John Carroll standout wide receiver Tyren Montgomery never saw himself as anything other than a basketball player coming up, though uncertainty managed to reroute his life to the 2026 NFL Draft stage.
“This is surreal,” Montgomery admitted at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., also known as the official first step in the NFL Draft process. “I manifested all this. I’ve kept writing it in my journal. For my dreams to become a reality, it’s a blessing.”
Tyren Montgomery’s Unconventional Road to the Senior Bowl
Montgomery started his journey as a college athlete by walking on to play basketball at LSU in 2019; however, academic issues and his mother falling ill forced him to step away after just one semester. At the time, he thought his athletic journey was likely over, until one random suggestion during a game of backyard catch presented an unlikely purpose.
“Basketball was no longer in the vision,” Montgomery said. “I was just going to try to get a job and find my way in life. With COVID-19, you couldn’t even get a job though. My brother and I were in the backyard, just throwing the football around, and he was like, ‘Look, bro. You don’t have anything else to do. You might as well do that with your life.’ Ever since then, I’ve been working.”
The Texas native had no experience playing football, no route tree, no film to offer, and no coaches interested, but he also made no excuses. Even when Montgomery’s attempt to walk on at the University of Houston fell short due to the pandemic and an influx of players being granted extra eligibility, the lack of space on college rosters only gave him more reason to become undeniable.
Believing in his natural athletic ability above all else, Montgomery was willing to take unconventional steps toward his goal of pivoting to football, consistently uploading workout videos online in hopes that someone would eventually notice. Moral of the story: you never know who might be watching.
“I just uploaded some routes on Facebook and this guy named Eddie Franca had a flag football team out in Miami, Florida,” Montgomery explained. “He told me there was a tournament in Vegas. I went out there and did my thing, and I ended up getting an opportunity to play in the Olympics for flag football. But they said if I were to do that, there was no more college eligibility, so I just stuck with this instead.”
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Montgomery knew making a name for himself in college football was still possible when, to his surprise, college coaches finally started to show some interest in the film he was sending out. While most schools remained hesitant after his countless inquiries, mostly due to his inexperience with the intensity of full pads, those flag football highlight reels ultimately paid off as Nicholls State University gave Montgomery his first shot with a Division I football program in 2022.
“I realized I clearly have a gift and have to show it to the world,” Montgomery said.
Eligibility issues regarding college credits left him unavailable for the 2022 season. Paired with some injuries, his 2023 debut featured just 12 receptions and 171 receiving yards over eight appearances.
Montgomery, without any remaining DI eligibility, entered the transfer portal seemingly all out of luck.
Despite setbacks, he never felt time was running low on his dreams. Through a connection from his flag football stint, Montgomery landed a fresh start with the Division III John Carroll Blue Streaks in 2024, giving new life to the dreams he continued to write in his journal.
“I just want to give a shout out to [former JCU head coach] Jeff Behrman,” Montgomery emphasized. “He just got the new head coaching job at Bucknell. He sold me on the school because they’ve got a history of NFL alums from John Carroll. When he told me he could still give me a chance to get in the league, which is my dream, I just trusted him.”
Montgomery’s trust paid off during his 2024 campaign, notching 57 catches for 1,071 yards and a program-record 17 touchdowns as an All-Ohio Athletic Conference first-team selection. Doubling down in 2025, Montgomery posted 119 receptions for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns, setting Blue Streaks records for career receiving yards and single-season receptions while earning Division III All-American honors.
According to the Blue Streaks, 28 of the 32 NFL teams made trips to University Heights to scout Montgomery during a 12-2 run that landed John Carroll in the Division III semifinals. Now, he’s making his mom’s vision come true as the only Division III player to compete at both the American Bowl and the Senior Bowl, paving his way to the NFL Draft.
“I was always strictly hoops, but my mom used to always tell me, in her vision, she saw me as an NFL star,” Montgomery shared. “Now that I’m living the dream, I just want to give a shoutout to her. She did pass last year. I just feel like I’m living out her dream right now.”
Tyren Montgomery has been UNGUARDABLE through two Senior Bowl practices
Standout WR from D3 John Carroll is playing his way into top 100 consideration pic.twitter.com/5crAC0ynot
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 29, 2026
If a mother’s intuition and impressive moments against top NFL draft prospects serve as any indication, including outright beating Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood and San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson (two top-60 projections at the Senior Bowl) in one-on-ones shortly after arriving to the proving grounds, Montgomery will do everything he can to solidify the idea that he belongs, with every move rooted in unwavering self-belief.
“Most importantly, you just have to believe in yourself,” he said. “You can have a team of people believing in you, but if you don’t believe in yourself, your dreams won’t come to fruition.”
Montgomery looks to become John Carroll’s first NFL Draft pick since Larry Wanke was selected by the New York Giants as Mr. Irrelevant in 1991.
