Now that 2026 NFL draft prospect Dylan Christley is primed for his next opportunity at Slippery Rock, the one-time blue-chip recruit is looking to capitalize on this opportunity and showcase his outstanding size and skills.
A native of Greenfield, Tennessee, Christley was offered scholarships from Nebraska, Maryland and Arizona State and drew interest from Georgia and Ohio State. He was offered $500,000 in NIL deals from top schools he was unable to accept due to eligibility issues, declining offers from Marshall, UNLV, Colorado State, Wyoming, Texas State and New Mexico State after being named a junior college All-American at Maricopa Junior College in Arizona.
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Now, the 6-foot-1, 296-pound defensive tackle can’t wait to show what he can do at New Haven where he’s majoring in criminal justice and will graduate in December.
“I had to take the Division II route because taking the junior college route through COVID and not getting that COVID year back took away my Division I clock,” Christley said. “If that had never happened, I would be at the University of Georgia right now playing.”
Instead of looking back, though, Christley is solely focused on the present and the immediate future.
He wants to deliver a wrecking-shop performance all season to gain attention from NFL scouts and, most importantly, win a championship with his new teammates.
Slippery Rock has produced multiple professional football players, including former Minnesota Vikings draft pick Brandon Fusco as well as recent NFL undrafted signings and UFL players.
“Slippery Rock, the history of the players that have gone to the NFL was a big reason why I wanted to go there,” Christley said. “When I was on my visit, coach had a lot of scouts up there and they were really interested in me coming out next year. I loved the coaches, great people and they could see me being a first-round draft pick.”
Christley definitely has the physical requisites and the athleticism required.
He has bench pressed 225 pounds an impressive 43 times, ranking in the top five all-time among defensive tackles in combine testing.
He has run the 40-yard dash recently in 4.65 seconds, which would also rank in the top five all-time among defensive tackles in combine testing history.
He has done a 4.21 short shuttle to rank first among defensive tackles in combine history.
“My future goals are to get my degree and continue to grow as a person and to get drafted in 2026!” Christley said.
How will he accomplish his goal?
One snap, one lift, one sprint, one film session at a time, by keeping the main thing the main thing.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.