MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – Nine former Wisconsin Badgers players took the field at the McClain Center on Thursday for Pro Day. All 32 NFL clubs were represented as the athletes ran 40-yard dashes, participated in cone drills, and leaped in the broad jump.

The participating players were offensive linemen Tyler Beach and Joe Tippman, defensive lineman Keaanu Benton, cornerbacks Justin Clark, Cedrick Dort Jr, and Jay Shaw, linebacker Nick Herbig, safety John Torchio and punter Andy Vujnovich.

The athletes’ roads to pro day were varied. Benton was a four-year starter, invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, and is projected to be a second-round draft pick on multiple NFL mock drafts. Meanwhile, teammates like Vujnovich and Torchio could have never imagined participating in Pro Day.

“My main goal when I first came here was just to have fun because I was just a small kid and I just wanted to play football. I got the dream job playing for Wisconsin and over the years the dream changed…and maybe there’s more to this,” Vujnovich said while reflecting on his time in Madison. The punter participated in the Hula Bowl and trained with specialist coach Gary Zauner in Gilbert, Arizona this off-season.

Torchio’s expectations for his career after Wisconsin are tempered. He had heard projections that he’d be a sixth or seventh-round pick, or join a team as an undrafted free agent. But the safety has already overcome a difficult entry into the sport.

“If you asked me in the beginning of college if I’d be in this spot, I’d probably say no…it’s kind of surreal just kind of being in this position, especially as a walk-on,” Torchio said to the media.

The NFL draft will begin on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.