Alec Ingold has spent the last few months living out of a hotel room, not sure if he would need to search for a more permanent residence in the Bay Area.

The undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin arrived at the Oakland Raiders training facility in Alameda, Calif., in early-May with a smile on his face, and he's continued to smile through all the uncertainty.

Upon arrival, Ingold was locked into a position battle with Keith Smith for the starting fullback job. Smith, a six-year veteran, was known for his presence on special teams, and served an integral role with the Raiders last season, but a knee injury left the door cracked for Ingold to try and burst through.

Day after day, Ingold chipped away at the starting job one block at a time, and consistently put his technique on display. When Smith eventually returned for the third preseason game, he registered a receiving touchdown, and made the competition that much more interesting; however, Ingold had done enough to prove to the coaching staff he earned the job. For an undrafted free agent, not a day goes by that he doesn't need to prove himself, and separating learning from Smith while trying to take his paycheck was a difficult line to tow.

"He's such a nice guy and a genuine dude, and it's so tough when you're getting taught by a guy all these different things on how to step this way, and when the defense does this, how you react, and then go out and try to be 'the guy' on the field is definitely really tough," Ingold explained. "You kind of have to separate the classroom from the field, be quiet and reserved, and understanding off the field, and then once you get on the field you have to be kind of a different animal. You got to let your pads do the talking and just really leave it all out there, and gain as much respect as you can as fast as possible."

Through his character, attentiveness, and technique Ingold has earned the respect of his peers and the coaching staff. For a kid from Green Bay, the thought of making an NFL roster felt like a longshot, but he beat the odds. On cut day, Ingold wasn't among the list of players to be sent home, and a sense of gratitude fell over him. As he walked around the facility, he couldn't help but reflect on how fortunate he was to go undrafted and find himself in the position he was in.

The time to bask in his triumph was brief, as the division-rival Denver Broncos were a little more than a week away from coming to town.

While he took advantage of his opportunity in training camp and the preseason, there's only so much that can prepare you for the regular season.

Especially when he knew he'd be tasked with blocking Von Miller Week 1.

Leading up to the Raiders matchup with the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, Ingold experienced various emotions, as he prepared for his first real NFL action. Draped in the Silver and Black, the former Wisconsin Badger will never forget the roar of Raider Nation as he took the field.

"It was something I'll never forget, for sure," he said. "There's big talk of Raider Nation and they're kind of everywhere, social media, and just out and about, so just being able to truly hear that and feel that was unbelievable. I've never heard anything like that before in my life, so being able to go out there and feel the atmosphere and feel the fans was absolutely just breathtaking. Once the ball was snapped, we just played football and the offense was rolling, we got in a groove, and it's about as good as you could've drawn it up yesterday."

Got in a groove indeed.

It's clear Coach Gruden wanted to feed rookie running back Josh Jacobs early, and get the first-round pick comfortable with the pace of the game. For many of those handoffs, Ingold was on the field, and he paved the way for a few of Jacobs' biggest plays.