part of the reason he respectfully declined the offer to be there. He also wanted to share the moment with those close to him, at a place close to his heart.

With around 100 family, friends and former coaches in attendance, including a "busload" who flew in from Connecticut, Skoronski took the call he's been waiting a long time for Thursday night from new Titans general manager Ran Carthon, owner Amy Adams Strunk and coach Mike Vrabel.

"We knew somebody was going to call at some point," Skoronski's father said. "We kind of mentally eliminated the Titans because everyone said they were going to trade up for a quarterback. Even though this was a destination that we were very much hoping for, I did everything I could to not pay attention to what was going on just because of the nervous aspect of it."

Those nerves settled after Skoronski was picked. By Friday, a smiling Peter Skoronski was plastered on the Titans' Twitter profile.

Though he wasn't in Kansas City for the draft, Skoronski made it a point to go there for another reason. Leading up to the draft, Skoronski and fellow draftee Bijan Robinson took part in a "day in the life" experience at Whiteman Air Force Base. The trip included a flight over the site of the NFL draft in a National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Skoronski did it, in part, to honor his grandfather, who missed two seasons after his rookie year in the NFL to serve in the Air Force.

"He's as humble as the day is long," Skoronski's college coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

'Look at the bloodlines for this kid'

Fitzgerald was at Maine South evaluating another player when the school's football coach, Dave Inserra, suggested that Fitzgerald remember the name of an eighth-grader who was coming in the next school year. The name was Peter Skoronski.

"I'm like 'Dave, whatever. Come on, man,'" Fitzgerald said. "He's like, 'You won't forget (his name).'"

Curious, Fitzgerald went home and googled the name. What he found was a surprise. What he found was that Skoronski's grandfather, also named Bob Skoronski, was a Pro Bowl tackle and captain under Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers, whom he helped to five NFL championships and two Super Bowl champions in his 11 seasons with the team. He died in 2018.

Fitzgerald also found that Skoronski's father was a defensive lineman at Yale.

"'Oh, wow. Look at the bloodlines for this kid,'" Fitzgerald thought to himself. "'It will be interesting to see if he ends up being a player.'"

Fitzgerald found out for himself after Skoronski chose Northwestern over Notre Dame and Stanford.

Skoronski had the highest pass-blocking grade in the nation (93.0) and allowed just six pressures on 480 pass-blocking snaps. He was the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year last season, a first in Northwestern history. Twice he was named All-Big Ten first team. He was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2022, another Northwestern first. He also was a finalist for the 2022 Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's best interior lineman on both offense and defense.

Inserra's premonition wasn't the first about Skoronski. When he was 4, his father told Inserra he had his next offensive lineman.

"His dad looked at me and said ‘I’ve got a tackle for you,’" Inserra said. "It’s a very athletic family. He wasn’t saying ‘I’ve got a QB, I’ve got a receiver, I’ve got a RB.’ He straight up said, 'I’ve got a tackle for you,' when he was 4 years old."

'That's unheard of'

Skoronski chose not to graduate early from high school, like some college football players do. Instead he wanted to chase down another goal — being his school's valedictorian in a class of 630. Mission accomplished.

Staying for his full senior year of high school also allowed Skoronski to participate in track and field, in which he also was an all-state selection, and spend some more precious time with his friends and family.

Staying also meant Skoronski reported to college on Father's Day, giving the high school All-American and three-time all-state selection just 15 install practices and two weeks to prepare for his first college season. No matter, Skoronski started as a true freshman and went on to start 33 games in his three seasons with the Wildcats.

"That's unheard of," Fitzgerald said.

There will be an NFL learning curve, of course. But if Skoronski's past is indicative of his future, which includes blocking for Derrick Henry, that curve will be short.

"Peter has an ability to move people against their will in an era of football where it's all high school 7-on-7 and throwing the rock all over the place," Fitzgerald said. "Peter's fundamentals and his functional strength, he's got unbelievable strength numbers. ... It's a perfect fit for what the Titans do."

Skoronski showed up in Nashville on Friday wearing a simple blue suit, a simple blue tie, brown dress shoes and a big smile, his parents by his side, the future he's dreamed about right in front of him. He held up a blue Titans jersey with his last name and the number 1 on the back as he stood quietly between Vrabel and Carthan.

"Peter is exactly who he is. He's not going to be the loud guy boasting walking down the hallway," Inserra said. "He’s not going to overtake a room. But when it’s time for business, heads up, because he’s all business.

"The Rams were asking me and they were like, 'It's been easy for him. How’s he going to deal with a challenge?' I was like, 'It hasn’t been easy for him. Everything behind the scenes, you can't understand how hard he's worked. He's prepared to the utmost for everything.' "

Including the Iditarod, which he follows closely to this day.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Peter Skoronski only player to decline NFL draft invite. Here's why