MUNCIE, Ind.— After measurements and strength tests, the daystarted with defensive back J.T. Wahee being hyped up by his former teammates as they shouted out broad jump numbers he tried to reach.
Quarterback Drew Plitt was throwing to playershe had spent the past fiveyearsworking with in receivers Justin Hall and Hassan Littles, along with fullback/tight end Cody Rudy. Defensive lineman Chris Agyemang and offensive lineman Curtis Blackwell closed out the day with various bag drills.
The path to get to this point— Ball State's Pro Day— has been different for each of the 12 formerBall State football players, who included outside linebacker/defensive end Christian Albright, inside linebacker Jaylin Thomas, defensive back Bryce Cosby, kicker Jonathan Hagee and punter Nathan Snyder, a two-time All-Mid-American Conferenceselection. These past few months have beendifferent but, for each of them, the opportunity began five or six years ago when they walked onto campus as freshmen.
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A mix of recruits from the 2016 and 2017 classes, these players were some of the firsts to play under head coach Mike Neu. They saw the lows— a turbulent, 2-10 season in 2017— and the highs—a 2020Mid-American Conference championship and winning the program's first bowl game.
While others transferred, these playersstuck together and became only the third Ball State team to reach back-to-back bowl games in program history. And, on Monday, they spent one last time together in the indoor practice facility, putting on one lastperformance for dozens of scouts, family members and teammates and coaches.
"It’s a blessing," said Thomas, a three-time All-MAC selection. "It’s been a long road walking in and out of these facilities but it feels good to be back,be home and represent this university.”
During that 2020 season, Ball State came in as the underdog. The program had struggled for years and they found a way to bring it to never before seen heights. They're still the underdogs as they try to turn their childhood dreams into a reality. A few earned postseason showcase invites, a chance to show off their skills alongside a number of players who alsohoped to impress teams to get a shot to play football professionally, but not all.
It's a long shot to get drafted bya professional team, which only 29 Ball State players have done— most recently offensive lineman Danny Pinter, who became the first Ball State football player to be drafted when he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in 2020— but each hasthe confidence they can contribute to an NFL organization.
They played alongside Pinter. Blackwell, a three-time All-MAC selection, right next to him.
"You just see his success that he’s had up to this point and it really just gives you a boost of confidence because you know it’s possible," Blackwell said. "You’ve seen him go and do it and it kind of just inspires you to go and continue that tradition.”
While seeing former teammates make it to the league helps add confidence, so does working out alongside teammates you've spent your entire college career with. The comfort level among Plitt and Hall, Littles and Rudy was evident during the throwing session.
Goinginto the day, Plitt, who'd been training in Florida the past few months, said he wanted to show scouts his ability to throw the deep ball. It's acriticism Plitt—who's threw 9,485 yards (62% completion rate) and 82 TDs (68 passing, 14 rushing)— has heard about his game. Plitt's first several attemptswere thrown into the end zone while he was at midfield.
"The command I have on the team from the field, going out and making plays, but being kind of a pre-snap guy, being able to read defenses and stuff like that,I think that stands out to me," Plitt said. "Then when I came out here, the biggest thing I wanted to show is my arm, that I do have a strong arm because that was kind of a knock."
Through the pre-draft process, all of them have heardthe criticisms. And all of them have triedto prove pre-draft analyzers wrong. For Wahee, who said his dream is now "a goal," it was showing off his versatility. Same for Littles, whowas named a 2021 National Special Teams Player of the Year finalist, and Rudy.
For Albright and Aygemang, it was showing off theirathleticism and ability to playdifferent positions on defense. Thomas, who recorded 402 tackles (27.5 tackles for loss) and five interceptions, said he wanted to show his work ethic and prove he's someone who's willing to go "100 miles an hour" every chance he gets.
Most traveled to various parts of the country, but Rudy, who began his career as a walk-on, stayedhome in Middletown. Rudy's regimen has been different. Where others have spent most of their time focusing solely on training, Rudy has kept busy.
"It hasn’t been easy," Rudy said. "I come in, work out the first half of my day and come home ... work on the farm and then I work a second shift job every night so I’m up until 9 a.m. until 1:30, 2 o’clock in the morning every night. It is what it is, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. You know, I’m ready for this opportunity today and hopefully I impressed someone out here to see how it goes.”
However they got there, all of them knew Monday was one of their final chances to impress scouts before the NFL Draft, which takes place from April 28-30. Whetherthey hear their names called then or are given a chance after the fact, all of them are just looking for an opportunity, one organizationto take a chance on them to give them a shot to turn their dream into a reality.
"It’s a dream," Albright said, "you ask all the little kids that’s playing, like I said, eight years old, they'd probably say, ‘Yeah, I want to get to the NFL one day, I want to do this.’ Being this close, taking the steps necessary to get there for me it’s just, it’s crazy when I really look at it in the grand scheme of things, I’m definitely happy to be out here.”
Robby General covers Ball State andEast Central Indiana high school sportsfor The Star Press. Contact him via email atrgeneral@gannett.comor on Twitter @rgeneraljr.