SIOUX FALLS – Trey Pipkins is in a waiting game.

One of the best ever to play for the University of Sioux Falls Football Team, the five-time All-American offensive lineman will be with his family in Portland, Ore., on Thursday through Saturday, as he watches the NFL Draft and awaits word on his NFL future.

The National Football League Draft begins today (April 25) in Nashville, Tenn., with the first round and the second and third rounds follow on Friday (April 26) while rounds four through seven will be Saturday (April 27).

  If and when selected, a dream can come true for Pipkins, a soft-spoken but fiercely tough-minded and rugged on the field performer. With the draft beginning with the first round on Thursday, Pipkins will settle in with his parents and fiancé and wait for the phone call that will shape his future.

"It is an exciting time," said Pipkins, who helped lead USF to a 37-11 record and three playoff appearances during his four years. "We are looking forward to this weekend and thinking positive," he said. "It has been my dream to play in the NFL."

Several NFL Draft analysts, including former Dallas Cowboys general manager and current NFL analyst Gil Brandt, have Pipkins ranked high with possible selection between rounds 4-6. He is rated 107^th among Brandt's top 150 (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001026450/article/hot-150-gil-brandts-top-prospects-for-2019-nfl-draft-101150). And, CBS Sports has the USF standout listed among 13 small college prospects who could make an impact in the NFL (https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/nfl-draft-2019-here-are-13-small-school-prospects-who-could-make-a-big-impact-in-the-nfl).

A three-time All-NSIC selection, including first team as a senior, Pipkins's arrival to this point in his life has traversed through Chicago, Burlington, N.C., Dallas, Texas, to Apple Valley, Minn., then to Sioux Falls with his future home to be decided soon.

And, his travels will continue to one of the 32 NFL cities. Regardless of where he goes, a stern focus, strong leadership capabilities and a hard work persona will be attributes he carries to the team that selects the 6-7, 315 pound offensive lineman.

His coach at USF, Jon Anderson, is happy for Pipkins, who has been part of significant success for a program that he helped engender success.

 "It will be a culmination of a life-time of work for him to get to this point.  I am immensely proud of how he set standards and expectations for himself and then blew past them and set new goals," said Anderson, who has coached Pipkins for the past two seasons. "He has done it all with a great sense of humility and was a team guy the whole way.  Trey, along with Dennis Gardeck (Arizona Cardinals), have provided every Coo player with a road map that shows how to leverage ability with ambition and make your dreams a reality."

As a quarterback in Pop Warner football, Pipkins had dreams of playing professional football. But what he didn't realize then was that he wouldn't be throwing balls down the field but rather protecting the player doing just that.

From his sophomore to his junior season, Pipkins grew significantly. He went from a 5-10 athlete to one that was 6-6 by end of his sophomore year. And, from quarterback, he ended up playing tight end as a junior and then moved to the offensive line as a senior.

"When I first started, I didn't understand a lot about the offensive line. But I identified with Terron Armstead," said Pipkins of the former Arkansas Pine-Bluff offensive lineman who is also lean and tall and a starter for the New Orleans Saints. "He was able to do great things on the field with his size and length and I can identify with that in my own game," said Pipkins.

From the day he walked onto the USF campus, his presence made an impact. After being redshirted in 2014, Pipkins played in 10 or more games – starting 43 games – for the next four seasons. And, he impressed his offensive line coaches, including Dane Wardenburg, who coached him in the last two years.

"Trey is obviously a very talented individual athlete.  He can do things that others can't just by God given talent. The thing in my mind that took him to the truly elite level was his ability to see something he wasn't good at and focus on it and make it a strength," said Wardenburg. "He didn't take days or reps off.  He constantly was truly focused on what he needed to get better at.  Along with this he didn't fake work.  If he was in practice or a meeting he knew how to really truly work hard with that same focus.  When you can do that you can really change and correct things quickly," said Wardenburg, whose offensive line was part of the league's top offense and ranked 14^th nationally at 466.5 yards per game.

