COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Between the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, Cedar Crest grad Chad Ryland has had more than a few opportunities to stand out in front of NFL coaches and scouts. He had another opportunity at Maryland's Pro Day on Thursday.
Ryland is on a months-long job interview. He has 32 prospective employers. His right leg is his business card.
"There's 32 in the world like you said, and I'm very confident that I'm top 32 in the world at my craft," said Ryland to a group of reporters inside Maryland's Jones-Hill House indoor facility.
His training sites since the end of the season reads like a rock n' roll tour.
"Fort Lauderdale Florida, Bradenton Florida, Mobile Alabama, Dallas Texas, San Diego California, Indianapolis Indiana, Ann Arbor Michigan, and then Lebanon Pennsylvania," recalled Ryland
Every NFL team has talked to him at some point in the past few weeks and almost all of them were on hand to see him in action in College Park.
"31 of the 32 NFL teams are here represented, and it would've been all 32 had Kansas City not gotten snowed in," said Mike Locksley.
Ryland made countless field goal attempts, some in the 60-yard range. He knows at the pro level, it's not just about having a powerful leg.
"They asked to show me that today. 'Kick it between the goal line and the five as high as you can, so we can almost force a return.' The guys in the NFL that are covering kicks are freaking athletes," explained Ryland.
"They're going to go down and cover that thing and that's one thing they wanted to see out of me because all year I just boomed touchbacks."
The 2023 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 27th, and comes to a close on Saturday, April 29th. Between now and then, Ryland knows he has a few more chances to make an impression with interviews.
"I've got a couple of private interviews lined up going forward with some teams that want to see some more. I have a couple of zoom calls, and maybe a couple of under-30 visits if I'm lucky. Really here, that was the last part of the interview process for me, in terms of pure kicking in front of a big crowd," said Ryland.
"Now it's more of a selective basis. I'm going to continue to train, head back to Lebanon County, probably kick at Lebanon Valley College a couple of times, and maybe pop down to Dallas as well to get some training in."