Jacob Huesman has worked hard to earn an opportunity to play professional football.
A portion of his hard work earned him a steak dinner.
Huesman was one of five former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football players participating in the school's pro day event Tuesday at Finley Stadium and one of six total to showcase their skills to representatives of the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder from Baylor School, who set 10 school records and was a three-time Southern Conference offensive player of the year, registered a 40-yard dash time of 4.52 seconds that would have ranked first among quarterbacks at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. He had a broad jump of 10 feet, 1 inch that was only an inch less than that of former Florida and Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel, while Paxton Lynch of Memphis and Cardale Jones from Ohio State were the only quarterbacks with vertical jumps higher than Huesman's 35 inches.
He tested well and threw well in a session with former Mocs wide receiver Tommy Hudson and Red Bank and Samford standout Kelvin Clay.
Hudson ran a 4.56 in the 40, losing a bet to Huesman as to who would have the faster time. The pair will go to Applebee's for a steak dinner at some point, but for now Huesman is focused on football. He will have another throwing session at the University of Tennessee today.
"I thought I helped myself a lot today," Huesman said. "Now I can get down to just playing football. I had mostly positive feedback (from the scouts); they all liked me in some capacity, and that was nice to hear from them."
He said he was going to "keep doing the quarterback stuff" but is open to the possibility of moving to another position - such as H-back - for an NFL chance. He plans to be ready physically for whatever the next step is.
"I'll be in great shape, so when I get in camp, I'll be caught up and won't have to get into camp shape," he said.
Former UTC linebacker A.J. Hampton, defensive end Toyvian Brand and defensive back Sema'je Kendall also participated Tuesday. Hampton was timed at 4.65 in the 40, bench-pressed 225 pounds 19 times and had a 34-inch vertical.
He said he has a tryout set with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League on April 9, and Tuesday went "how I expected."
"I hope that will open up some opportunities for me," said the 6-1, 240-pounder who had a team-high 87 tackles.
UTC coach Russ Huesman stood and watched as a number of his former athletes competed and showed off their athletic abilities.
"It's always a great time," Coach Huesman said. "These guys are getting a chance to live their dreams, and that's pretty cool.
"I'm proud of all of those guys."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.