In a sense, Tyler Badie’s NFL audition began when he was six years old. After flag football games, his father, Shaun Badie, would film interviews with his son. That drew some strange looks, the younger Badie said. But that’s also when he believed he would one day play in the NFL.

“My dad had me interviewing since I was six years old, camera in my face, headphones on,” Tyler Badie said. “I’m talking about flag football, you know. People were like, you’re doing interviews in flag football? So I was doing those when I was young, and my dad told me just be prepared for this moment, because one day it’s going to pay off.”

Sixteen years later, Badie longtime dream appears to be on the cusp of reality. The former Missouri running back participated in the school’s Pro Day on Friday, one of 14 Tiger players to work out in front of NFL scouts. It was the final step in an offseason junket designed to boost his draft stock, following appearances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.

Now, Badie can only wait to hear if and when his name gets called between April 28-30. He’s confident he’s shown enough over the past three months to earn a shot.

“I feel like I have no flaws in my game,” Badie said. “Durability is there, catching ability is there, everything I’m doing is there.”

A year ago, no one was talking about Badie as an NFL prospect. The question was whether or not he could lead Missouri’s backfield.

Badie spent his first three college seasons operating as a change-of-pace back behind Larry Rountree III, who now plays for the Los Angeles Chargers. Last season, he moved into the lead role, but there was doubt about whether he would be able to match Rountree’s 22-plus touches per game.

It didn’t take Badie long to obliterate that skepticism. Badie averaged 26.8 touches per game. He broke Missouri’s single-season rushing record with 1,604 yards on the ground while also leading the team in receptions. He scored 18 total touchdowns. In five of the 12 games he played, he rushed for more than 200 yards.

Badie believes that production will speak for itself in the evaluation process.

“Teams see your film, they see it for what it is,” he said. “And you can’t deny stats. Just like you can’t deny facts. It’s just there.”

Part of the reason for the concern about Badie entering last season was his size, or lack thereof. Badie was measured at 5-foot-8, 197 pounds at last month’s combine. Badie said he still hears some chatter that he’s too small, but he’s well past worrying about that.

“You can look at the stats, you can look at the film, you can look at the production, you can look at anything you want to look at. Combine, senior bowl. I dominated wherever I went. So really size doesn’t matter. If you can play football, you can play football, and that’s honestly what I showed.”

Between the Senior Bowl, Combine and Pro Day, Badie said he has spoken with representatives from all 32 NFL teams. While the Senior Bowl and Combine were grueling — “everything you do is being watched,” he said — Friday’s Pro Day brought less stress. Badie, who participated in field tests and position drills, said his focus was just “be smooth out there.”

Badie’s biggest point of emphasis during the pre-draft process, he said, has been showing his versatility. He showed what he can do as a runner in Missouri’s outside zone scheme last season. So, at the Senior Bowl, he focused on showcasing his receiving skills and pass-blocking ability. Badie said he sees himself as a “mismatch nightmare” no matter how a team wants to use him.

“I feel like I have no flaws in my game,” Badie said. “Durability is there, catching ability is there, everything I’m doing is there. So I just tell teams that I’m the perfect scheme for whatever you want me to do. You want me to run through the tackles, I’ll do it. You want me to run outside zone, I’ll do it. You want me to catch the ball, I’ll do it. Special teams, I’ll do it. So I just feel like there’s no knock in my game, so I just tell teams, all 32 teams, and I feel like they believe in what I’m saying.”

Badie doesn’t have a round in mind for when he hopes to hear his name called on draft weekend. He doesn’t have much planned in terms of a watch party, either. He said he’ll likely just watch from home with his family. He understands that it doesn’t matter nearly as much when he gets drafted as what he does afterward.

“At the end of the day I just tell every team, just give me an opportunity,” Badie said. “That’s what I want to hear, that’s what I got, and I feel what I can do with my opportunity. So it doesn’t matter what round. I just want to be in the NFL for a long time. I want to dominate the NFL, and I feel like that’s what I’m going to do with my skillset.”

The other draft prospect who represented Missouri at the NFL Combine was cornerback Akayleb Evans. Evans, too, returned to Columbia for Friday’s Pro Day.

Evans only spent one season playing for Missouri, having played his first four years at Tulsa. But he believes his lone season as a Tiger helped turn him into a player likely to be drafted.

“I feel like people liked what I did at Tulsa, but … the SEC is the best conference in the nation,” Evans said. “So I was able to come out there, do what I needed to do and put my skillset on display.”

A major reason for the NFL interest in Evans is his length. The 6-foot-2 corner said his goal from the Combine and Pro Day was showing that he can also move well for his size. He thinks he checked that box. No results were provided to the media Friday, but Evans said he showed well in the lateral agility drills. He ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash in Indianapolis.

“Just continued to work on my change of direction,” Evans said. “I feel like I was able to show that today. So that was something I was focused on. I was able to do that at the Combine and here.”

Evans also didn’t participate in the bench press at the Combine. He did so Friday and said he repped “more than what I think people were expecting.”

Evans said he’s talked to numerous NFL teams but mentioned the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals as ones that stood out. Like Badie, he said he doesn’t have any major draft-day plans. In fact, he might not even watch the broadcast — to distract himself, he and his family might go bowling.

“I’m going to be with my family, small little group,” Evans said. “Might go bowling or something like that. We’re going to be hanging out, that’s usually what we do. So I’ll go do that and just wait for that phone call, and then whenever I get the phone call, just lock into the team and get started.”

Among the other Pro Day participants was offensive lineman Case Cook. Cook played five games last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He said Friday he’s back to full health, having been cleared for all football activity.

“I feel really good health wise. I got cleared not too long ago, so I’ve just been busting as hard as I can go, trying to get this thing back healthy, and obviously I made it in time.”

Cook, who started 20 games for Missouri at either right or left guard, could have returned for one more college season in 2022 due to the NCAA not counting the 2020 season against any player’s eligibility. He said he considered doing so, but ultimately after spending five years in Columbia decided to “bet on himself.”

“Honestly, it was a lot of thoughts that went into it, but I said I’d rather lose betting on myself than kind of do nothing and do the same old and nothing change,” Cook said. “So that’s where I’m at with everything.”

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