Draft Diary: Tonka Hemingway (Part 3)

Former South Carolina defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway (2020-2024) played for five years in the garnet and black, earned his degree, and now he’s chasing his dream of making it to the NFL. In part 3 of our online diary series, Hemingway shares his experience of participating at South Carolina’s annual Pro Timing Day, which was held last week at the Long Family Football Operations Center and the Jerri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility along with 24 other former Gamecock football players in front of general managers, coaches and scouts for every NFL team as well as two CFL teams. If you need to get caught up, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of Tonka’s Draft Diary.

Tonka’s Draft Diary – Part 3

“For Pro Day, I just wanted to put my best foot forward. I really wanted to enjoy the time being around all those guys. It meant a lot to be around all those guys I played with.

“It felt good to be at home to do it. I felt more comfortable after playing there and practicing there. It made everything easier. I did the position drills like we did at the NFL Combine. I wasn’t nervous with all the scouts and everyone there because this is the same stuff I do every day. Everything we did is pretty straight forward.

“I feel like I helped myself for the draft in showing them I understand football and still want to learn a lot more. I can get better at the things I already do well, and I’m getting better at the things I don’t do as well.

“We don’t get a lot of feedback right there other than that you’re handling the process really well.

“For now, I’m doing a lot of working out. I’m trying to stay in shape and add more football-related stuff into all of my drills. I’m trying to get better each day.

“Seeing my team (South Carolina) going through spring practice, it’s a little weird being on the outside of that now. I was here for five years, and I spent a lot of days out there.

“For Draft Day, I’ll be home with my parents. I don’t know what round I’ll be drafted, but hearing my name called is going to mean a lot. I think about all the work I’ve put in, going back to when I was a kid playing the little league all the way up to now. I think I was seven or eight when I started playing football. I was a little bit younger than the age that you were supposed to start, but I didn’t want to play flag football.

“When I was a kid, I dreamed about it all. I dreamed of playing in the NFL, MLB, and the NBA. All of them!

“For the guys that will go through this process next year, I’ll tell them to just take it one day at a time and be yourself. Don’t try to be something that you’re not.

“I feel like I’ve shown a lot of dedication and put in a lot of work. I just hope it shows.”

The NFL Draft is scheduled to be held in Green Bay, Wis., on April 24-26.