After months of breakdown and anticipation, draft day is here. And for the first time in more than a decade, it is the NFL—not the NBA—commissioner that will likely be calling the name of a pair of Blue Devils this weekend.
Offensive guard Laken Tomlinson and wide receiver Jamison Crowder headline a group of ex-Duke football players that will take their talents to the next level. The 2015 NFL draft will begin at 8 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, with the duo set to be the first group of players since 1996 to be drafted out of Durham in the same year.
"It's just exciting," Tomlinson said. "Watching this event last year around this time, it was the talk of the town. Every player's watching it and your friends are talking about it. Just having the opportunity to be in it with such magnitude is truly amazing."
Tomlinson—an All-American—will likely become the first Duke football player since Lennie Friedman in 1999 to have his name called before the third round. The 6-foot-3, 323-pound guard is projected to go in the first or second round—with many draft boards rating him among the top guards available—and earned an invite to the green room for Thursday's first round in primetime.
If Tomlinson's name is called by commissioner Roger Goodell Thursday night, he will be the first Blue Devil since Dave Brown in 1992 to be selected in the opening round.
For Tomlinson, who was raised and introduced to the game of football in Chicago, the draft will serve as a homecoming of sorts—one he is taking full advantage thanks to his proximity to family and free tickets.
"I'm in Chicago—I'm filling up all my seats," he said.
Crowder will watch the draft festivities in front of his television set back home in Monroe, N.C., with his family.
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound receiver and punt returner is expected to go between the third and fifth rounds, with some scouts comparing the Blue Devil speedster to Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith.
Both Tomlinson and Crowder spent the past several months attending the NFL combine, Duke Pro Day and workouts with individual teams. Tomlinson would not reveal which organizations he visited for individual workouts, saying only that it was "a lot."
Crowder, however, said he worked out with four teams, including his hometown squad.
"I worked out with the [New England] Patriots, Tampa Bay [Buccaneers], Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers," he said. "It wasn't that bad. It was definitely stressful at times, but it wasn't that bad at all. I just had to make sure I stayed focused."
Part of staying focused—especially for players who know they will likely hear their names called—is understanding that not every team that pumps out compliments will follow through when they are on the clock. Tomlinson said he has tried to keep an open mind throughout the process, noting that nothing is set in stone until Goodell call his name.
Crowder echoed his former teammate's sentiments.
"It's very unpredictable," Crowder said. "You hear teams saying they like what I can do and they'd like to have me, but you don't really buy into it. Right now you just wait and see what team pulls the trigger and makes me a part of their organization."
And if both players get selected during the seven round draft that runs from Thursday to Saturday, history will be made. As much as the focus has been on the individual players throughout the past four months, two NFL draft picks—including a potential first-round selection—will once again illustrate the great strides made by a revived Duke football program in the last few years.
After years of dismal squads in Durham, head coach David Cutcliffe entered in 2007 and turned around one of the worst programs in college football. The Blue Devils have now won 19 games in the past two years and earned three consecutive bowl berths.
"It says a lot about the program where we are right now with so many draft prospects this year," Tomlinson said. "Having guys continually come out and go to the next level just says a lot about the program because not long ago, the Duke football program wasn't as strong as it is today. It means a lot to Duke and everything they're trying to accomplish."
Although Tomlinson and Crowder are the likeliest candidates to be drafted, they will not be the only former Blue Devils waiting anxiously by the phone this weekend for a phone call from an NFL team.
Offensive tackle Takoby Cofield could be drafted around the sixth or seventh round and quarterback Anthony Boone has the potential to also slide in as late-round pick.
Although free agency seems to be the safer bet for both players, the pair, like Tomlinson and Crowder, have spent the past four months working out for teams and training and could very well add on to a list of Duke draftees that will continue to grow—along with the program.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.