With Pro Days Cancelled, IU Players are Thankful for Combine and All-Star Game Opportunities
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Nick Westbrook (15) took advantage of his all-star game selection Image: Amanda Pavelka Hoosier Huddle
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The spring is usually a busy time for players who have moved on from college football and decided to chase their professional football dreams. In the months between the end of the season and the NFL Draft, players usually would be working out with trainers and participating in pro days that are put on by their college or their local NFL teams. This spring, however, all those dreams were put on hold due to the shut downs caused by COViD-19. However, three former Hoosiers are thankful they already had their opportunity to showcase their talents and character for NFL scouts in person.
People may wonder why events such as the NFL Scouting Combine and all-star games like the Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Bowl and the Tropical Bowl are so important. For Simon Stepaniak, Nick Westbrook and Reakwon Jones, they represented their only opportunity to perform in person in front of scouts before the NFL Draft.
“Especially looking back now, with how things turned out, I am extremely grateful for such an awesome experience,” Westbrook said of the East-West Shrine Bowl. “Being there for a week and playing with all these different players and meeting with all the scouts. Now, with how this has unfolded, I definitely feel like it was a leg up on some guys who didn’t get that invite and also didn’t have a (NFL Scouting) Combine invite.”
The Shrine Bowl has been played 96 times and gives selected players a week of practice in front of NFL scouts before the game which is televised on NFL Network. It’s a fantastic opportunity, that often goes over looked.
Former Indiana linebacker Reakwon Jones participated in another all-star game in the SPIRAL Tropical Bowl. While not steeped in the history of the Shrine Bowl, the Tropical Bowl held practices and games in front of scouts from 28 NFL teams.
“The Tropical Bowl, it definitely was a good experience,” Jones said of his time at the Tropical Bowl, “I got to meet a lot of cool guys from different schools and stuff like that. It was big there were scouts from (28) teams. We saw scouts at practice, they were at our hotel. We had meetings with them. I thought it was a great experience and am grateful to have that opportunity to go there and showcase my character and my on the field stuff and also just to be around other guys who are great players who are kind of pushing you to be better and continue to work harder and stuff like that.”
Simon Stepaniak, who earned an NFL Scouting Combine invitation, had a big picture look at the whole situation. “It hurts knowing a lot of guys will have a harder opportunity, not being able to show their skills at Pro Day” he said of teammates who will have to find other ways to make an impact in the minds of NFL scouts.
Stepaniak could not participate in any of the on field drills at the combine due to his knee injury during IU’s bowl preparations, but he his “am thankful for that opportunity every day.” Stepaniak was able to talk with NFL doctors who are confident that he will make a full recovery and went through the interview process with teams as well.
Stepaniak was also selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, but could not because of his injury.
The lesson here is that one will never know when their next opportunity to prove themselves will be. While nobody could have seen a shut down like this coming in late-January, these Hoosiers made the most of opportunities that many did not get to participate in.