FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Matt Stankiewitch reported for work today at 8 a.m.
Like most working Americans, the 23-year-old checked in, got his assignment and worked as hard as he could to complete the required task.
Stankiewitch's job is a little different than most, however.
Instead of a lunch pail and hard hat, the Orwigsburg native carried a set of shoulder pads and a helmet.
Instead of an office or construction site, the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder punched his time card at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.
Every young football player dreams of playing in the National Football League.
Today, Stankiewitch began living that dream.
"The next day is never a guarantee, so you have to keep focused and take it day by day," Stankiewitch said Saturday night by phone from a Foxborough hotel.
"I have to keep chomping away, keep getting better. You have to get better every day to maintain your status on the team.
"My objective right now is to make it."
The New England Patriots opened their 2014 training camp this morning at Gillette Stadium. Rookies and quarterbacks reported today, while veterans are scheduled to report Thursday.
Full team practices - which are free and open to the public - begin at 9 a.m. Friday, July 26. Training camp continues for two weeks before the Patriots compete in their first NFL preseason game Friday, Aug. 9, in Philadelphia.
For Stankiewitch, who will wear No. 60, his orientation to live in the NFL began shortly after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Patriots on May 3.
The former Blue Mountain High School and Penn State University star first went through a four-day rookie minicamp. He was off for five days, then returned to Foxborough for three weeks of workouts that were mostly lifting and conditioning.
Stankiewitch participated in about a month of OTAs - organized team activities - which Stankiewitch said are "basically practices with helmets on." After a three-day minicamp, he spent a week of just working out with the team's other rookies.
Stankiewitch then came home for a month, returning to Foxborough on Saturday. As he sat in his hotel room Saturday night, Stankiewitch sounded zeroed in on the task at hand.
"I just have to focus on what I can do to get better to help the team and progress on the depth chart," Stankiewitch said. "I want to focus on day-by-day activities for myself and improve my status.
"Every practice you have to take with a great passion.
"My dad told me to 'Do your thing. Play your hardest every single play, maintain your poise, take it as a day-by-day job.' I have to keep chomping, keep chugging along."
Stankiewitch is listed as the third-team center on the Patriots' preseason depth chart, behind starter Ryan Wendell and fourth-year veteran Nick McDonald.
Tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer and guards Logan Mankins and Dan Connolly fill the rest of the starting offensive line, with Will Svitek, Elvis Fisher, Marcus Cannon and Markus Zusevics listed as backup tackles. Undrafted rookies Chris McDonald (Michigan State) and Josh Kline (Kent State) are slated as backup guards.
According to a Bubble Watch position breakdown on espn.com, the key to Stankiewitch making the Patriots' 53-man roster out of training camp will be outperforming the other two undrafted rookies and being able to play both center and guard.
Stankiewitch played guard his first two seasons at Penn State, starting three games. He started the last two seasons - 25 games - for the Nittany Lions at center.
"They've been throwing me in at both center and guard," Stankiewitch said. "Wherever they need you to play, you have to play that position. You can't be just a one-position person at offensive line.
"I'm trying my best to learn as many positions as a can and be the best I can at all those positions.
"I have to build trust in the people around me," he continued. "They have to trust me and what I can do as an offensive lineman. The more consistent you are, the better your chances are of staying around in the NFL."
Stankiewitch was the first Schuylkill County football player to be signed to an NFL contract since former Penn State linebacker Gino Capone was inked by the Minnesota Vikings in 2004. Capone never played for the Vikings, deciding to retire due to neck and knee injuries.
The last Schuylkill County football player to participate in an NFL training camp was Pottsville's Josh Dolbin with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998. Should Stankiewitch make it with the Patriots, he would be the first area player on an NFL regular-season roster since Pottsville's John Flannery played with three teams from 1991-98.
Stankiewitch said he's gotten a lot of encouragement and support from his family and friends, including Penn State coach Bill O'Brien, who said, "Do your thing, go to work."
Today, Stankiewitch did just that.