Huntingdon Football Player Hoping To Make It To The NFL

WAKA Action 8 News,
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by WAKA Action 8 News

[gtxvideo vid=”VRpzSaLI” playlist=”” pid=”XiOflQdH” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/VRpzSaLI.jpg” vtitle=”Taylor Belsterling”]

By Ben Bolton and Lisa Ranieri

MONTGOMERY, AL — Over 20 NFL teams are interested in a 6 foot 4 inch wide receiver from Montgomery.

But the only game tape Taylor Belsterling can give pro scouts is two years old.

“So here I am, senior year, can’t play football,” said Belsterling. “And what am I going to do. I got dealt a bad hand. But we tried to make the best of what we could.”
 

Two days before the first game of Belsterling’s senior season at Huntingdon College, the NCAA ruled him ineligible. Because he transferred in from an academic year at Southern Union, even though they don’t have a football team, he could not play.
 

“You just got to make the best out of it,” said Belsterling. “We all get delt bad hands sometimes. You can’t slow down. you just gotta make a decision whetehr it will bring you down or make you stronger. So we decided to make it stronger.”  
 
His coaching staff knew Belsterling would need their support.
 

“He was out in a situation and did everything the right way,” said Charles Goodyear, the Huntingdon Strength and Conditioning coach. “He basically didn’t have control of what happened. I was just pleased with the fact he took the bull by the horns and said I’m going to make lemonade out of lemons”
 

Belsterling turned that sour taste into motivation. His coaches put together a plan that would allow Belsterling to make the most of All-Star games, Pro Days, and workouts. The only way to keep the ineligible prospect in the mind of NFL scouts.  

 
“Basically took every little thing, every measurable to show that hey, this guy is no where close to peaking,” said Goodyear. “And to this day, to this interview today, he’s not close to peaking yet.”
 
At 6’4″ and 205 pounds, Belsterling runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, and can jump 36 inches high. Those numbers would have placed him near the top of the list at the 2015 NFL Combine for wide receivers his size. NFL Scouts noticed.
 
“It’s pretty surprising that something like this could happen to a guy like me,” said Belsterling. “At a D3 school in Montgomery, Alabama where most people in the country probably haven’t even heard of me.”
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