Scouting Bryce Santana at UNM Lobo pro day

ALBUQUERQUE — For Bryce Santana, it was one last chance to perform at University Stadium.

On March 24, the 2020 Los Lunas graduate and former University of New Mexico defensive lineman, took part in the UNM Pro Day with other ex-Lobos.

While only a handful of NFL teams were represented, including the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, it was a day Santana had dreamed about.

“It was something I was looking forward to for a long, long time,” Santana said. “I tried my best not to be nervous, but especially the night before, I was definitely feeling it a little bit.”

The end result?

“I thought I had a really good day,” Santana said after going through a series of drills like those at the NFL combine.

Included in the gauntlet were the 40-yard dash, shuttle, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump and several others.

“I had been training for it since the beginning of December,” Santana said, so there were no surprises. “I was pretty much prepared for everything they threw at me.”

One performance stood out for Santana.

“My bench press numbers would have tied for first in the NFL combine,” as Santana reached 30 reps with the 225-pound weight.

There were also position-specific tests for the scouts to witness the athlete’s agility.

“They were more focused on how you move than about what kind of player you are because your film kind of shows that,” he said.

Santana and the others did not go through an interview process, but the scouts did break out the tape measure.

“For D-linemen, it’s important to have long arms,” Santana said. “My wingspan was about 6-4 1/2 half. That’s longer than I am tall.”

The NFL draft is just days away, starting April 24. Santana is hopeful his name will be called, but he’s also realistic.

“I do think I have a good shot to at least make a rookie camp and then hopefully prove myself there,” he said. “It’s kind of just a roll the dice situation.”