FARGO — Grey Zabel paid homage to his former North Dakota State offensive linemen teammates, including Cordell Volson, Cody Mauch and Jake Kubas.
Volson, Mauch and Kubas — who are all in the NFL — were in attendance Thursday for NDSU’s annual football pro day at the Nodak Insurance Football Performance Complex.
“Guys like that, they laid the foundation,” Zabel said. “I lean on those guys, those guys are my best friends.”
Zabel was one of 13 former Bison who participated Thursday in front of representatives for 27 NFL teams and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“This might be the last time that I get to work out with the NDSU brand on my chest before you go to a different team,” Zabel said. “Super excited for the future, but at the same time it kind of brings a tear to your eye a little bit, knowing that this might be the last you get to do stuff with this group of guys and these seniors.”
Quarterback Cam Miller, offensive linemen Mason Miller and Hunter Poncius, defensive linemen Eli Mostaert and Loshiaka Roques, tight end Joe Stoffel, wide receiver Braylon Henderson, running back T.K. Marshall, linebackers Nick Kubitz and Marcus Gulley, defensive back Marcus Sheppard and kicker Griffin Crosa also participated for the Bison.
David Samson / The Forum
The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Multiple draft analysts have projected the 6-foot-6, 312-pound Zabel getting selected as high as the first round. If Zabel were to get drafted in the first round, he would become the first former Bison offensive linemen to be drafted in the NFL Draft’s first round.
“That would be remarkable,” Zabel said. “It’s cool to see me and the NDSU logo and stuff up there, but at the same time you have no control over where you go and you still have to keep your head down and go to work every day.”
Zabel did limited testing Thursday since he already posted some of those numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine. He did multiple agility drills and offensive linemen position drills along with former teammates Mason Miller and Poncius.
“O-line work went well and we’re excited for the future, that’s for sure,” Zabel said. “The goal was to come out and compete and show my athleticism and just be able to lace up the cleats again with these guys.”
David Samson / The Forum
Zabel didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine or NDSU’s pro day due to a groin strain he suffered at the week of the Senior Bowl college all-star game in Mobile, Alabama.
Zabel’s
vertical jump measured at 36-1/2 inches
at the Combine in early March, the third-best mark all-time for an offensive linemen at the annual scouting event. At the Senior Bowl, which was played Feb. 1,
Zabel was voted the top overall practice player
in the a game that features some of the top prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft.
“Through this process, I really stressed about being a really good football player,” said Zabel, who added he has 5-7 visits with NFL team slated in the coming weeks ahead of the draft.
Mark and Tanna Zabel, Grey’s parents, were among those in the crowd Thursday. They also went to the Senior Bowl and the Scouting Combine, which was in Indianapolis. Jett Zabel, Grey’s younger, brother is a redshirt freshman tight end for the Bison.
“It was all new to us, it’s just been an awesome experience,” Mark Zabel said. “We’ve kind of learned as Grey has through the process. It’s been unbelievable. … It’s been very enjoyable.”
David Samson / The Forum
Mark added players like Volson (who plays for Cincinnati), Mauch (who plays for Tampa Bay) and Kubas (who plays for the New York Giants) played a key role in his son’s football development. He also added former Bison OL Jalen Sundell, who now plays with Seattle, was another valuable college teammate.
“They were kind of his role models when he got here,” Mark said. “They were so good leadership-wise. I think he learned a lot from them.”
Mark has seen some of the draft projections that have Grey going off the board in the first round of the NFL Draft.
“It’s kind of surreal as a parent,” Mark said.
David Samson / The Forum
Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.
