Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
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FRISCO, Texas — Sweat soaked through the back of Zeke Zaragoza’s olive green T-shirt — the sign of a day well spent on the football field.
Zaragoza takes no such opportunities lightly, especially one that could be as valuable as Saturday, where the Oklahoma State longsnapper performed for scouts at Big 12 NFL Pro Day at Ford Center at The Star.
Once confined to a wheelchair and told he’d never ride a bicycle — much less play Division I football — Zaragoza soaked in the moment in front of NFL scouts on Saturday.
“It’s really a blessing,” Zaragoza said. “I can’t thank God enough for the opportunity, and really the past four years with the platform He’s given me to showcase my story and be a better man — a better version for those who are dealing with the illness.”
At age 3, Zaragoza was diagnosed with opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, a rare disorder that affects the nervous system. His parents entered him into an aggressive treatment plan that included chemotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, steroid injections and other medications to manage the disorder.
By the time he turned 7, he was in remission. Three years later, he began playing football.
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Zaragoza came out of Ontario Christian High School in Southern California in 2018, playing two seasons at San Bernardino Community College. He received multiple scholarship offers, but passed them up to walk on at OSU.
He spent three years backing up All-American Matt Hembrough but finally got his shot as a starter last fall and had a successful year of clean snaps.
That led to Saturday’s stage, where Zaragoza showed consistency with his snaps, despite a hectic schedule.
Longsnappers were the busiest players in the early session. They did running drills before taking the field for individual snapping workouts in front of scouts.
After that, they snapped for the field goal kickers, then the punters.
“It was a little different, but you have to adapt,” Zaragoza said. “Especially in front of the NFL guys, they want to see you adapt to everything and be a ‘yes sir’ guy — whatever they want, go for it.
“Felt like I had a good day. I felt pretty good on my snaps, minus the second-to-last one. I had a low one.”
Zaragoza was the shortest of the snappers at 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds. To help himself stand out, he focused a good part of his preparation on speed work.
“I’ve been practicing for a few months putting that together with the speed coach back home in California,” he said. “Being able to showcase that and feel confident while doing it and not feeling any sort of nerves, but excitement, it felt really good that I put that work in and hopefully it showed out today a little bit.”
From here, Zaragoza can only wait. Longsnapping jobs in the NFL are limited to one per team, and when a player gets a spot, he often hangs onto it for years.
“If this next chapter opens up with a job, then that’d be great to continue to share my story in that way,” Zaragoza said. “But if not, I just hope I can continue to inspire kids in another way.”
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Goodlow shows growth, Latu strains back
When he showed up at OSU in January 2023 as a transfer from Tulsa, Anthony Goodlow could do six reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. On Saturday, the Del City product pushed 22 reps in front of NFL scouts.
He counted that among the big improvements for his Pro Day performance, along with his 40-yard dash and three-cone shuttle times. The Big 12 had not yet given the athletes their official times for any of the events, but Goodlow was pleased.
“The first day I went out there, I had no technique and it looked awful,” Goodlow said of his 40. “Today, my run was a little more technical. Still some things I could fix, but overall, a pretty good day.
“My L drill (three-cone shuttle) was pretty good. I think I was around the best in the group, they told me. And I think the position drills went pretty well for me.”
While the 6-foot-5, 283-pound Goodlow’s production from his super-senior season was solid — he led all OSU defensive linemen with 42 tackles, three sacks and seven tackles for loss — he was particularly strong in run defense, and was the top-graded defender for the Cowboys among primary players, according to Pro Football Focus.
Nathan Latu strained a muscle in his back last week during preparation for the event, and though Saturday started well with 25 bench press reps for the 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end, the back injury was reaggravated during the vertical jump. He got 32 inches, though he said he had been in the 36-inch range during preparation.
“I’m not an injury-prone guy. I’m gonna get right. Fell down. I know how to get back up,” Latu said. “I wasn’t able to do some drills I think I would excel in, but I kept my mental straight and tried to be there for Goodlow as much as I could. I held my emotions together pretty well.
“I’ll talk to my agent, and a few weeks from now, I’ll be testing again.”
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Xavier Benson pleased with showing
If his smile in between drills wasn’t enough to let you know Xavier Benson was happy with his performance Saturday, the backflip he busted out at the end of the day should’ve proven the point.
“I’ve always had that,” Benson said, flashing his wide smile again. “I used to do it in high school right before games. I be a little too serious now to do it. Hopefully I get around to it again.”
The 6-foot-2, 224-pound linebacker was all business when the time was right, however, and showed a strong complement of skills.
“I trained for this, man,” he said. “This is what I do. Two-and-a-half months, same thing every day. This is the easy part, to be able to go full speed.”
Benson was unable to do the bench press as his shoulder heals up from an in-season injury, but he did everything else. He had jumps of 33 inches in the vertical and 9 feet, 9 inches in the broad jump.
And he was confident his running times were good.
“I wanted to show how fast I am,” Benson said. “I can turn over really fast. I have really good top speed. So that was something I was focused on.
“I feel like the times will be pretty good, and if they’re not, I know I gave it my best and that’s all that matters.”
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Alex Hale shows consistent strength
Alex Hale got a quick explanation of the NFL’s new kickoff rule before going to work at Pro Day.
Because of the new rule, which was adopted earlier this week, kickoff specialists will no longer be asked to kick the ball out of the end zone but will instead be focused on target kicking.
“Instead of trying to bang it out the back, you’re trying to get it down between the goal line and the 10-yard line, preferably, outside in the number area,” Hale said. “You’re trying to pin the returner in the corner.
“It’s a new rule, so they’re still trying to figure out what they want.”
Hale, who also was invited to the specialists showcase at the NFL Combine earlier this month, had a good showing on Saturday. He missed a couple of field goals, including a 57-yarder, but he had the distance on it, and his kicks from 45 yards and in had good height and carry.
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“Did fairly well,” Hale said. “Had a solid performance, made a few mistakes, but that’s to be expected with new operations and stuff.”
While Hale was able to pair with Zaragoza as his snapper, he had a holder he’d never worked with before, which can be a tricky relationship to develop quickly.
“It’s definitely different, compared to when you’re in the season and you have spring ball and fall camp, all year to work with someone,” he said. “But we’re all in the same boat. Every kicker is working with someone different. You have to be able to adapt as fast as possible.”
For a player who had never attempted a field goal in a game until he made one in the 2020 season opener for OSU, to be on this stage four years later was a thrill.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” said Hale, who is from New South Wales, Australia. “If you told me as a freshman going to OSU that I’d be here, that I’d go to the Combine and stuff like that, I wouldn't have believed you at all. It’s been a wild ride.”
