Dale Moss’ first chance to impress NFL scouts since mid-November is in the books.

He has been training in Florida and got the chance to impress the professional team’s decision-makers in preparation for the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Jan. 21.

The senior from Brandon is the first player in SDSU history to play in the game’s 87 year history.

“I was really looking forward to it, especially coming from South Dakota State and only playing one year of football, I wanted to see how I could stack up against the guys from the SEC and ACC. After the first day, I knew that I could play with those guys and it made me optimistic about the future too,” Moss said.

In a setting where every detail is a big deal, Moss measured in at 6’3” and 220 pounds when the official measurements were taken early in the week.

Moss was one of six wideouts at the game and made his first catch when Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa hit him for a 10 yard gain on the first play of the second half. He would pick up another first down in the fourth quarter, hauling in Northern Illinois’ Chandler Harnish’s pass for 13 yards. Moss finished with 23 yards on those two catches and his West squad beat the East team, 24-17.

With the big week now out of the way, the focus remains on football all day, every day, for Moss. He has been working three times a week with renowned wide receiver coach Ray Sherman, who has over 35 years of coaching experience and over 20 years in the NFL. Sherman has worked with Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, Terrell Owens, among others. The former Jackrabbit called the process invaluable.

“He’s coached some of the receivers in history of the NFL. It’s great just to be able to work with someone like that and the training facility that I’m working out at here in Florida is terrific,” Moss said.

When he’s not working on the field with Sherman, he’s training twice-a-day, six days a week at Athletic Edge Sports in Bradenton, Fla. As for what to work on and Moss’ focus, it is really quite simple: 4.4. Moss wants to be in that range when he runs his forty-yard dash at the SDSU pro day in March.

“If I can run a 4.4, 40 or in anywhere in that range, that changes the game completely and will really help my draft stock,” said Moss, who added that he’s working on his route running abilities as well.

Moss was named second team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference and caught 61 passes for 949 yards and six touchdowns in his only season playing for the Jackrabbits. He’s likely not done making heads turn.

“I still have about a month-and-a-half away from my pro day. I definitely feel like I’m in the right spot to get the most out of my body and give myself the best chance to be drafted,” Moss said.