FARGO — The shoulder injury to Hunter Luepke happened in October. On Wednesday morning, the former North Dakota State fullback proved once and for all at NDSU’s annual Pro Day that he’s ready to tackle the NFL.
It was his first chance to shine in front of NFL scouts, with personnel from 28 teams represented at the Nodak Insurance Football Performance Complex. He had a vertical jump of 36-1/2 inches, a broad jump of 9-foot-9 and, most impressive, he turned in a 4.56-second 40-yard dash.
At 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, those are upper-level numbers, especially the 40.
“Very pleased with that number,” Luepke said. “It was exciting to get back on the field and strap the cleats on. Wish I had pads on today so I could show them a little more, but getting out here and doing all these drills in front of NFL scouts, it was awesome.”
Luepke was medically cleared in mid-February to start working out, targeting NDSU’s Pro Day. He attended the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, but only did individual interviews with teams.
About the only drill he didn’t do on Wednesday was the bench press.
“I had to wait a long time, it seemed like forever,” Luepke said. “But I’m glad I got to do it here.”
Luepke was one of eight former NDSU players to participate. Tight end Noah Gindorff, who is coming off ankle surgery and has his own pro day scheduled April 13, only did the bench press, which he lifted 225 pounds 20 times.
Offensive guard Nash Jensen continued to raise his stock. Cornerback Destin Talbert had an impressive 40-inch vertical jump, defensive end Spencer Waege received a lot of individual attention and safeties Michael Tutsie and Dawson Weber got looks at both the usual drills plus some individual work.
Nobody, however, brought the hometown attention like Cody Mauch, who had about 20 family and friends in attendance. Mauch already turned in the bulk of his work at the NFL Combine, but did the shuttle run and three-cone drill on Wednesday in front of scouts as well as extensive individual work with Jensen.
“This was kind of the last thing, now it’s just a waiting game,” Mauch said. “It was a good day for everyone.”
Nash Jensen and Cody Mauch square off during drills for NFL scouts during NDSU pro day at the Nodak Insurance Football Performance Complex on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
David Samson/The Forum
The Pro Day represented one of the final steps for Mauch and to an extent Luepke. In a sense, they’ve had every detail of their lives dissected by NFL teams since NDSU’s season ended in early January.
“Pretty much, if anything bad has ever happened to me, someone has told me about it in the last couple of months,” Mauch said. “Every single interview or meeting I have with a team; I have the story of how I lost my teeth down to a ‘T,’ I’ll just tell you that.”
Like practice the week of the Senior Bowl, where he worked at five different spots on the offensive line, and what teams asked of Mauch during the NFL Combine, he did a few drills on Wednesday that showcased his versatility. He snapped the ball at times while other times was doing footwork indicative of a guard or tackle.
“Teams like my ability to play different spots on the line,” he said. “I think they like the way I get out and move a little bit and the way I finish blocks. I think that’s the general consensus.”
It appears teams are still putting together their consensus on Waege, who played last season at 281 pounds but was noticeably bigger on Wednesday at 290.
He played in the Hula Bowl in January. The fact he missed the 2021 season with a torn ACL may have set his visibility back a bit, but the hope is the injury is way behind him now.
“Our goal today was to come out and get me on the map and get some teams talking,” Waege said, “and from everything I heard, that’s what I did.”
Waege called it a “once in a lifetime” experience to go through the NFL drills.
“It’s something that for me personally I’ve been looking forward to doing things like this since I was a little kid,” he said. “Just to be able to come out and perform and showcase my abilities in front of NFL teams was all I could ask for.”
Mauch has a couple of visits lined up with NFL teams and expects to continue to have Zoom calls with different offensive line coaches. Over the course of the past couple months, he has been projected as a late first round or early second round pick.
He hasn’t talked with his agent yet on whether an invite is on the table to attend the NFL Draft in Kansas City in person.
“We wanted to make sure we got this last step done,” he said.