Long journey to the NFL draft is only the beginning for college prospects aiming to make the pros

The NFL draft is the culmination of a lifelong dream for many college players who’ve envisioned hearing their names called by Commissioner Roger Goodell since they were kids.

They’ve made plenty of sacrifices and spent hundreds of hours practicing on the field, exercising in the weight room and studying film. They’ve dealt with injuries — some had to overcome significant ones— and battled adversity along the way.

And the journey is just beginning, especially for the players who aren’t picked in the first round and don’t get a guaranteed multiyear contract.

Prospects had to turn it up a notch in the months leading up to this week's draft. From training for the scouting combine to preparing for pro days, interviewing with coaches and visiting teams, the process can be overwhelming.

Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams, USC center Jonah Monheim and Colorado State wideout Tory Horton, who are represented by Excel Sports Management, have spent months getting ready for the big day by training at the agency’s performance center in Irvine, California.

They’ll likely have to wait until the second or third day to hear their names called in Green Bay but the round doesn’t matter because getting the opportunity is the main goal.

“This is something that I’ve been chasing since I was a kid and not too many people get this opportunity, so the fact that I’m in this position and I have this chance, I’m just taking every moment with a breath and I’m not taking anything for granted,” Williams said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work, a lot of countless hours, sleepless nights, and you never know what’s gonna come out of this. You just put in the work and pray for the best. So just knowing that this could become a reality, it’s something that I still can’t believe and then once my name gets called, I’m just gonna have to take it all in and just really understand that this is the real thing.”

Williams, who is projected to be a second-round pick, ran a 4.4, 40-yard dash at the combine. He’s a proven deep threat who can line up at any of the wide receiver spots.

A former quarterback in high school, Williams caught a career-high 70 passes for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He had 10 catches for 172 yards and a TD in the Holiday Bowl.

For Williams and many others like him, the NFL is a way to make a better life, not just for himself but also his family. That’s a lot of pressure. Williams embraces it.

“It would mean the world,” he said about getting drafted. “Just take a lot off my mom. I can help my family, my siblings. It gives them motivation to keep going and just to know that dreams do actually come true. Living in a society where a lot of people shy (away) from their dreams just to have this opportunity and get drafted is just like a dream come true.”

Horton recorded 1,000 yards receiving as a junior and senior and used his COVID eligibility to stay in school and play an extra year in 2024. A knee injury forced him to miss the second half of his fifth season but he’s healthy and ready to go. Horton is projected to be picked in the third or fourth round.

“The whole process itself is a bit of a grind, but all the work from the Pop Warner days to middle school to the high school days and just the adversity that you’re always facing within life and just the game of football itself, it kind of all plays out,” Horton said. “It kind of molds you and builds you to being that better person, that better version of yourself. And just having a little bit of that weight off of your shoulders from finishing school and only focusing on the sport that you love to do, I feel like that’s something that kind of helps out quite a bit for me. And I kind of just dedicated my entire time to football and just enjoying my life of studying and just dreaming and playing ball.”

Monheim’s path could be even tougher. He’s projected to go anywhere from the fifth round or later with some draft analysts predicting he might have to sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.

“It would mean everything,” Monheim said about getting drafted. “I can’t wait for whatever opportunity presents itself. Obviously, I’ve been training for that moment and I’ll be ready for it and it’d be an awesome moment for my family, for myself, for my coaches, everyone that’s been a part of this process along my whole life.

“It’s another step on the road in my football journey. It’s taken a lot to get to this point, a lot of people pouring into me, a lot of work so you know it’s good to be here and it’s just another step in the road.”

Oregon offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. spent 2 1/2 months training at Excel’s state-of-the-art facilities. His stock soared after a standout performance against Penn State’s Abdul Carter in the Big Ten championship and he could end up giving Goodell a hug on stage Thursday night.

Conerly's daily training routine started with running in the morning, followed by position drills, film sessions and offensive installs. After lunch, it was time in the weight room and then two or three hours of recovery.

“They take care of us like no other,” Conerly said about Excel's staff. “I’m a big tub guy, so I enjoy being in the hot tub, cold tub, sauna, red-light therapy. I like doing all those little things. It has my body feeling the best probably than it’s ever felt.”

The time is now for Williams, Horton, Monheim, Conerly and hundreds of other prospects. The next step is hearing their name called at the draft and then making a name for themselves in the NFL.

