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David Blough just wants a chance to prove himself. He knows he has the smarts. He knows he has the necessary leadership qualities. He knows he has a strong enough arm.
“The consensus is half the teams in the NFL think I have the arm talent for it, half don’t think I do,” said Blough.
Among all of the departing Boilermakers, Blough represents the best chance to be drafted. If it happens, it will be the 22nd year in a row Purdue will have had a player selected, a streak that dates to 1998.
"Purdue has a lot of pride in that streak it has going,” said Blough. “It means a lot to us."
Blough is optimistic. He thinks he could be a late-round selection. At the least, he will sign a free-agent deal with a club.
"I am setting myself up in my mind thinking it will be a pleasant surprise if we do get drafted,” said Blough. “There are some teams that have definitely expressed they (like me). The more teams that want you, hopefully, I can sneak into that last half of the draft whether it’s the fifth, sixth, seventh round. But even at that point, I am kinda thinking if I can pick my own home (as a free-agent signee), it might be better for me.”
Even if he’s drafted in the late rounds, there are no guarantees.
“I have been told that players drafted in the first through the fifth rounds are the ones they expect to make the roster," said Blough. "They don’t even expect the sixth- or seventh-round guys to make it on the active 53 (man roster).”
Blough has worked out for several teams. He took part in “local” pro days with the Cowboys and Colts. The workout in Indianapolis took place last Saturday with many former Boilermakers, as well as players from Indiana, Illinois and Ball State, among other schools.
“It was a good day,” said Blough. “I had probably my best day of workouts. The only other quarterback who was there was from Illinois. I got to work with the new (Colts) quarterbacks coach, Coach (Marcus) Brady. Obviously, the head coach (Frank Reich) was on the field watching. I threw the ball really well.”
Afterwards, Blough was invited back to the coaching offices.
“I don’t think they took any other players back,” said Blough. “They interviewed me like they do with the guys at the Combine. They put me on the board and did testing. It was a very encouraging day for me.”
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The Browns and Falcons both flew Blough to their facilities for a closer look a few weeks ago. And the Lions traveled to meet with Blough so they could scrutinize him.
“When teams fly you out, they aren’t allowed to work you out,” said Blough. “The Colts (and Cowboys) were different because it was a local day.
“They watch your film with you and they try to fluster you to see what kind of guy you are. They install a play and ask you to flip it and change the protection, pick up different blitzes. They wanna see how you learn. And all of that stuff went really well on my visits.”
Blough also had physicals on his trips to Cleveland and Atlanta.
“A long process, a bunch of X-rays, a bunch of blood tests, urine tests, things like that,” said Blough. “I am good. All of the results came back positive. Nobody had any problems. Questions came up about my ankle and shoulder, but I had no problem. And they see that because of how well last season went.”
Now, Blough must wait. The draft will take place in Nashville from April 25-27. He plans to watch the draft from the new apartment he shares with his new wife in McKinney, Texas. As of now, the hay is in the barn. Blough has done about all he can up to this point.
“What happens now is my agent said all of these draft meetings are being conducted and you’ll get a lot of phone calls from quarterback coaches or someone doing a background check looking for information,” said Blough.
Blough thinks he has made a good impression with everyone he has met with in the offseason.
“They are impressed with how I lead, how I take charge, all of those things that made me successful at Purdue,” said Blough. “Everywhere I have been and sat down, they haven’t been worried about my arm strength. I talk to these coaches, I am honest. The knock on me has been arm strength and arm talent. I don’t really get it. I can make all of the throws. People have been really impressed seeing me throw live rather than watching my tape.”
Blough just wants a chance to prove himself.
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