WINSTON-SALEM – The waiting was, indeed, the hardest part of Pro Day for Nick Sciba.

But at least Wake Forest’s former kicker was prepared for it.

“It was worth the wait, seemed like a lot of scouts stayed to watch me, so that was good to see,” Sciba said after Pro Day last month. “Felt good about my workout, had a plan coming into it, knowing it was going to be a while before I went.

“So I just stuck to my plan and felt like it worked out well for me.”

Pro Day doesn’t have an official start time like a game, so it’s hard to tell exactly how long Sciba waited until he was kicking in front of scouts on March 30. But it was long enough that the ACC Network Extra stream of Wake’s Pro Day had ended, and long enough that the majority of Wake’s 12 players who participated in Pro Day had already been interviewed about their performances.

Through the long wait – which made for a couple of anxious parents in Brian and Nikki Sciba – Nick Sciba went over technical aspects with kicking and punting coach Dan Orner, a personal coach based in the Charlotte area who’s worked with Sciba since high school.

“I did a little small workout just at the start, just to get the blood pumping,” Sciba said. “I rolled out, stretched, and then I actually went outside when they were doing the 40s. That’s why I disappeared.”

A vanishing kicker, you say? This is where we make one last joke about Sciba and the Notre Dame game.

And now that we’re past that for the last time (I think) …

The most-accurate kicker in NCAA history is not expected to be drafted next week, but almost certainly will be signed as an undrafted free agent. Based on Pro Day, the Pittsburgh Steelers and his hometown Carolina Panthers would seem to be the favorites to snag the Deacons’ fan favorite.

Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith was in attendance for Wake’s Pro Day, as was Panthers assistant special teams coach Ed Foley.

A big part of the equation for Sciba’s NFL prospects is how he handles kickoffs and longer field goals. Kickoffs are something he only did full time at Wake Forest as a sophomore, and of Sciba’s 81 made field goals for the Deacons, none of them was from 50 yards or longer.

At Pro Day, Sciba made one 60-yarder in three attempts and hit what he felt were strong kickoffs, most of which landed either in the end zone or inside the 5-yard line.

“I know teams are going to want to see me hit longer field goals, just because of my career here,” Sciba said. “Just showing that I have the ability to kick off and hit the end zone I think really helped me out.”

One of the more-interesting things to note was Smith – who ran Sciba through the drills – having Sciba participate in a clock-running-out scenario. It was simulating a situation where he’s on the sideline and had to run onto the field, line up quickly without going through his normal routine, and kick.

Sciba – shocker coming here – made the kick.

“Yeah, that wasn’t expected,” Sciba said. “Mr. Danny with the Steelers … he told me he wanted one more kick and he wanted a game-winner, wanted me to go to the sideline and run in with 12 seconds left.

“[Kickers] like taking our steps, taking our steps is good. But when we’re put in that situation we have to be ready for it because we never know what’s going to happen, and you have to be ready for any game situation.”

Sciba, it’s safe to say, is ready for whatever situation his NFL path calls for.