Pro day is always a special day for college players who are moving to the next level, and this year’s pro day for the Wolfpack was no exception.
Scouts, reporters and photographers were out on the practice fields at Carter-Finley Stadium Wednesday morning to catch one last glimpse of several N.C. State players just before the NFL Draft.
Former Pack wide receiver Owen Spencer said the pro day event was a moment he had been waiting for since his arrival at the University.
“I came out here four years ago as a freshman and didn’t even know what it was,” Spencer said. “Scouts were out here with all these different colored jackets – Colts, Broncos, Patriots – all of the teams. But I had to mature myself and wait for that day to come and it was here today. “
The class that graduated this year was one of the best in recent history for the Pack. Finishing with a 9-4 record and winning the Champs Sports Bowl was something that hadn’t been achieved since the Phillip Rivers era.
This senior class was also the first class to graduate after serving a full four years under head coach Tom O’Brien. The team went through a lot of ups and downs over the years, but finished strong.
Spencer said he feels good about where the program was headed after his class graduated, and thinks the team is moving in the right direction.
“We did well,” Spencer said. “We are on the rise from previous seasons. I believe the senior class left the school in good hands.”
Besides pro day, players have several other opportunities to train for the NFL Draft. Some players practiced with outside organizations, and some practiced with other NFL players and showcased their skills at the Combine or their University’s pro day.
Jarvis Williams chose the route of training with current NFL players and traveled down to Florida, his home state, to learn from some of the game’s elite players such as Ike Taylor, Javon Walker, Toney Carter, Ricardo Coulogh and Myron Rolle.
“A bunch of NFL players were out there just getting after it, teaching me this and that,” Williams said. “Defensive backs telling me don’t do this and that. Javon Walker was on my butt about pushing hard and grinding through routes.”
While several Pack players auditioned in front of NFL scouts, former linebacker Nate Irving was the story of the day. After a treacherous wreck in 2009, Irving returned in 2010 with one of his best seasons for State and was a finalist for the Brian Piccolo Award.
Irving said coaches were well aware of his story and that they have spoken with him a lot about the incident.
“That was the main focus at the Senior Bowl,” Irving said. “My accident was the first thing they talked about. I am a hard worker and do what I can to get back on the field and stay on the field. I can play football and produce for the team.”
Despite the pressure of trying out for scouts and the Draft looming in just over a month, Spencer said he was happy to see the old Nate Irving he knew in college: happy and joking around with other players.
“I was proud to see Nate get out there and be himself out there,” Spencer said. “Cracking jokes, smiling a little bit, because it hasn’t been all smiles for the past year for him. We are blessed to have him here and I am sure he is blessed to be here to.”
With the pro day being the final time the players would take the field at Carter-Finley, Irving said all he wanted to do was have fun.
“Football is just fun,” Irving said. “You can’t go out there and play uptight, so you can’t practice uptight. You go out there and just have fun.”