WINSTON-SALEM – Having gone through the NFL Combine and put up solid numbers in Indianapolis, there was little for Zach Tom to do at Wake Forest’s Pro Day last week.

That didn’t make the three-year starter on the Deacons’ offensive line any less nervous – though he eventually calmed his nerves.

“I was, I was very nervous today,” Tom said on Wednesday. “Once I kind of get into the flow of things, I start warming up, it lessens my nerves a little bit.”

Tom got into the flow of things to put up 25 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press, an event he didn’t do at the Combine. That would’ve tied for the eighth-most reps of any offensive line prospect in Indianapolis back in early March.

The other number important to Tom’s draft stock at Pro Day was even more concrete than bench press number – his weight. Tom weighed in at 307 pounds, a significant uptick from the 295 that he was listed at last season.

“The bench press and my weight were pretty much the only questions I had left,” he said.

There isn’t a secret to Tom’s weight gain, and it was necessary: The NFL typically doesn't draft offensive linemen under 300 pounds.

“Just eating, eating and sleeping, doing the right things, creating good habits,” Tom said. “Everything kind of combined, got me to where I needed to be.”

Tom is the most-likely Deacon to be drafted. Wake Forest has had a player drafted in each of the last five NFL drafts, which is the second-longest streak (six straight, from 2005-10) for the program since 1994, which is when the draft went to its current seven-round format.

He’ll begin his NFL career as a center, the position where he first started at Wake Forest in the 2019 season (plus one fill-in start in 2018). Tom spent the last two seasons starting at left tackle for the Deacons, but his move back to the interior of the offensive line was expected.

It’s been a zig-zagging football career for Tom, who was an offensive tackle in high school. His acumen and instincts made for a relatively easy shift to center once he arrived at Wake Forest, and then his shift to tackle for the past two seasons was, again, a seamless transition.

Described by offensive line coach Nick Tabacca and fellow Beef Boys as a natural lineman, Tom has long held the look of a future NFL lineman.

“I think it’s a combination of No. 1, how athletic he is,” coach Dave Clawson said. “For a guy that size, to run and move and change direction isn’t normal. And then his intelligence. He’s so smart, he anticipates things so well.

“That combination of being athletic and smart, to me, has allowed him to become one of the best linemen in the ACC.”

Tom was a first-team All-ACC pick last season and won the league’s Jim Tatum Award, which is presented to the top senior student-athlete (for football only).