MKRob Sports

Ryan Succop hopes he is not irrelevant when the Kansas City Chiefs open training camp at the end of July.

But next week in Newport Beach, Cal., the former Gamecocks kicker and Hickory High grad has no problem being irrelevant.

Mr. Irrelevant, that is.

Succop claimed the title of Mr. Irrelevant when he was the last player selected in April’s NFL draft, when the Chiefs grabbed him with the 256th selection. The designation began in 1976, when California resident Paul Salata decided to celebrate the underdog by honoring the last pick in the draft with a title and ceremony.

“I’m excited about it,” Succop said. “From everything I’ve heard, they do all kinds of different things for you.”

The affair has grown into a four-day series of events designed to make the last pick feel like he is the first. Succop will receive the special treatment, to include an arrival party on the beach of the Newport Dunes resort, a banquet where he will receive the Lowsman Trophy, a golf outing on an oceanfront course, surfing lessons, beach volleyball with the Cal-Irvine women’s team and, of course, a trip to Disneyland with media recording his every step — just like the Super Bowl MVP.

OK, forget the Super Bowl MVP. Mr. Irrelevant is treated no differently from the leader of the free world.

“Even better,” said Melanie Salata Fitch, the founder’s daughter and the event’s top executive. “All week he’ll have aides and guides with him, just like the president.”

Fitch has stayed in contact with Succop since the draft, preparing him for the whirlwind of events, which are tailored to fit the recipient’s tastes and skills, including a possible kicking competition on the beach.

“We’re getting him pumped up,” she said.

Despite hoping he would go higher in the draft, Succop, who signed a deal worth $1.2 million with the Chiefs on Thursday, has begun to embrace his role of Mr. Irrelevant. He is turning it into a vacation that will include his parents, two sisters, best friend and girlfriend.

After spending the past month in Kansas City preparing for camp — and cognizant of one coach’s warning not to get too caught up in the Mr. Irrelevant hype — he is excited about the opportunity to step away from his workouts.

“When I’m out there, it’ll be a nice change of pace to be with family and friends,” he said.

As a scratch golfer — one who thought about playing golf in college instead of football — he is most thrilled about playing along the California coastline.

“The golf is obviously very exciting,” he said. “I play a lot of golf. It’s going to be fun.”

After his week of irrelevance, he is headed to the NFL rookie symposium in Miami. He will go there having received as much recent adoration as the first pick, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.

And Stafford never won the Heisman Trophy either. Succop’s Lowsman Trophy is a bronze statue that features a player fumbling the football.

It is also not likely Stafford had the chance to be the guest of honor at his own “Succop The Surf” party, a daylong beach celebration with enough bikini-clad attendees to make even the best kicker take his eye off the ball.

Fitch also said Succop can expect to take home many gifts from Newport Beach merchants, whose support of the week has grown steadily each year. She expects to see many people wearing T-shirts that look like a Chiefs jersey with the name “Succop” and the number 256 on the back.

“Everything is always upbeat. We’ve never had a guy go back and say, ‘What a waste of time,” or ‘They were so mean to me,’” Fitch said. “It’s all fun and all supportive.”

And all irrelevant, too.