Every high school football player dreams of hearing his name called by Roger Goodell in the NFL Draft. Roughly .08 percent of all high school football players hear that call.
What’s even rarer is high school teammates going pro together. That has happened only twice in the 80-year history of the event.
However, quarterback Bryan Bennett and center Hroniss Grasu entered the 2015 NFL Draft with the chance to be drafted alongside each other.
Grasu was Bryan Bennett’s center at Crespi.
Then both took their talents to Oregon, where they redshirted their freshman years. Grasu was a four-year starter for the Ducks, serving on the offensive line of Marcus Mariota, the second overall draft pick this year.
After serving as backup for two years, Bennett transferred to Southeastern Louisiana University. He became their starting quarterback, and led them to two straight Southland Conference Championships.
He amassed over 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in his junior year. An injury set his senior year back a bit, but he still led them to a conference championship.
Hroniss Grasu heard his name called in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, landing the team “the second-best pure center in the draft” according to ESPN’s Todd McShay.
Bryan Bennett’s name, however, was not one of the 256 names called in the draft. The Indianapolis Colts signed him as an undrafted free agent.
On May 3, Bennett tweeted that be was “Blessed for the opportunity!” He will enter the preseason as the second backup, behind starter Andrew Luck and veteran Matt Hasselbeck.
The former teammates will share the same turf again on Aug. 22, when the Colts and the Bears face off in a preseason matchup.
