Former N.C. State football safety Earl Wolff is in the fortunate position of having the opportunity to advance his career to the pro level.
Wolff worked out for National Football League team representatives on the final day of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 26. There, Wolff engaged in drills to show off his pro potential.
Wolff was given a grade of 63.4 for his overall performance at the combine. He ran a 4.44 second 40-yard dash, 4.07 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, jumped 39 inches in the vertical jump and launched himself 134 inches in the broad jump. Wolf did not participate in the bench press event.
Aside from the measurable drill results, Wolff said he also showed well in the position drills. “Honestly I feel like I did a great job in position drills,” Wolff said. “[I] just opened up a lot of doors.”
Along with drills to show off a player’s physical skill, prospects also undergo a series of interviews by different teams. The goal of these interviews is to find out if a player is psychologically ready for the responsibi lit ies of being a professional athlete. Wolff said scouts found his personal ity and life story to be his st rongest asset s pertaining to his draft stock.
“It’s def initely my military background,” Wol f f said. “They heard about my work ethic and everybody likes me so it’s just been positive. I talked to almost every team. They all liked my story. I’ve never been arrested, never been in trouble, come from a military background. They love my story and I thank God because I could’ve been in any situation where I could’ve been in trouble. I could’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Wolf f was not alone in attempting to impress potential future employers at Lucas Oil Stadium on Tuesday. Fellow former Wolfpack defensive back David Amerson also competed in drills on the final day of the combine.
At one point in the day Amerson had the fastest 40-yard dash time among the defensive backs with an unofficial mark of 4.38 seconds. His official time came out to match Wolff ’s at 4.44 seconds. Unlike Wolff, Amerson participated in the bench press for the scouts and was able to lift 15 reps of 225 pounds. He received an overall score of 74.4.
“We worked out together,” Wolff said. “We did a lot of drill work together. We did all of our stuff together. Dave was working hard. He put in that work, too, over that little bit of time, over the past two months and it paid off. He actually gained about ten pounds, too.”
Wolff said he would probably only participate in position drills at N.C. State’s Pro Day.
“A lot of people think just because you don’t go to the combine you’re not going to get drafted,” Wolff said. “I’ve heard so many stories about guys that didn’t go to the combine and got drafted in the second or third round. The combine drops a lot of people, which opens doors for pro day guys.”
