McRoberts works out in front of NFL scouts during Southeast Missouri State pro day

Over the past few months, Paul McRoberts began to miss his family and life in Southeast Missouri.

Not long after his senior season at Southeast Missouri State, the wide receiver played in the Senior Bowl; and then it was off to Texas for the NFL prospect to train.

When he made it back to Houck Stadium and the Holcomb Success Center — housing the Redhawks’ upgraded weight room — on Thursday morning for his pro-day workout, he felt right at home.

Paul McRoberts works out during Southeast Missouri State University's pro day at Houck Stadium, Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com

He ran routes and caught passes on the field — this time in front of scouts from 18 NFL teams — and when he finished up he was embraced by coach Tom Matukewicz, just like he’d been over their past two seasons together.

The infectious smile and positive attitude that had been present following practices and Southeast wins over the past four seasons was still there, too.

“It feels amazing, especially being in the new weight room for the first time ever. I loved it,” McRoberts said. “I’m glad that they got it for the guys and every team. Being on this field again was crazy because I never get to play another down of college football, but on to better things hopefully and show these guys how to grow in their game and what it takes to be successful.”

Safety David Coley and fullback Lewis Washington also participated in the pro day event, which puts the SEMO football players in front of scouts ahead of April's NFL Draft.

Paul McRoberts speaks with a representative from the Chicago Bears during Southeast Missouri State University's pro day at Houck Stadium, Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com

Representatives from the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans were in attendance.

“I’m definitely just enjoying the experience,” Coley said. “This is probably the last time you’ll be around your teammates in college, so anything I can get from it and trying to soak that in and just take advantage of that.”

Results from the pro-day testing, which was not open to media, were not released.

McRoberts, whose 40-yard dash time last summer was 4.57 seconds, was clocked by one scout at 4.62 during the windy pro day. Daniel Frid, the director of operations of United Athlete Agency, which McRoberts is signed with, tweeted that his best runs were in the mid-4.5 range. His vertical jump was measured at 35 1/2 inches and his broad jump at 10 feet, 6 inches, according to one scout on Twitter.

“It went better than I thought it would,” McRoberts said. “Just wanted to come out here and have fun with it, and that’s what I did.

“I just felt like I would be a little tighter and things like that, but I actually was loose and actually warmed up pretty good. Just thought I would overthink it because I know most people overthink when they go to a combine or a pro day, but I didn’t. I just went out there and did my thing today and the results show themselves.”

McRoberts wrapped up his four-year Southeast career with 2,435 yards receiving and a school-record 29 receiving touchdowns on 175 catches.

The two-time Ohio Valley Conference first-team selection departs the program ranked third all-time in receiving yards, second in receptions and tied for second in total touchdowns. He’s also tied for fifth in the conference with his 29 receiving touchdowns.

“I’m just proud,” Matukewicz said. “These kids dream when they’re little bitty about these moments and just proud of all the hard work that those guys have put in to get to this day. It was exciting.”

“The biggest thing is you just want them to show well, handle the moment, because this is something they’ve dreamed about for a really, really long time, and I think they did that,” Matukewicz added. “They came out here and showed who they are. At the end of the day they can’t draft themselves. All they’re capable of doing is making the most of the opportunity. If your best is good enough, great. If it’s not, great.”

McRoberts is expected to become the first Southeast player to be drafted since Southeast Hall of Fame offensive lineman Eugene Amano was taken in the seventh round by the Tennessee Titans in 2004.

The 6-foot-1, 202-pound St. Louis native has been training at the Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney, Texas, and he’s received plenty of positive feedback from several teams.

“All the coaches and teams know I have great hands, but I’ve been trying to increase my speed and get into the routes quicker, which showed today,” McRoberts said. “I got out there quicker, got my first step off the line on my routes, and that’s all I really wanted, just to be explosive and things like that because at the next level I need to.”

McRoberts didn’t indicate which teams have shown the most interest in him so far and said he’s going to hit the road and continue to meet with teams before the draft, which is held April 28-30 in Chicago, Illinois.

“Hopefully be with the family waiting to hear my name called,” McRoberts said of his draft-day plans. “The sooner the better, but I’ll take anything right now because I’m still ready to work to prove where I need to be.”