Overview

Nalbone had dreams of playing major college football for Rutgers, but wasn't recruited and decided to stay in-state and play for Monmouth at the Football Championship Subdivision level. He has worked diligently since the end of last season to improve his timed speed, but might be used in more of an H-back role in the NFL.

Nalbone arrived at Monmouth with good credentials after earning All-County honors his final two seasons at Lawrence High School, who he set the school record with 17 career touchdown receptions. And he would only go on to set more records once he arrived at Monmouth.

The Hawks have a history of producing NFL talent, including Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin, who entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2006. The Monmouth coaching staff viewed Nalbone as the next Hawks receiver with excellent size and hands for his position.

He progress each season, earning second-team all-conference honors as a freshman and sophomore and first-team all-conference accolades his final two seasons. When all was said and done with his Hawks career, Nalbone held all of the school's career tight end records with 101 receptions for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns.

Nalbone wasn't invited to any of the postseason all-star games or the scouting combine, but did impress an estimated 18-20 NFL scouts on-hand at a March 26 workout at GoodSports USA in Wall Township, N.J., and a workout earlier in the week at Hofstra.

"I think the workouts went really well," said Nalbone. "I would have liked to run a little better at Hofstra but my hard work seems to be paying off. The process has been both stressful and exciting at the same time, after meeting with the teams I'll just have to wait and see."

His workouts earned more attention from NFL teams, with the Eagles, Patriots and Dolphins among those who lined up visits.

High School

Four-year letterwinner at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, N.J. ... Earned All-County honors as a junior and senior for the Colonial Valley Conference ... Went on to receive All-Area honors as a senior ... Set school records for most receptions in a season, and holds the school's all-time record for most career receiving touchdowns at 17 receptions ... Named captain senior year ... Set the school record for most receiving touchdowns in a game (three).

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Analysis

Positives: Good size, strength and effort as a blocker. Highly competitive. Surprising athleticism shown in workouts. Catches the ball cleanly and looks to turn it upfield. Can track the ball over his shoulder. Adequate agility to avoid tacklers in the open field, but good strength to run through them.

Negatives: Obvious concerns over his level of competition. Needs to improve his strength to hold up as an inline blocker at the NFL level. Marginal burst out of his breaks to gain separation. Lacks experience in a sophisticated passing offense and will need time to acclimate to a typical route-tree.

Injury Report

No significant injuries reported.

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