INDIANAPOLIS – A trio of former wide receivers with playing experience from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference officially made the NFL’s 53-man roster for their respective teams ahead of Week 1.
The 32 NFL teams start with 90 players, trim to 80 at the start of training camp and reduce down to 53 while also filling in their practice squad.
These three former Great Midwest standouts have all made their incredible journeys as undrafted free agents during a time without a preseason as negotiated by the league the NFL Players Association.
The 2020 season officially starts this week for Keelan Cole, Ashton Dulin and Jason Moore.
The former Kentucky Wesleyan All-American Cole, now a fourth-year pro with the Jacksonville Jaguars, will face Malone’s ex-WR star Dulin on the Indianapolis Colts in an early Week 1 matchup this Sunday.
Cole is the first Great Midwest student-athlete to make an NFL roster after playing for Kentucky Wesleyan in 2016, the first year of the sport’s existence in the league. His 2,181 all-purpose yardage is still a single season conference record while his 1,401 receiving yards is second all-time in a season among Great Midwest wideouts.
Also holding up as current single-season league records for Cole are 127.4 yards receiving per game and 24.6 yards per catch. He has exactly 1,600 yards receiving on 104 catches in three pro seasons, all with the Jaguars.
Dulin has made his mark on special teams as the gunner and has seen multiple offensive sets on the field in various WR packages. He was a former track phenom with the Pioneers, qualifying for the 2018 nationals in the 110 and 400-meter hurdles. Like Dulin, Cole also excelled and ran track for a short time at KWC.
Dulin played for Malone from 2015-18, including the last three years in the Great Midwest. He is the Great Midwest’s current career leader in both receptions (170) and yards (2,859) and his 25 touchdowns is tied for second all-time with Hillsdale’s Trey Brock.
The former Findlay WR Moore is in his second season for the Los Angeles Chargers after appearing in 10 games as a rookie. Moore had two catches for 43 yards, including a 32-yard reception after being called up from the practice squad in 2019.
Moore was one of six receivers to make the opening week depth chart for Los Angeles. He played in 17 games with Findlay since the Oilers joined the Great Midwest as a full member in 2017. Injuries cut his 2018 season short, which included just four games on the field but also a 240-yard performance against Alderson Broaddus.
In 2017, Moore had 14 touchdowns and 980 yards receiving on 65 receptions as the Oilers went to the second round of the NCAA Championship bracket. He was tied for the league lead in receiving TD’s with Ohio Dominican’s Cory Contini and was fourth in receiving yards.