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Wide receiver Tory Horton lifts weights as he prepares for the NFL football draft at a gym in Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Kyle Williams talks about his preparation for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receivers Kyle Williams, right, and Tory Horton train for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Offensive lineman Jonah Monheim poses for a photo as he prepares for the NFL Football draft in Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Tory Horton trains for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Tory Horton talks about his preparation for the NFL football draft in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Offensive lineman Jonah Monheim lifts weights to prepare for the NFL Football draft in Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Tory Horton works out as he prepares for the NFL football draft at a gym in Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Tory Horton works out as he prepares for the NFL football draft at a gym in Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Tory Horton puts on his cleats as he prepares for the NFL football draft in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Kyle Williams trains for the NFL football draft in Lake Irvine, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Coach Rick Proehl, left, works with wide receiver Tory Horton in preparation for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receiver Kyle Williams trains for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Coach Rick Proehl, left, prepares to throw a pass to wide receiver Tory Horton as Horton trains for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Wide receivers Kyle Williams, left, and Tory Horton train for the NFL football draft at Lake Forest Sports Park in Lake Forest, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited a U.S. base installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.

In other parts of the Middle East violence flared in the West Bank, and a hospital in southern Gaza said 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.

Trump spoke of American military strength as he addressed troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also supported the recent U.S. air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, though the strikes themselves came from two aircraft carriers in the region.

The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program.

The President also meets business leaders in Qatar before heading to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Here's the latest:

President Trump left Air Force One after touching down in Abu Dhabi for the last leg of his first major foreign trip.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan greeted Trump. A young girl standing next to the UAE leader showed Trump a huge bouquet of white flowers.

Trump will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — among the largest mosques in the world — ahead of a state visit at Qasr al-Watan palace in Abu Dhabi.

Israeli troops killed five Palestinian militants in a raid on two villages in the occupied West Bank, the military said.

The military said forces operated overnight and into Thursday in Tamun and Tubas. The military said forces exchanged fire with the militants, who it accused of planning to carry out attacks. It said it found three assault rifles in the building where the militants were located.

In a statement, Hamas said it mourned the deaths of the “resistance heroes” but stopped short of claiming them as its fighters.

The operation appeared to be unrelated to a separate attack on Wednesday night, in which an Israeli woman on her way to give birth was killed by a Palestinian gunman.

President Donald Trump’s comment Thursday about not wanting to make “nuclear dust” in a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities mirrors the concerns of the Gulf Arab countries he’s visiting in the Mideast this week.

The possibility of a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iranian enrichment sites has renewed long-standing fears that Gulf Arab states have about Iran’s program. In the past, they’ve worried that an accident or a strike at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could send radioactive material into the air and spread across the Persian Gulf into their countries.

Speaking to a business forum on Thursday, Trump similarly brought up the idea.

“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.”

Iran has criticized the U.S. threats to strike.

Standing in front of U.S. troops at the Qatari airbase, President Donald Trump said “we let a lot of four stars go,” touting his administration’s effort to thin the military’s top ranks.

There’s long been friction between Trump and some top generals, and he’s been more emboldened to remake the command structure in his second term.

He described some military leaders as “frickin’ losers” as he addressed the rank-and-file.

The president danced for a moment to the Village People’s “YMCA" as he wrapped up his speech.

President Donald Trump is speaking to troops at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

He started his speech thanking troops and discussing his Mideast trip so far, then spoke about America’s military power.

“As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them, but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” Trump said. “And this is one of our great partners right here” in Qatar.

He added: “When we’re threatened, America’s military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it. We have overwhelming strength and devastating force.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asserted that “wokeness and weakness” allowed the wars in the world.

“We’re restoring the warrior ethos. No more political correctness,” he told U.S. troops at Al-Udeid Air Base, before President Donald Trump addresses them.

“Sadly, over the last four years, we saw a collapse in Afghanistan. And what happened on October 7th, the war in Ukraine, violence unleashed by wokeness and weakness.”

Trump then took the stage as Lee Greenwood sang his signature song, “Proud to be an American.”

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The European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is out of service due to severe damage to its infrastructure and access roads from Israeli strikes, the territory’s Health Ministry said Thursday.

The shutdown halts all specialized treatments, including cardiac surgeries and cancer care in the only facility that was providing ongoing medical care to cancer patients in Gaza, the ministry added.

Israeli forces struck the European Hospital twice on Tuesday, saying it was targeting a Hamas command center beneath the facility. Six people were killed in the strike.

European Hospital director Imad al-Hout told The Associated Press there had been 200 patients in the hospital at the time of Tuesday’s strikes. They were all gradually evacuated, with the last 90 transferred to other hospitals, including Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, on Wednesday morning. Efforts were now underway to coordinate repairs to the facility, he added.

American comedian Theo Von did a set Thursday before President Donald Trump’s visit to a military base in Qatar that included references to snorting cocaine off a baby’s back.

The jokes drew laughter and some groans from the service members at Al-Udeid Air Base, home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.

“Somebody put some cocaine on the baby’s back, right? I didn’t do it,” Von said. “And it wasn’t a lot of cocaine. ... It didn’t weigh the baby down, OK? And it was a mixed baby. So you can see the cocaine. I’m not doing white dust off a white child’s back, man.”

Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command. At the base Thursday, service members listened to a comedy act ahead of Trump’s appearance. A Qatari and American flag flanked a large banner reading: “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

A Qatari F-15 and an MQ-9 Reaper drone sat to the side of the stage.

Theo Von, an American comedian, did a stand up set that included making jokes about Qatar’s national dress for men, the white thobe, and everyone being named Mohammed.

“It’s like a Ku Klux sandsman,” he said.

He later made a joke about the U.S. Navy: “I’m not going to fly across the whole world just to be gay. I’m not in the Navy.” And another punch line included: “Where do you think the next 9/11 should happen?”

President Donald Trump kept up pressure Thursday on Iran, warning Tehran that a deal over its nuclear program or potentially airstrikes are the only two solutions to the diplomatic impasse.

Speaking in Qatar before business leaders, Trump said: “We’d like to see if we could solve the Iran problem in an intelligent way, as opposed to a brutal way. There’s only two: intelligent and brutal. Those are the two alternatives.”

Trump also said that Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been pushing for diplomatic deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Qatar shares a massive offshore oil and gas field that’s crucial to its wealth with Iran.

“I said last night that Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he’s actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran,” Trump said. “He says, ‘You can make a deal. You can make a deal.’ He’s really fighting. And I really mean this: I think that Iran should say a big thank you to the emir.”

At another point, Trump mused: “In the case of Iran, they make a good drone.”

President Donald Trump has suggested that India has offered to drop tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, something not immediately acknowledged by New Delhi.

Trump made the comments during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, on his Mideast tour, first discussing Apple’s plans to build manufacturing plants for its iPhone there.

“It’s very hard to sell into India and and they’ve offered us a deal with what basically they’re willing to literally charge us no tariff,” Trump said. India is a close partner of the U.S. and is part of the Quad, which is made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, and is seen as a counterbalance to China’s expansion in the region

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would go to talks in Turkey with Ukraine if he wasn’t there.

Trump made the remarks at a business roundtable in Qatar on his Mideast trip.

“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said.

Trump had suggested he could travel there for the talks if Putin was going. On Thursday, however, Trump said: “I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going? Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to go. I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go. And I said, I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.”

Trump sat with GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg on either side of him on Thursday. Both praised Trump for his support for the Qatar Airways order for Boeing aircraft. Ortberg called it one of the largest orders Boeing has ever had.

A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday, and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in the city’s Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed.

It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children.

The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

Qatar’s satellite news channel Al Jazeera long has been a powerful force in the Middle East, often taking editorial positions at odds with America’s interests in the region during the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida.

But during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab nation this week, state-funded Al Jazeera muted its typical critiques of American foreign policy.

The channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, broadly covered Trump’s visit in a straightforward manner, highlighting it was the first-ever trip to Qatar by a sitting American leader. Mentions of the Israel-Hamas war, which Al Jazeera often has criticized America over for its military support to Israel, did not include any critiques of U.S. policy. Instead, journalists highlighted Qatar’s role as a mediator in the war and aired comments by Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling for a ceasefire.

After a morning meeting with top U.S. and Qatari officials and American defense and aerospace business leaders, Trump heads to Al-Udeid Air Base, a U.S. installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. There, he will address troops and is expected to view a demonstration of American air capability.

The president then travels to the United Arab Emirates, the final leg of his first major foreign trip. He will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and then to a state visit hosted at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Watan palace.

The international rights group said that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza, remain in the territory and displace hundreds of thousands of people “inches closer to extermination.”

It called on the international community to speak out against the plan. It said that the new plans, coupled with the “systematic destruction” of civilian infrastructure and the block on all imports into Gaza, were cause for signatories to the Genocide Convention to act to prevent Israel’s moves. It said states should halt weapons transfers to Israel and enforce international arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister, as well as review their bilateral agreements with the country.

Israel vehemently denies accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.

The group also called on Hamas to free the 58 hostages it still holds in Gaza, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

A pregnant Israeli woman has died after she was shot and critically wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, a hospital said Thursday.

Beilinson Hospital said that doctors succeeded in saving her unborn baby, who was in serious but stable condition after being delivered by caesarean section.

The Israeli military said a Palestinian assailant opened fire on a vehicle late Wednesday, wounded two civilians. Soldiers launched a search for the attacker.

It’s the latest violence in the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military has launched a major operation that it says is meant to crack down on militancy. The operation has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in months of violence that surged there after the start of the war in Gaza.

President Donald Trump speaks, seated between Kelly Ortberg President and CEO of Boeing, left, and Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks, seated between Kelly Ortberg President and CEO of Boeing, left, and Larry Culp, CEo of GE Aerospace during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump gestures during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomes President Donald Trump during an official welcoming ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)