MUNCIE, Ind. – It's been six years since a Ball State football player has been selected in the National Football League Draft. A trio of Cardinals – offensive lineman Danny Pinter, linebacker/safety Ray Wilborn and running back Walter Fletcher – have been training and showing off their skills in front of NFL scouts for the last several months in hopes that a team will call their name in the NFL Draft this coming weekend.
Pinter came to Ball State in 2015 as a tight end. After redshirting in his first year on the team, Pinter made 11 starts at tight end spanning 2016 and 2017. He then made the transition from tight end to offensive lineman in the spring of 2018. Over the winter and spring months, Pinter added 40 pounds to his frame to reach 295 pounds.
At the right tackle position, Pinter flourished in his final two years at Ball State. The native of South Bend, Indiana, was one of only two offensive players to start all 24 games in 2018 and 2019. Pinter helped the offense average league bests in passing yards per game in 2018 (252.9) and total offense in 2019 (463.0). He became the first Ball State offensive lineman to earn first team All-MAC accolades since Jordan Hansel in 2013.
Pinter went on to play in the 2020 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Pasadena, California and then showed off his skills at the NFL Combine in February. Many NFL pundits expect Pinter to move to guard or center at the next level. Around the NFL's Nick Shook named Pinter to his 2020 All-Combine Team. The last time a Ball State offensive lineman was picked in the NFL Draft was 2009 (Robert Brewster, Dallas Cowboys, third round).
Pinter will join Ball State Sports for a live chat on Instagram Wednesday at noon.
Danny Pinter began his Ball State career as a tight end. He scored his first collegiate touchdown against UAB in 2017.
Wilborn was only on the Ball State squad for two years, but his presence was certainly felt on the defensive side of the ball. In his first year with the Cardinals in 2018, Wilborn led the team in tackles (83) and tackles for loss (10.5) while playing outside linebacker. He recorded an interception in the contest at No. 8 Notre Dame and nearly returned an interception for a score against Northern Illinois in the early portion of the league schedule.
The Cardinals were looking to get bigger and more athletic on defense in 2019 so Wilborn agreed to make the move to safety. There, the 6-4, 224-pound native of Lansing, Michigan, gave the Cardinals a very imposing presence at the back end of the defense. He started all 12 games as a senior and finished third on the team in stops (83) and fourth in passes defended (6). Once again, Wilborn came away with an interception against a Power 5 opponent as he posted a pick at NC State in September.
Following the season, Wilborn joined Pinter at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl where he was listed as a linebacker. Wilborn's stats over his time at BSU show he can play at the line of scrimmage (12.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks) and defend against the pass (4 interceptions, 12 passes defended).
Ray Wilborn nearly returned this interception for a touchdown in 2018 against NIU.
The final Ball State player to receive a fair amount of pre-draft buzz is Fletcher. Just one year ago, the running back from Columbia, Maryland, was a member of Division II Edinboro. There he earned Division II All-America honors and was tabbed the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Year.
Fletcher joined Ball State as a graduate transfer in the summer of 2019 looking to prove that he could compete at the Division I level. Compete Fletcher did. He finished second on the team in rushing yards (726), fifth in receiving yards (306) and third in touchdowns (7). His 5.5 yards-per-carry average was the second best by a Ball State back in the last 50 years.
In the opener against Indiana, Fletcher scored Ball State's second touchdown of the season off a dump down pass that he took 45 yards to paydirt. Later in the season, Fletcher replaced an injured Caleb Huntley against Ohio and ran for a season-best 156 yards. One of those runs turned out to be Ball State's longest play of the year – a 73-yard touchdown on a counter play through the right side of the offensive line.
Just like Pinter and Wilborn, Fletcher wanted to show off his skills in front of NFL Scouts. He headed south to Florida in January to suit up in the FBS SPIRAL Tropical Bowl. Fletcher led the American squad in carries (9) and had the longest rush of the game by either team (26 yards). The Athletic featured Fletcher in a story in early March about his desire to play football at the next level.
Walter Fletcher ran for 115 yards, caught two passes and returned three kicks versus Central Michigan in November.
The most recent Ball State players selected in the NFL Draft were defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome and quarterback Keith Wenning in 2014. The Indianapolis Colts picked Newsome in the fifth round while the Baltimore Ravens took Wenning in the sixth round.
Newsome played two years for the Colts and has since moved north to the Canadian Football League. He is headed into his second year with the BC Lions. Wenning played with four NFL teams, mainly on practice squads. He served as a back-up quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals during their 2015 playoff appearance.
The 2020 NFL Draft runs over three days – Thursday, April 23 (Round 1), Friday, April 24 (Rounds 2 and 3) and Saturday, April 25 (Rounds 4-7) – and will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC.
