Corliss Waitman traveled to Suriname back in February, a visit to the smallest country in South America and one of the poorest. His maternal grandparents had died within days of each other, making it an unfortunate trip for a self-proclaimed Floridian who spends time in his mother's homeland as often as he can.
"It was kind of a heavy week," Waitman was saying last week as he sat in the stands looking out over Heinz Field. "They got buried together on Valentine's Day. It's a beautiful thing, but it was a sad thing at the same time."
Nearly three months later, happier times awaited Waitman in the form of a phone call from Danny Smith, the Steelers' special teams coordinator. A coach who grew up in Point Breeze was offering a punter born in Belgium the chance to sign as an undrafted free agent, making the NFL _ or at least a shot at it _ the next step in what's been a journey through three countries, two languages and one life-changing loss.
Meet Waitman, a Belgian-born, Netherlands-raised, Surinamese left-footed punter who last played two years ago at South Alabama and is also a 25-year-old rookie competing for a roster spot. He's also a Black punter, and trying to become one of just a few in league history to play in the regular season. Other than that, he's just your typical NFL hopeful.
"I think I might be the first Surinamese player in the NFL," Waitman said, not exactly going out on a limb. "I'm not 100% sure, but when I did get my shot as an undrafted free agent, they were over there in the newspapers like I got drafted. They were like, 'What the heck? This guy is in the NFL?' "
Not just yet. But coming this close is already one unique story.
