Price ‘Puts On A Show’ at IU Pro Day
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Myles Price races toward deep receiving spectacle, the ball high against a Mellencamp Pavilion ceiling backdrop, scouts from 32 NFL teams watching at this Indiana Pro Day.
Price is one of 21 participants seeking to prove themselves NFL worthy, draft-pick worthy, difference-maker worthy. Most have tested their strength via a 225-pound bench press (linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar led with 31 reps at 225 pounds); showcased their vertical jump (receiver Ke’Shawn Williams reached 39 inches) and athleticism through drills, and their speed through a 40-yard dash. Now comes a chance to show their football skill.
For Price, it means catching passes. In steps 6-5, 225-pound Fernando Mendoza, whose powerful arm is well suited to displaying receivers’ ability to catch the deepest of balls despite indoor perils of walls and netting.
Price, who in his one Hoosier season after transferring from Texas Tech caught 38 passes for 466 yards and three touchdowns, ran seven times for 63 yards and a TD, and returned 23 punts for 289 yards with a long of 65 yards, sprints for Mendoza's deep ball in the manner of Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder 1954 World Series Game 1 wonder catch.
Price makes the catch and screams in triumph, a successful showing in a successful day, huge given he wasn’t invited to the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Only quarterback Kurtis Rourke and defensive lineman CJ West were for the Hoosiers.
“I put on a show and just did me,” Price says with a smile during media availability. “I know I made the play. Running great routes and catching the ball, that’s what I do for a living.”
Price hopes to start making an NFL living starting with next month’s draft. He’s worked hard to prepare, and IU’s Pro Day was a chance to show scouts and coaches what he can do.
“It’s a different set of eyes,” he says. “At the end of the day, you’re still putting your cleats on, you’re still tying them up and playing football. I was brought here to shine my light, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Price calls the experience fun and stress free, except …
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he says with a smile. “I’m not going to lie. I couldn’t get to sleep until like 1 in the morning. It is what it is. I did what I could.”
At a listed 5-foot-9 and 183 pounds, Price doesn’t overwhelm with size, but he’s quick and elusive and has the burst and versatility NFL teams seek, and the confidence to back it up.
“I’m a smaller guy. I punt return, kick return, kickoff, whatever you want me to do. I can kick the ball if that’s what you want. That’s who I am. I can do everything. Whatever the task is, Myles Price can do it.”
Price credits IU head coach Curt Cignetti, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and all his Hoosier coaches and teammates for helping to prepare him for this opportunity after transferring from Texas Tech.
“I could have gone anywhere else and I chose to come here,” he says. “I thank Coach Cig, Coach Shanahan, all of the coaches for bringing me here and taking me in as one of their own. I enjoyed it. I had brothers at Texas Tech, but I made more brothers here, life-long brothers who will probably be at my wedding someday.”
Price helped the Hoosiers produce perhaps the greatest season in program history with an 11-2 record and college playoff participation. He says it made the pain of leaving Texas Tech worth it.
“I didn’t want to leave, but I did for a business decision. I chose to come to Indiana because of what they offered. Looking back on it, it worked out. It played out in my favor. I’m highly blessed.”
The challenge of switching from a Texas Tech Air Raid passing attack that featured one-word play calls to an Indiana offense with sentence-long play calls will have NFL benefits, he adds.
“You have to learn it. Sometimes, you just have a few days or a few weeks to learn it. It helped mold me a little more to get better in certain aspects.”
Price showcased that improvement at the Pro Day with the help of Mendoza, who will try to match if not surpass what Rourke did in helping IU to its record-breaking season.
“We got here little early to throw with him before we got out here for the day,” Price says of Mendoza. “He has a cannon for an arm. IU got a great one. I’ve played with some great quarterbacks and he’s up there with any of them. I wish I’d had the chance to play with him, but I got the chance to play with Kurtis, who is another great quarterback. It all worked out.”
Come next month’s NFL draft, Price will learn the results.
“I can tell I opened a lot of eyes,” he says. “That’s what I knew I could do. That’s what I prayed about. I excelled.”