A.T. Perry goes through Pro Day with former teammates close to heart

WINSTON-SALEM – For what amounts to a pressure-packed job interview, A.T. Perry wanted to have his fellow Wake Forest receivers with him.

So there were Jahmal Banks, Donavon Greene and Ke’Shawn Williams, among others from the position, standing on the sideline of McCreary Football Field House as the Deacons went through Pro Day workouts on Wednesday.

The sideline wasn’t close enough, though.

Perry wore a graphic t-shirt with photos of Wake’s top five receivers — those three mentioned above, himself and Taylor Morin — all featured, and the words “PLAY” and “MAKERS” intersecting on the side and bottom of the pictures.

“These boys mean a lot to me, the whole receiver room,” Perry said. “I love these boys, I love this shirt. I wish I got it in a bigger size, but I love being around them and I love coming back to work.”

Perry didn’t need to do as much work as others at Wake Forest, given he was at the NFL Combine about a month ago. His 40-yard dash time of 4.47 in Indianapolis is part of the reason he’s projected as a mid-round pick in next month’s draft.

Perry and tight end Blake Whiteheart, Wake’s other representative at the Combine, went through routes and caught passes from current Deacons quarterback Michael Kern. There were a few “oohs” and “ahs” from observers on a back-corner-of-the-end-zone catch by Perry, as well as for Whiteheart on a seam route.

Versatility was something Perry wanted to show for NFL representatives, from which 28 of 32 teams were at Wake Forest.

“I was running routes … kind of breaking it up, go to the slot and the outside and to the field,” Perry said. “Give scouts the sense that I can play inside and outside, you know, just showing them what I could do.”

He’s picked up on how to do some of that because of who he’s been training with in Florida since Wake’s season ended.

Perry spent the last few months training at XPE Sports in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where former NFL receiver Anquan Boldin works with prospective NFL receivers.

“I got a chance to work with him and it was just the best ever, hearing his story. He told me his process throughout the league and stuff like that,” Perry said of Bolin, who played in the NFL for 14 seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens. “It honestly motivated me because like, I went to his house and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a big house. I have to get one like this.’

“He was like, ‘Hey, just stay focused and play football. At the end of the day, it’s just football.’”

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Pro Day is performative in some of the same ways that games are, and other ways that it’s not.

One of the latter shows when offensive linemen, so accustomed to being in a five-man unit, talk about going through individual drills and the focus being squarely on them.

“Game day you’ve got your brothers around you, especially playing offensive line because the spotlight is not on you,” former Deacons guard Sean Maginn said on Wednesday. “You’re out here and you’re the only one, so it was definitely different. But I enjoyed it … I definitely got that adrenaline boost.”

Maginn was one of three starters from Wake’s offensive line going through Pro Day, joined by Je’Vionte’ Nash and Loic Ngassam Nya.

It’s a trio that’s watched a few others from their position group carve out NFL careers and is hoping to do the same.

“From Day One, the culture that (offensive line coach Nick) Tabacca instills in us, how you approach the game, how you play the game, how you prepare for the game, everything that comes from playing offensive line is real important,” Ngassam Nya said. “Teams at the next level understand that he’s trying to build that culture here.

“He’s really producing offensive linemen that can play at the collegiate level and in the next league.”

None of Wake’s offensive linemen is a projected draft pick, which doesn’t rule out the possibility of a late-round pick. It’s just more likely that Wednesday’s Pro Day was their audition to be an undrafted free agent who signs soon after the draft ends.

One of the former Beef Boys who has earned a spot on an NFL roster, Zach Tom, came back to Wake Forest for Pro Day. A fourth-round pick of the Packers last year, Tom started five games.

“I haven’t seen him in a while but it’s good that he’s back,” Ngassam Nya said. “He just showed up, that’s not surprising. That’s Zach, he just shows up.”

Though it’s not comparative by position, Wake’s offensive linemen need only look at the case of a former teammate who was in their shoes 12 months to find inspiration in their path.

Luke Masterson signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent last year and made such an impact that he started seven games, and played in all 17. He had 59 tackles — 21 of them solo — and carved out a future for himself in the NFL.

It’s the standard of which this year’s batch of hopeful NFL players from Wake Forest is chasing.

“The goal of today for these guys isn’t to become a first-round draft pick,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “The goal is to show enough that someone says, ‘That player is worth bringing to camp.’

“And then once you get to camp, you get a chance to prove you can stick.”