Northwestern football held its Pro Day Tuesday, and Head Coach David Braun was on hand for the occasion.
Ryan Hilinski and former Lincoln-Way East star A.J. Henning were among the 10 seniro and graduate student Wildcats trying to catch the eye of a dozen-plus NFL scouts at Ryan Fieldhouse.
Whether they get drafted or sign as free agents, pro ‘Cat hopefuls like defensive lineman Jaylen Pate are out to prove they can make the jump to the NFL.
“I think it did for me what I needed it to as far as, you know, getting my foot in the door and getting me the chance. I know once I get there and the real football starts again, you know, I’ll handle what I need to and take care of business.”
Hilinski was pleased with the day.
“I felt great out there today,” he said. “It felt like we trained. We prepared. I was trained with Coco [Azema], Ben [Wrather], and Jaylen [Pate], and those guys came in and put in the work day in and day out. We just wanted to leave with no regrets.”
Henning said he was satisfied with his own performance and excited to cheer on his teammates.
“It was exciting, you know, rooting for your guys who you took the field with. For me, two years, and seeing them chasing, pursuing their dreams and playing at the next level altogether, I mean, it was great,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve really gotten to get eyes on me and work out in this kind of type of setting, so I feel like I laid it all on the line today.”
Xander Mueller said he was trying to top expectations.
“I was focused on everything. I just wanted to show that I could move in space and move better than a lot of them would think I could move, so I did that today in all the drills,” he said.
Azema, Wrather, Thomas Gordon, Marshall Lang, Sean McLaughlin, and R.J. Pearson also took part in Pro Day.
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