Dr. Phillips product Tanner Ingle one of many casualties on NFL cut day

Tanner Ingle has been overcoming a bit of a stigma his entire life. He’s small in stature, and that doesn’t bode well for a football player, at least to those who are passing judgment.

To watch Ingle on the football field, however, that judgment will quickly become dissipate. He brings a punch usually reserved for the big guys, and he’s a bottle-rocket of passion and energy from his safety position.

Unfortunately for Ingle, an undrafted free agent, not everyone can see past his size. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound Ingle was cut by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday. It was D-Day for numerous players across the county as NFL Cut Day deadline required teams to pare their rosters to 53 players.

“Story of my life, man. I’ve been undersized this whole time and I’ve never really been touted as a highly recuited kid or anything like that,” the 23-year-old Ingle said last week. “It’s something that I’ve really dealt with since I was growing up.”

While in high school at DP, he once posted a profound tweet on Twitter that pretty much said it all: “Someone please tell me when height started determining how good you are at football.”

He’s been trying to prove his point ever since. Ingle, once he clears NFL waivers, will likely end up on the Rams’ practice squad, where he will continue to try to prove himself.

As for Ingle, a former first team All-ACC selection at NC State, he made plenty of believers during training camp, especially former TCU All-American quarterback Max Duggan, who was also cut on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Charger. Ingle way-layed Duggan during an NFL preseason game against the Chargers. He found a seem on a safety blitz and planted Duggan in the turf.

The video highlight of that sack was viewed by more than 1 million people and Ingle couldn’t believe the reaction across the nation.

“That was pretty cool. I didn’t even really know it was [Duggan] because I was so locked in to the game,” Ingle said. “But to go back and realize, ‘Oh wow, he just played in the national championship game.’

“It was just pretty cool to make a play like that on that stage.”

Last week, he was optimistic about his chances to make the squad, but he wasn’t forecasting his future.

“I’m just grateful, more than anything, for the opportunnity to come out here and continue to prove myself and earn a spot on the team,” Ingle said. “I’m just a proud graduate of Dr. Phillips and I feel like Coach [Rodney] Wells and his staff put in a great, great, great foundation for me to just continue to keep doing what I love to do. I’ll always be proud of that.

“The Dr. Phillips culture was just part of the building blocks to where I’ve been.”

Ingle was trying to become the first Dr. Phillips product to make it to the NFL since former Green Bay Packers All-Pro Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

“I always remember Ha Ha being at Dr. Phillips and he would always come back to work out with us during his offseason,” Ingle said. “I remember sitting there telling everybody else, ‘I’m going to do that one day. I’m going to be in his position one day.

“So he was definitely an inspiration to be able to have someone as highly touted as him to be around and speak with us and let us know it is possible to do what you dream of coming out of where we came from.”

Ingle could still continue to turn heads from the practice squad reps and he may one day realize that dream.

He certainly enjoyed his training camp experience with the Rams and still has hopes for brighter days.

“They do a great job of just giving everybody equal opportunity, regardless of who you are or where you got drafted or whatever te case is,” Ingle said. “I really feel like they have a good culture over here and they are very accepting of whoever they’ve brought in or the draftees or undrafted free agents … you can really showcase what you got.

“They’re actually giving everybody an opportunity to make the team vs. just bringing people in for camp.”

Despite several Orlando-area players failing to make the cut, there were still three local rookies who did make NFL rosters. First-round pick and former Apopka/Georgia star DT Jalen Carter landed with the Eagles, and S Brandon Hill (Wekiva/Pitt) and WR Tank Dell (Daytona Beach Mainland/Houston) both made the Texans roster

Several players of local origin and state colleges got pink slips on Tuesday in the NFL’s most ruthless day of the year.

Other local casualties were: RB Jashaun Corbin (Rockledge/cut by Giants), OT Ryan Swoboda (Windermere Prep/Lions), QB Jeff Driskel (Hagerty/Cardinals), Darrynton Evans (New Smyrna Beach/Bills), OG Tayshawn Manning (Wekiva/Ravens), QB Trevor Siemian (Olympia/Bengals), DE Trent Harris (Winter Park/Dolphins) and RB Jacques Patrick (Timber Creek/Titans).

UCF cuts: C Cole Schneider (Packers), CB Tay Gowan (Vikings), PL Justin McCray (Panthers), K Matthew Wright (Panthers), DT Trysten Hill (Browns), WR Breshad Perriman (Colts), WR Tre Nixon (Patriots), DE Big Kat Bryant (Cowboys), WR Brandon Johnson (Broncos), OL Wyatt Miller (Browns/Panthers), TE Jordan Franks (Chiefs) and CB Divaad Wilson (Jags).

Florida cuts: RB Malik Davis (Cowboys), WR Freddie Swain (Eagles), WR Tyrie Cleveland (Eagles), OL Jonotthan (Vikings), OL Richard Gouriage (Bills), OT David Sharpe (Ravens), S Teez Tabor (Colts), WR Josh Hammond (Broncos), WR Solomon Patton (Bucs) and RB La’Mical Perine (Chiefs).

FSU cuts: OT Cameron Erving (Panthers), DL Deadrin Senat (Bucs), DE Janarius Robinson (Eagles), DT Marvin Wilson (Eagles), DT Robert Cooper (Eagles), OL Bobby Hart (Lions), TE Cmaren McDonald (Rams), LB Keir Thomas (Rams), WR Ontaria ‘Pokey’ Wilson (Chargers), OL Derrick Kelly (Browns), DE Hamsah Nasirildeen Jets) and DE Joshua Kaindo (Chiefs).

Miami cuts: DB Sheldrick Redwine (Cowboys), DE Antonio Moultrie (Packers), RB Lamar Miller (Patriots), WR Jeff Thomas (Patriots), CB Michael Jackson (Patriots), DB Trajan Bendy (Steelers), DE Danny Isidora (Dolphins), WR Lawrence Cager (Jets), DE Joe Jackson (Cowboys), LB/DE Anthony Chickillo (Saints) and Mike Harley Jr. (Browns).

FIU cuts: QB Alex McGough (Packers).