Ex-University of Hawaii receiver John Ursua hopes to catch on in NFL

During his Hawaii football career, receiver John Ursua perfected his routes. This week, he will learn his destination.

Ursua has been told to be near his cell phone on Saturday, the final day of the NFL Draft. The fourth through seventh rounds will be announced that day, and after that, teams will be making offers to undrafted free agents.

“The process has been fun,” said Ursua, who announced in December he would forgo his senior year at UH to apply for the draft. “It’s been long, and there are so many ups and downs of what possibly can happen. But I’ve been blocking everything else out and working hard because I know regardless of what happens, I’m going to have to go (to a camp) and play ball and show them I can compete at that level.”

Ursua and his agent have received calls from all 32 NFL teams. The Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals brought in Ursua for private workouts. On Monday, the New York Jets called to check on his location on Saturday. During a conference call on Monday, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said Ursua has “a great opportunity to play in the league and have a nice career.”

Ursua said: “I only need one team to believe in me and see that I can do this.”

Last season, Ursua proved he fully recovered from a torn right ACL suffered during the 2017 season. In 2018, Ursua led the nation in touchdown catches (16) and was fifth in receiving yards (1,343), ninth in receiving yards per game (103.3), 10th in total touchdowns (17) and 11th in catches per game (6.8). He did not play in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl because of a hamstring injury.

From January through earlier this month, Ursua trained under Chad Ikei in Arizona. Ursua was routinely clocking sub-4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash before aggravating his right hamstring three weeks before UH’s pro day in March.

At pro day, Ursua ran the 40 once, in 4.58 seconds, with splits of 1.58 seconds (10 yards) and 2.64 (20 yards). But he excelled in the other disciplines: 4.12 seconds in the short shuttle, 6.78 in the 3-cone drill, 11.3 in the long shuttle, 10-foot broad jump, 37-inch vertical jump and 17 bench-press reps of 225 pounds.

The hops? “I’ve always been a jumper because of basketball,” said Ursua, who is 5 feet, 91⁄8 inches. “I could dunk since I was a freshman in high school.”

Weighing 178 pounds, Ursua also impressed with his strength. He had maxed at 16 reps of 225 pounds during training. “I’m a big gym rat,” Ursua said. “When it came to working out with Chad, that (lifting) part was easy for me because I’m used to being in the gym all the time.”

What was difficult at the Arizona facility was Ikei’s rule of no desserts in the desert. “I’m a dessert junkie,” Ursua said, smiling. “I want a dessert after every meal, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

Ikei allowed for a cheat day once every three weeks. “You’re not really getting your dessert,” Ursua said. “You’re getting your proteins in. You’re getting only two or three carb days a week, which is really light carbs.”

Bread? “A piece of bread,” Ursua said. “It’s changed my diet completely.”

In Ikei’s program, Ursua went from 15 percent body fat to 5 percent.

“All the numbers are cool,” Ursua said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to playing football.”