Coming out of Lawrence High School, John Nalbone had hopes of playing for a major college football program, particularly nearby Rutgers, but never received a scholarship offer. Instead, he landed at Monmouth. During his second year on campus, though, he realized the Football Championship Subdivision isn't so far from the NFL, thanks to teammate Miles Austin, now a receiver with the Dallas Cowboys. "Here I am, I became friends with this kid, and he had scouts coming for him," Nalbone recalled this week after a workout at the TEST Sports Club in Martinsville, where he has trained for the past four months. "I saw it and said, 'Hey, if you're good enough, you work hard enough, they're going to come find you." Sure enough, three years later NFL scouts also uncovered Nalbone, a well-built 6-4, 255-pound All-American who holds all of Monmouth's tight end records after starting for four seasons. He impressed in his Pro Day workouts, with a 40 time in the 4.6 range, and has the talent to be the second diamond in West Long Branch. Over the past few weeks, he's taken visits to the Jets and Jaguars and has also worked out for the Eagles, Patriots and Dolphins. He is a potential late-round pick during this weekend's NFL Draft but is also prepared to sign as an undrafted free agent, as Austin did. - Jenny Vrentas, The Star-Ledger