With just over a month left in the semester, this year’s seniors are preparing to take their professional careers to the next level.
For Penn football’s Class of 2010 members Chris Wynn, Joe Goniprow and Jake Lewko, that could mean stepping onto the NFL gridiron.
All three players — along with five others from Lehigh, Villanova and California University of Pennsylvania — worked out for nine pro scouts, including representatives of the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, at Franklin Field yesterday.
The evaluation featured a series of physical tests — including the bench press, the vertical and broad jumps and all-important 40-yard dash — and a written exam that asked the players questions like ‘do you find dirty jokes funny?’
According to Wynn, being a Penn student is a double-edged sword for aspiring NFL players, making academic tasks much easier and physical training more difficult.
“You obviously have an advantage in terms of [the] academic, intelligence side of things,” Wynn said just after completing his written test. “It probably hurts more than it actually helps … We kind of had to work our training around our school schedule.”
But Wynn pointed out that neither he nor Goniprow nor Lewko have let their school commitments keep them from chasing the dream of playing in ‘The League.’
“You gotta be crazy to not at least try and go for it, no matter what your chances are.”
The three are trying to join a moderately long list of players under Penn coach Al Bagnoli to make it into the NFL. The most recent was Sean Estrada, who was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2007 but has subsequently played in both the Arena Football League and United Football League.
Lewko says the possibility became real for him after winning co-Ivy League MVP in 2009.
“All of the sudden, the chance to go the NFL was on the table,” Lewko said. “Right now, I’m just looking to take the next step.”
That next step could be as close as next week for Lewko, when he has a scheduled tryout with the Eagles.
And for the native of Medford, N.J., there is no team he would rather play for.
“I’ve always been an Eagles fan,” he said.
Obviously, all three players would be happy to make the roster of any NFL team. But it’s difficult to tell which franchises are interested, since none of the pro scouts at the workouts were available for comment.
Having played in the shadow of Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook throughout their college careers, there would be something special for the three Quakers about suiting up at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sure, Lewko, Wynn and Goniprow may not be broken-down bartenders who never played college ball, but playing for the Eagles would definitely be a dream come true.
Ultimately, however, the goal is just about playing on Sundays, whichever colors they end up wearing.
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