DAYTONA BEACH — Hundreds of professional football scouts were in attendance at the recent SPIRAL Tropical Bowl, a college football all-star game showcasing the top NFL prospects in the nation.
Among the many athletes hoping to catch the eye of the scouts was former Pendleton Heights High School standout Skyler Prol, a Southern University and A&M College offensive lineman.
Prol graduated in 2013 from Pendleton Heights, where he lettered in wrestling, track and field and football.
He received a full-ride football scholarship to Southern University and A&M College, a Division I Football Championship Series university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Prol, at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, was among fewer than 150 players nationwide invited to take part in the college all-star game.
Since 2016, more than 110 players from the game have gone on to play in the NFL, Canadian Football League and Pro Arena leagues.
The Tropical Bowl is considered a top-four bowl game by professional scouts, according to a press release from bowl officials. The game is attended by almost every NFL team, consistently seeing 27 teams’ scouts and general managers in attendance.
For Prol, whose college career ended at the end of the recent college football season, the all-star contest was another opportunity to showcase his skill set.
“It was very exciting to play another snap of football and play with many people from different schools and conferences outside my own that have the same hopes as mine,” Prol said.
The game gave Prol another chance to get noticed and drafted by a NFL team, or at the very least get an invitation to an NFL camp this spring.
“I definitely like my chances and hope to be invited to be in a camp,” he said.
If that should happen, it would be a dream come true.
“Ever since I started playing, my first snaps in middle school, I’ve always wanted to play at the next level,” Prol said.
At the all-star game, Prol was part of the National (Blue) team, where he was coached by 18-year NFL veteran coach Mike Stock.
Prol has always had the goal of playing in the NFL after having played in Lucas Oil Stadium twice in high school, said his father, Joe Prol.
Joe Prol said it’s been great watching his son succeed at the high school level for the Arabians, and at the college level the family would love to see Prol take that next step to the NFL.
Prol has played in several Division I college football stadiums, including the University of Georgia and Louisiana Tech, as well as in several NFL stadiums, including the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans and NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Prol was a dual athlete in football and track while earning his undergraduate degree at Southern University and A&M College.
He started at offensive tackle and offensive guard the last three years in college for the Jaguars.
His team won the Southwestern Athletic Conference, FCS championship in 2013.
In track and field, Prol threw the shot-put for two years reaching sixth in the SWAC.
He took three years off track to focus on school and football and is back throwing for his college team, with three years of NCAA eligibility. He’s going to do that while completing prerequisites for admission to dental school should he not make it into the NFL.