By Kaitlin Long

Chris Conley created a colorful résumé in order to prepare himself for the National Football League Draft, which begins on April 30.

He is a man of many talents on and off the field. He set records at the NFL combine as a wide receiver for both the vertical jump (45 inches) and the broad jump (11 feet and 7 inches).

In addition to his athletic skills, he taught himself how to play the piano and also knows how to play the guitar because he had a teacher train him for a year in middle school. Conley has musical capabilities that range farther than the average human being, but he has received the spotlight for his athletic gifts.

“I had a vision,” said Conley. “I wanted to choose my college. I wanted to play there for 4 years and contribute significantly. I had goals of putting myself in the position I’m in today where I could play beyond college.”

Conley’s football career began his freshman year at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia. Before his athletic journey started, he observed people around him playing the game, but never had the chance to play it himself. He finally “got [his] shot and took advantage of it” because “that was [his] opportunity to get into sports,” according to Conley.

His skill has increased heavily since a high school football player, and he attributes his performance at the combine to hard work, repetition, and visualization.

“You repeat every single thing that you do at the combine multiple times,” said Conley. “You visualize what you want to do, seeing the result that you want to get. You visualize it.”

His goal at Pro Day was to allow the coaches to have a better idea of the kind of player he was and to see how he performed and ran routes. Although he received a large amount of attention at the NFL combine and Pro Day, he did not anticipate attaining such a large amount of success. According to Conley, “it kind of just happened.”

As a student of the University of Georgia Grady College, he majored in magazine journalism. The time he had to dedicate to football did not prevent him from excelling in the classroom, and although he is currently focused on playing football at a professional level, he still intends to apply his education in additional life settings.

“There are a lot of things I want to do. I can’t narrow it down to one job,” said Conley. “I want to make movies, I want to do broadcasting, I want to play football, and I want to create my own creative production company.”

Conley is a man of character, and he wished to play for men of character. This wish pushed him to commit to the University of Georgia, as well as good coaching and his desire to play somewhere where it felt like home.

He has taken away the ability to be personable and interact with a wide range people after attending UGA, and as a former Bulldog, his message to Georgia fans is to “stay awesome at the best school in the country.”

“I pushed myself, and I met some great people along the way that affected my life in a positive way,” said Conley.

When it is all said and done, Conley wants to take away “a sense of accomplishment” from his entire football career “because [he] gave everything [he] had.”