There wasn’t any noticeable amount of fanfare or cheers from fans, but Saturday morning into the early afternoon was one of the most important days in the sporting careers of several Stony Brook football athletes who were putting their talents on display for NFL scouts from around the country.
Among his fellow teammates and other hopefuls on Long Island, senior running back Miguel Maysonet was at center stage after having taken part in the NFL Combine and drawing praise from ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
“That’s an exciting thing to be able to translate what I’ve been able to do on the field and bring it off the field to show the scouts that I’m a good football player,” he said.
Despite that attention, Maysonet was equally proud of the players whom he was with that day.
“All the guys that I was working out with are good guys,” he said. “For them to come out here and see not just me but other Stony Brook players run, it’s awesome.”
More than half of the NFL’s 32 teams had a representative present on Saturday, heightening the pressure that must have already been weighing on the minds of the NFL Draft hopefuls. Beyond the local New York Giants and Jets came teams such as the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, etc.
Approximately 15 players took part in the day’s events, which ranged from a variety of measurements and drills. The first item on the agenda was to mark down each man’s wingspan, height, and weight.
When it came turn for Maysonet to get his numbers, he was measured to be 5’8’’, one inch shorter that he was measured at the Combine, prompting him to joke that “I shrunk.”
After measurements, the players proceeded to lifting and other drills in the Dubin Center.
Around 11 a.m., the players, their families, officials and media migrated to the Coastal Sports facility in Hauppauge. The players returned to drills ranging from the dash to passing and receiving.
The day’s events came to an end around 1:30 p.m., at which point the NFL scouts hit the road to relay their findings to busy team offices around the country preparing to decide who to trust their team with in the future.
For Maysonet, the process before the actual NFL draft is not over. He said he had been contacted by at least the Giants and Jets as a sign of further interest. He is going to the Giants’ facility next month.
“If it happens, it happens,” Maysonet said about the possibility of playing local. “I don’t really have a preference as long as I go play football somewhere.”
