NC State LS Joe Shimko agrees to UDFA contract with Arizona Cardinals
NC State long snapper Joe Shimko was reliable during his entire Wolfpack career. Now, he has been rewarded by agreeing to an undrafted free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals, Shark Sports Management announced shortly after the draft concluded.
Shimko won the Patrick Mannelly Award this past season, which honors the best long snapper in college football. He joined linebacker Payton Wilson (Bednarik and Butkus Awards) as the only two NC State players to win national awards this past season.
The 6-foot, 230-pound specialist never recorded a “bad” snap with the Wolfpack, which spans more than 500 opportunities in his time at NC State. He was the Pack’s No. 1 long snapper since he arrived in Raleigh, and his consistency paid off.
Shimko did not have to return to the Wolfpack this season, but he took advantage of his extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it proved to be worth it.
“I’m very happy I got to come back,” Shimko said during the season. “I got to learn more. I got to work on the field and off the field. So just taking another year to learn and correct, tweak, and just take out the little things I’ve got to get better at to get to the next level has been very helpful.”
Shimko was a second team AFCA All-American in 2022, and was a semifinalist for the Mannelly Award a year ago. He was also pivotal in NC State kicker Christopher Dunn’s Lou Groza Award-winning season in 2022 without a bad snap to help the unit deliver.
Shimko was a fourth-team All-American during the 2021 season, according to Phil Steele, in addition to his Academic All-ACC nod.
But while Shimko has excelled on the gridiron, he has also been a standout off of it in terms of community service.
The long snapper has raised more than $160,000 in fundraising, which he has divided between an organization for those with special needs in New Jersey and GiGi’s Playhouse in Raleigh.
Shimko graduated from NC State in December 2022 with a degree in sport management.
