The drills came and went and Connor Degenhardt (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) patiently waited for his turn to show what he could do in front of 10 NFL scouts who turned out at UConn's pro day on Wednesday.

Thanks to a strong effort at a pro day held at Harvard, the former University of New Haven quarterback did not take part in the running, jumping and agility drills.

More than three hours after the festivities got underway at the Shenkman Training Center, Degenhardt got to go through position drills before throwing off a predetermined script.

"It was good to get out there and throw again and happy to participate in another pro day," Degenhardt said after the event wrapped up. "I really appreciate UConn letting me in here and I think that it was a good, productive throwing session."

Production is nothing new to Degenhardt. Transferring in from Holy Cross, he threw for nearly 4,500 yards with 47 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He also had 21 scoring runs as New Haven went 18-5 and reached the Division II playoffs in both of his seasons.

"Honestly, two of the best years of my life," Degenhardt said. "This is my first time back in Connecticut since I moved out of my apartment, and I was driving back. I never thought I would say that I missed Connecticut, but New Haven is a super special place for me, I really re-found my love for the game there. I never thought I would be in this position. I wouldn't be there without New Haven, Coach P [Chris Pincince] putting me in the position that he did, and my teammates helping me out along the way."

Since taking his final snap as a Charger, his focus turned to catching the eye of the pro scouts.

Degenhardt took part in the FCS Bowl, College Gridiron Showcase, and the Tropical Bowl. Degenhardt got to air it out in game situations.

Perhaps even more important were the daily practices that were watched by pro scouts. Even before the pro day circuit began, Degenhardt was seen by representatives from pretty much every NFL team.

"I have gotten a lot of exposure from the scouts," Degenhardt said. "These are all guys that I have interviewed with and thrown for down at those games. I think I was able to get a little bit of a buzz going down there. I had some really good performances and I have been trying to add to that momentum over the last couple of months.

When Degenhardt wasn't in Florida taking part in the all-star games and practices, he was in Wilmington, Massachusetts at Athletic Evolution.

"I was doing combine training there six days a week, two sessions a day," Degenhardt said. "I am feeling really good. I tested really well at Harvard and have been working really hard with my quarterback coach Trevor Knight, he cleaned up a lot of mechanical things and I am feeling really good about my game right now.

"It really is just living the dream. This is the first time in my life where I can just be a professional athlete. I don't have to worry about school, I am worried about training, throwing and coming down here and having the opportunity to throw for scouts, being in front of NFL teams, and just know that my name is in the mix, it really is just a dream come true."

There could be other events between now and next month's NFL draft.

Degenhardt knows that the more times he can throw in front of pro scouts, the better chance one of them will be willing to take a chance on him.

"There definitely are teams that have been very interested," Degenhardt said. "I think I have been creating even more buzz with every event I am at and every time I am able to get in front of scouts. I am getting good feedback and I think things are going to continuously keep getting better.

It has been a huge change. It has been a lot of work. At the end of the season, I had no idea how any of this process works. It has been a lot of learning on the fly from signing with an agent to finding a draft trainer and a facility to work at and finding a quarterback coach. I have a great team in my corner that I was able to build, they have really helped me along the way. I put on 20 pounds over the past three months and got faster too, so a really great change body-wise and trying to have fun with the whole process."

Degenhardt is starting to be mentioned as one of the draft prospects that is flying under the radar.

There are times when Division II players struggle to attract attention from pro scouts because they may not have the size necessary to play the same position at the pro level that they did in college.

That is not an issue for Degenhardt. He measured in at 6-foot-5 and 227 pounds at the Harvard pro day. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds, did the short shuttle in 4.47 seconds, and the 3-cone drill in 7.50 seconds to go with a 9-6 mark in the broad jump and a vertical jump of 31.5 inches.

Degenhardt's numbers are very close to what Florida International's James Morgan did in 2020 at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds. Morgan was picked by the Jets in the fourth round that year. It remains to be seen if a team will make Degenhardt the first player from the University of New Haven drafted since offensive lineman Harry Boatswain was a fifth-round pick by San Francisco in 1991.

"At the end of the day, all it takes is one team to like me," Degenhardt said. "That is why the more I get out here and the more I can be in front of scouts, the more they can see me throw compared to other people that they are looking at. I just think with one team hopefully I am going to stick and I will be that one guy that a team is going to take a chance on, and they are not going to regret."