Michigan Football: Mike Wroblewski Has Gone From Walk-On To NFL Hopeful
Of the seven players who took part in Michigan’s Pro Day on Friday — Mo Hurst, Mason Cole, Khalid Hill, Henry Poggi, Mike Wroblewski, Mike McCray and John O’Korn — Wroblewski was the only walk-on of the bunch.
He spent five years with the football program, and appeared in all 13 games this past season at linebacker and on special teams.
However, he admitted there was a time when he didn’t know if he’d ever actually make it to this point.
“When you first get to college, you just concentrate on playing and contributing to the team,” he explained. “A few years later when you come to your teammates’ Pro Days, you start to think ‘maybe I could do this someday.’
“A lot of the guys always told me that this event will be here before you know it, but you tell yourself you have all the time in the world — it does hit you so fast though. Then you get to a point where you feel like the old man, and you’re telling the younger guys on the team the exact same thing.
“I really got some good advice from the older players who came back to Michigan after they graduated — like [former fullback] Joe Kerridge. He came back and worked out with us, and you can talk to him about anything. Any edge you can gain prior to the Pro Day is very beneficial.”
Wroblewski admitted that he came into Friday’s Pro Day with something to prove, and that teams shouldn’t overlook him simply because he was a former walk-on.
“I wanted to show who I am, both as a player and as a person,” he explained. “I want people to see how I can move, play and contribute. Making connections with teams is also huge. I talked to a couple different organizations, but I’m not going to be specific as to which ones.”
Although he didn’t want to go into too much detail on how the afternoon went either, Wroblewski said the weeks of training leading up to the event really paid off for him.
“You get in tune with your body throughout the training process,” he explained. “You’ll know if you have a good start and a good jump during it, and whether you’re feeling smooth or not.
“You have so many eyes on you, though, so you have quite a bit of adrenaline. It’s quiet out there too, so you know you’re ready to go.”
Another factor that played a role in Wroblewski’s preparation was head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff.
“Having a staff who has coached in the NFL before was huge,” the former walk-on said. “Coach [Don] Brown had us doing some of the exact same drills throughout our careers that I did at the Pro Day. It’s nice, because you’ve run through those hundreds and even thousands of times before.”
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