As Anderson notes, Pipkins is not the type of person who screams or yells but is a guy with a fierce passion for the game of football with leadership qualities that make him special.  

"Trey has an infectious personality.  If you spend any time with him, you will quickly see a smile and a laugh.  Those traits quickly endeared him to his teammates and coaches.  He would go on the field and physically abuse opponents and be smiling and laughing in the locker room," said Anderson, noting Pipkins would be the first USF position player drafted in school history and the first since current FCS State Director Brian Hansen was tabbed by the New Orleans Saints in the ninth round (pick 237) of the 1984 NFL Draft as a punter. "The ability to be a tough guy on the field but a thoughtful and caring leader off the field is what I will remember most about Trey's time at Sioux Falls."
 
As the draft approaches, his work and passion for the game has been evident in the judgment others have made about him.
 
After leading USF to a 7-4 record and serving on the offensive line which had the fifth best rushing average in DII at 274.2 yards per game, Pipkins received rave reviews when he participated in the 94^th annual East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 19 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
 
After that performance, the USF sports management graduate (2018), became USF's first ever athlete invited to the NFL Combine where he again excelled.
 
It should be no surprise that Pipkins was part of an offensive front that helped both Max Mickey (1,764 yards and 19 TDs in 2016) and Harlon Hill finalist Gabe Watson (school record, 1,957 yards and nation-best 26 TDs) both set school records as they ranked among the top producing backs in the country. Watson was not only the DII scoring leader in 2018 but finished with 177.8 yards per game, which was also a school mark and the top in NCAA DII.
 
As a result, Pipkins finished third in the balloting for the Upshaw Award (DII Offensive Lineman of the Year), and was named to five All-American Teams, including D2Football.com (first team), Associated Press (first team) and the D2CCA (second team) following his senior campaign.
 
One of four team captains for USF, he was also named to the D2Football.com and The Podyum preseason All-American teams. And, he followed it up with an incredible season. In 2018, he graded at 91.7 percent (651 positive reps in 710 plays) with 90.5 knockdowns, which gave him 234.5 knockdowns in 43 career starts, as he allowed just one sack this year and two in his career. All those numbers are indicative of a player who will rank as one of the best ever at USF and in the NSIC.

"Trey's character, friendships, and desire to help the Coo are things that stick in my mind. It is no coincidence that he was the leader on this offensive line, which had a great year in 2018, said Wardenburg. "With the future being shoved into his face every day he did an unbelievable job of being a teammate and leader for us and not allowing the future to blind out what he was trying to help his team achieve.  His maturity in handling these things was very impressive."

In his four seasons, he has graded over 90 percent every year with a 91.4 percent grade in 2018, 90.6 grade in 2015, 92.4 percent in 2016 and 90.6 in 2017.

"God has blessed Trey with some intangibles, his height and athleticism, what makes him stand out is how he has leveraged and gained from what he was blessed with.  He has continually strived to improve, never coasted, and became a student of the game," said Anderson.
 
Beyond the play on the field, he excelled in the classroom and earned Academic All-NSIC honors twice.  As he moves forward and waits on his destination, Pipkins remains a man, who values his faith, friends and family.

"My experience at USF has been one I cherish. I value every one of my teammates and pull for them every day. It is great to be with my family who have supported me every day and continue to be those I lean on," said Pipkins, acknowledging his dad James, mother Trisha, sister Jaryn, with whom he shares a birthday, and fiancé Morgan Perkins, who he met at USF.

Anderson knows how Pipkins values those around him. It is a Christian trait and one that will serve him as he moves into a new world in the NFL.

"I would share that it appears to me that relationships with teammates and family have been prioritized in Trey's life and have great value to him.  When you put others before yourself, great things happen to you," said Anderson. "I am very excited to see what happens next in his career and thankful that he has included me, this program and USF in the journey."