Wohler continues NFL Draft preparations
February 18, 2025 | Football, Andy Baggot
Wohler will join Joe Huber and Jack Nelson at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month
Hunter Wohler was 14 when he showed up at the Pick ‘N Save in his hometown of Muskego in the pursuit of summer employment. He wound up getting a job bagging groceries and, later was bumped up to cashier. All in all, not a bad outcome for his first job interview.
Twelve years later, Wohler has a series of interviews coming up that not only will have a higher profile, but significantly more lucrative.
Fresh off another decorated season as the strong safety for the Wisconsin football team, Wohler is vying to become the 13th defensive back to emerge from the program and be chosen in the NFL draft since 2000.
Wohler, 22, is projected as a late-round pick in the seven-round draft that will be staged April 24 to 26 in Green Bay. Of course, he’s not sure when he’ll be taken or by which of the 32 teams will seek out his services or even where he’ll be should his name be called, but he can’t wait for the experience to unfold 136 miles to the north of his hometown.
“I might just be at home,” Wohler said. “I haven’t sorted that all out, but it’s going to be a great experience to have my family and friends around and to just really enjoy the moment with the people who’ve helped and guided me and gotten me where I am today. It’s going to be special.”
At the moment, Wohler is in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he’s working out at XPE Sports Training, a facility known for its work with former student-athletes in advance of the NFL combine. Wohler is one of three former Badgers players and 326 other prospects who were invited to Indianapolis for testing and interviews Feb. 24 to March 3. The other UW prospects are offensive linemen Jack Nelson and Joe Huber.
The combine is so important to Wohler that he elected not to play in the Senior Bowl, which was played Feb. 1 in Mobile, Ala., and is seen as a pathway to the pros.
“I tweaked my hamstring a little the last day of practice,” Wohler said. “I wanted to play, but I was advised not to just to be safe and make sure my hamstring was good for the combine.”
Up until that point, Wohler drew strong reviews from NFL scouts, who made note of his football IQ and his instincts. At least one draft analyst had Wohler going in the fifth round.
“You always look back on (Senior Bowl practices) and wish you could have done more and made a couple more plays,” Wohler said. “But I think I showed up and put together a few good days of practice. Now I just have to put together a good combine and see what happens from there.”
draft stock is goin’ ?? pic.twitter.com/K0S7seTT2D
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) February 6, 2025
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, Wohler was a first-team all-Big Ten Conference pick in 2023 after he led the Badgers with 120 tackles, the most by a UW defensive back since Reggie Holt totaled 144 in 1991. Wohler followed that up with a team-best 71 tackles. He also had 13 passes defended and three interceptions in his career.
Wohler was left to ponder some of the feedback he got from NFL coaches and scouts.
“Keep working on making sure my footwork is clean and just continue to make connections,” he said. “Overall, just continue to develop football knowledge because, going into interviews with teams and stuff, that’s super important.”
