Cam Gill has had as interesting a path to becoming an NFL Draft prospect as he had when he left his Metro Atlanta, Georgia home, heading to the lone Division I school that offered him an opportunity — Wagner College in New York. The reality is, the linebacker prospect has more NFL teams interested in him today than he had colleges interested in him in 2016, and Draft Scout sees him going anywhere from the 6th round to being a high priority free agent.
If Gill is drafted, he'll be only the second Wagner product to be picked since 1965 — joining former teammate Greg Senat, who was taken two years ago. If he isn't drafted, he could go the free agency route and be the next Julian Stanford, a current pro who has had seven years in the NFL and played all 16 games for Buffalo last fall. Either way, the 2019 HERO Sports First Team All-American wants to make Wagner, the Northeast Conference and the FCS proud.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
[divider]NFL Draft Feature Stories:
Derrek Tuszka, NDSU | Adam Trautman, Dayton | Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois
Bryce Sterk, Montana St. | Christian Rozeboom, SDSU | Jonah Williams, Weber St.
J.J. Koski, Cal Poly | Bronson Rechsteiner, Kennesaw | Pete Guerriero, Monmouth
Ron'Dell Carter, JMU | Nick Tiano, Chattanooga | Cam Gill, Wagner
Riley Stapleton, JMU | Kevin Davidson, Princeton
[divider]
Gill is no stranger to high-level football.
His goal was to play Division I football and he's done that, going against the likes of FBS schools like Syracuse, Boston College, UConn, Florida Atlantic and Western Michigan, finishing with 5.5 tackles for loss against those opponents. He also played high school football in Georgia, a national hotbed for talent. Heard of Ole Miss' Josiah Coatney, the Senior Bowl invitee and NFL Combine participant? That's Gill's buddy and teammate from high school football in Douglasville. It's rare if the two don't talk each day. And Georgia Bulldogs running back Brian Herrien, who also was at the Combine and shared the backfield with De'Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield in recent years? That's another good buddy of Gill's from back home who played at a rival school just 10 minutes away.
"Playing high school football in Georgia week in and week out, with studs on your team and playing against you, I think it helped me," Gill told HERO Sports on Wednesday. "And more and more talent year in and year out is coming out of the NEC. There are plenty of superstars. You try playing against guys like A.J. Hines (Duquesne) and Nehari Crawford (Duquesne) and Jacob Dolegala (CCSU). And Ryan Fulse (Wagner teammate) … It's kind of nice to come from a small school like Wagner and get recognition. It's such a special place, and it's great to garner some attention for my school."
Gill has played against players who have NFL-level talent, and he's played in tough environments.
He finished his career with 59 tackles for loss, 36 sacks (an NEC record), 188 tackles, 24 quarterback hurries and eight forced fumbles. He's a wrecking ball measuring in officially at 6-foot-2, 232 pounds at his Pro Day (he was one of the lucky ones to get one in) and one of Draft Scout's contributing scouts even mention him being a potential fifth-rounder, with big-time special teams potential. Even with a nagging hamstring issue on his March 10th Pro Day, he posted a 4.60-second time in the 40-yard dash, good for Top 10 among linebackers at the NFL Combine, and his bench press total of 21 reps would have been Top 5. To top it off, he posted five tackles and caught the eye of scouts at the East-West Shrine Game in Tampa, Fla., too.
He has a resume that should turn some heads.
"The best way to sum it up is it's been a rollercoaster ride," Gill said. "At the end of my senior season, I started training for the East-West Shrine Game to position myself to do special things. I was training like a track star hoping to get invited to the Combine — which didn't end up happening — but also for the Pro Day. It's like you put football on hold and you're working on speed, not football skills. We've got to prove ourselves, both ways. Now, with the whole coronavirus situation and no visits or local days, it's just been crazy."
The East-West Shrine Game really gave Gill a big chance to hit FBS opponents and prove he belonged. As mentioned above, he finished with five tackles. In particular, he had two against Big Ten RB Reggie Corbin (Illinois) and one against NFL Combine participant LeVante Bellamy (Western Michigan). He told HERO Sports that he's used to rushing the passer but that whole week of prep he was playing off the ball to show teams that he was versatile enough to play on and off the ball — a true "EDGE" prospect. That was a big discussion topic during the interview process. Many teams like him as an outside linebacker in certain defensive schemes, while some liked his work at defensive end.
The info is all in, he's done about 15 FaceTime sessions with NFL teams, and four or five teams have been in contact more than others.
It's now time to see how things shake out for Wagner's All-American.
History for @bigplay_10! With 31 career sacks, he becomes the All-Time @NECFootball sack leader! pic.twitter.com/4MeBTPVxF7
— Wagner College Football (@Wagner_Football) October 26, 2019
[divider]
NEXT: Best NFL Careers From The FCS
MORE: Best FCS Traditions
Listen to the latest episodes of B-Mac and Herd's FCS Podcast, which is also available on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Spotify, iHeart, Stitcher and Spreaker.
SUBSCRIBE: B-Mac and Herd's FCS Podcast
