The slow trickle of names invited to Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp has turned into a steady stream. According to the school’s website, Ferris State WR Xavier Wade has received an invitation to the team’s minicamp held next month.
Wade is the latest of several names to be reported on today, including veteran DB Anthony Averett, who will partake in the three-day weekend.
Wade, who played D-II for Ferris State in Michigan, weighed in at 6004, 192 pounds at his Pro Day, earning an invite to Michigan State. He joined teammate CB Shon Stephens, also invited to Steelers’ rookie minicamp, and the Steelers personally asked Stephens to attend the Spartans’ workout. It’s likely they did the same for Wade. There, he ran a solid 4.57 40 with an impressive 38.5-inch vertical, 10’4″ broad, and 7.07 three cone.
In 2023, Wade finished with 42 receptions for 855 yards and 12 touchdowns across 11 games. That included a pair of three-score games versus Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State while he had an impressive game against Ashland, posting six catches for 131 yards and one touchdown. He missed most of the 2022 season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder but was also productive in 2021, recording 43 grabs for 793 yards and ten scores.
He’ll earn the chance to catch a contract during the weekend, expected to be held May 10-12. He is one of several small school players slated to attend including QB Aeneas Dennis from Benedict College. Pittsburgh will invite a large number of tryout players and they usually sign at least one of them. QB Duck Hodges and LB Terence Garvin are two notable examples to come from the tryout pool.
Along with Xavier Wade, the following players have also received invites:
Aeneas Dennis/QB – Benedict College
Trey Brown/C – Jacksonville State
Johnny Hudson/DL – Fresno State
Jett Stanley/DL – Sacramento State
Bryce Sheppert/DB – Kent State
Shon Stephens/CB – Ferris State
Anthony Averett/CB – NFL Veteran
Look for full bios on each name once the team’s list is released next week.
