Most of the 25 athletes that showed up for South Carolina State’s Pro Day had ducked away into the Bulldogs’ locker room or headed home, but Cleve McCoy and a handful of receivers stayed behind.

With a New Orleans Saints scout looking on, the former South Carolina State quarterback tossed a few balls to the receivers just after noon on March 25 before they too were sent on their way. The Saints’ scout then turned to the 6-2, 225 pound McCoy and started running him through routes -- tossing him some balls. In total, McCoy hauled in around 20 passes without a drop. Flash forward to Sunday, and McCoy figured that workout was his best chance at getting a shot in the NFL. So, as the draft progressed into it’s latter stages, he waited patiently, hoping his phone would ring. It didn’t, and McCoy headed home -- a little bummed -- with the idea that he would sign an offer from the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Then, around 11 a.m. Monday, McCoy’s agent called.

“He said, ‘We have us a deal,'” McCoy said.

“It felt good,” he said. “It was a good feeling, just to know that I am going to have an opportunity.”

The Saints offered McCoy a chance to come to their three-day rookie mini-camp May 8-10. It’s the same offer the team made to former SCSU offensive lineman Clyde Reed a season ago, and although it’s just three days, McCoy said he spent the rest of Monday “just trying to breathe.”

“This is my shot,” he said. “Now, the only catch to this is, I’m stuck between the decision I have to make.

“If the Canadian team let’s me work out with those guys and wants to hold the contract until after...that’s what I’m hoping for, but the Canadian football team, it all depends on what they do,” McCoy continued. “If they want to wait on me, that is a good thing. But, if they say, ‘We are not waiting’...I’m thinking I am going with the for-sure thing.”

McCoy said he was appreciative of the CFL opportunity, and he and his agent expected an answer on whether or not the contract would still be on the table following the Saints’ rookie mini-camp soon. But, facing a decision between a sure-thing and a boyhood dream was wearing on McCoy Monday afternoon.

Click here to listen to an audio clip from the interview with McCoy

“It’s nerve wracking,” he said. “I’ve been thinking...just contemplating what I should do. I’ve been back-and-forth on the internet trying to do some research. I’ve been trying to get some things done. We’ve come to a conclusion. If they let me go to the mini-camp. I will go off and go there. If not, then I will be over in Canada.”

As of Monday, McCoy said he hadn’t sent the contract in to the Blue Bombers. But, he admitted that he had thought about the opportunity and the players that have made the jump from the CFL to the NFL.

“This could just be another way to get in (to the NFL) at the position I am most comfortable with...quarterback,” he said. “I have played that for eight or nine years. I just want to give it a shot with the NFL guys, just to show them I can play wide receiver to and they can put me on their roster as well.

“Hopefully, (Winnipeg) will hold it for me,” McCoy added. “I figure if they want me bad enough they will wait. I am hoping and praying that is how things will work out for me.”

McCoy said he hoped to have that answer by Wednesday or Thursday of this week at the latest.

“It is the highest level, and the thing...it’s not a hard transition (to receiver) because I am a natural athlete,” he said. “Just learning to develop and be a receiver, that would be a great thing. I just want to see, at the highest level, can I be what they are looking for at receiver.

“This is a feeling of, you know, I have accomplished something,” he continued. “Obviously, these guys see something in me that they would give me an opportunity like that. Most guys don’t even get that opportunity.”

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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