eDraft attended the Regional Combine at Winter Park in Eden Prairie Minnesota where the Vikings hold their practices. It was a rare opportunity for hundreds of small-school football players to have one last crack to help make a name for themselves and stand out in front of coaches as well as scouts. 

Former players like Matt Birk and some coaches coaches huddled up the large group to a knee before the drills took place to offer some strong words of encouragement and insight on their still very bright futures that lie ahead.

“What you guys need to understand is that the things we learn in the game of football follow us everywhere we go.  They follow us and define us everyday, no matter where we go," Birk said during the comine. "Whether you play the game or do something else in life, do it as hard as you can, do it with great work ethic, do it with great discipline, and be a team player. The opportunity to go out there and take what you learned from this game when it's time to flip the switch and hang up the cleats is unbelievable, magic happens.”

While going from a regional combine participant to an NFL roster is an unlikely road to travel, it’s far from impossible.  Just ask current Viking receiver Adam Thielen who attended the very same combine three years ago. A local boy who grew up just hours away, Thielen played for the Mankato Mavericks, a Division II program where he was the team's leading receiver.   

Thielen stuck out enough during the numerous drills to get picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Vikings that summer, and from there grinded his way to an eventual roster spot within the final 53.  Under new head coach Mike Zimmer, Thielen has out hustled and out muscled his peers and has become a special team's standout as well as a wild-card weapon for offensive coordinator Norv Turner. 

Needless to say, Thielen has done the most with his given opportunity. Infact, just last year Thielen blocked a punt on special teams and even caught a 44-yard bomb from Teddy Bridgewater.  

While Thielen is one of the few feel good stories of the bunch, hundreds of players walked into Winter Park realizing the moment they would have to hang up their cleats was coming soon.  

One player however, did everything he could Saturday to make sure his dream of NFL lights were still fully furnished and brightly lit.  

Wendell Williams from the University of Cumberlands put on a show for those in attendance after he streaked down the orange coned set path given, and posted a blazing 4.19 40-yard dash time.  

While Williams’ time would be a new combine record, breaking former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson who ran a 4.24, it should be noted the time was marked by hand on stopwatch versus the offical laser time used in Indianapolis.  

It’s said that Williams’ time is likely closer to the 4.25 range then the non-official stopwatch time. Regardless, that's still impressive. 

Williams was out to prove he wasn't just a one-trick pony too, after his group moved on to the vertical jump he exploded out of the gym posting a 45” score, which would have also tied the NFL combine record.

Once news of William's’ results hit the streets everyone and their agent were out digging out the goods on the combine winner, which only led to more juicy stats.   

At Cumberlands as a dual-threat player, Williams averaged at outrageous 30-yards per touch after tallying 662-yards on 22 touches.  With just 15 catches and seven-rushes these numbers give us only a small sample size making it difficult to put into a larger scale, but add in the fact Williams was a NAIA All-American kick returner (32.4-yard average, three touchdowns), and it’s now impossible to ignore his NFL potential.  

While history tells us there is only one or two stories like Adam Thielen that flourish from these groups, it's hard not to put your money on Williams who has a unique and special story of his own.

Williams still has a long road ahead to make his dream of playing in the NFL come true but his performance Saturday will only help.  With the draft less than eight-weeks away put the name Wendell Williams in the back of your head and watch to see just how epic this journey can get.

Here's an interview I conducted with former Minnesota Golden Gopher Antonio Johnson during the regional combine: