The Indianapolis Colts used pick 79 in the 3rd round to select Pittsburgh offensive lineman Matt Goncalves.
And while Indianapolis will be new to him, he's going to have a familiar face in Colts defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
The Colts hired Charlie Partridge this offseason to be their new defensive line coach. Prior to that he had been coaching at the University of Pittsburgh since 2017 and had been the teams Ast. Head Coach since 2018. Partridge comes to the Colts off a well respected career in college where he was viewed one of the top defensive line minds in all of college football.
Goncalves enrolled at Pittsburgh in 2019 and redshirted his freshman season, and spent the next four years playing at the university. While you'd think the two would only have a relationship in passing due to Goncalves not being a player in Partridge's room, the two build a solid relationship on the foundation of mutual respect over the years.
Earlier this draft cycle, I was able to interview Goncalves, and we discussed his draft cycle to date as well as his time at Pittsburgh. After sharing that I covered the Colts and the NFL Draft, he had a glowing review to share about Patridge, the person and the player.
Goncalves: "I mean, he had his guys ready day in and day out. They were always ready to go shooting off 1000 MPH, and if you had a bad day, he would let you know about it. He's one of the most competitive coaches. And when it comes to his defensive line, it's always going to be us (the offensive line) against them. So you know, we have battles with each other each and every day, You know, screaming at each other out there. He's a competitive guy and you know he was one of my favorite coaches I had at Pitt and he helped me a lot as a player more than I can explain.
He's always motivating his guys and helped me learn how to motivate my guys in the offensive line room. And I wasn't even one of his players, but he reached out and lifted me up during my injury. When teams struggled against the University of Pitt defensive line it wasn't just because the players but also the great coaching that they have as well, their ability to recruit great players played a bit part but it was also coach Charlie Partridge. And when I look back and think about how few of sacks I allowed in college I think Charlie Partridge deserves a lot do the credit for the work he did for the University of Pittsburgh on and off the field. And it's going to translate to the Colts, and you will see the results of it immediately. It's going to be tremendous for them, trust me."
The two now reunite in Indianapolis with the Colts. And it likely helped Goncalves case that the Colts have had Partridge in this building most of the offseason to advocate for a player he was able to watch each and every day in practice for years.
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