Ivy League to the NFL draft: Princeton's Andrei Iosivas out to prove he's more than a track star

Bob Surace says that any high school prospect who visits the Princeton Tigers' football facility and the university's campus receives a top-notch tour.

For Andrei Iosivas, "that may have been an A-plus-plus tour," Surace, the Tigers' head coach, told USA TODAY Sports.

Iosivas will not be one of the wide receivers selected in the first round of the 2023 April's NFL draft. Odds are his name won't be called until Day 3.

The Hawaii native was a late bloomer in high school, Surace said, and developed into the Ivy League's leading receiver in catches (66), receiving yards (943) and touchdowns (seven) last season -- on the heels of becoming the conference's champion in heptathlon for the third time and being named a first-team All-American for the event, finishing fourth at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships.

"I got fourth in the nation," Iosivas said at last month's NFL scouting combine, "basically doing it on the side."

In an alternate reality, Iosivas is already preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He has preferred football his entire life, he said.

"I kind of was always a football player who did track," he said. "I feel like some people confuse me as a track guy who plays football, but it’s the other way around."

Looking the part at Princeton

Iosivas' dream school was Stanford. Academics were a priority in his family. But his lack of production at Punahou School – which DeForest Buckner and Mati Te'o also attended – made playing in the Power Five a tall task.

That didn't stop him from attending a camp at Stanford, where a Princeton assistant coach first saw him, Surace said. The staff heard that Iosivas had plans for an East Coast tour that included Princeton, Brown, Yale and Dartmouth. Princeton and Dartmouth immediately let him know there was a place for him. Iosivas realized he couldn't turn down playing for the Tigers.

“He looked the part,” Surace said. “He’s the first kind in line (of drills). He has all the intangible characteristics. He has all the measurable characteristics that kind of went from – we didn’t know that much about him – to, sometimes, in professional sports, when a guy does a free agent tour, they lock the door until he signs. It was one of those.”

It also helped that Iosivas' father had a business partner who was a Princeton graduate, Surace said.

"We were pretty aggressive trying to convince him that this was where he should be," the coach said.

NFL dreams within grasp

Iosivas can be classified as a "burner," a receiver who can stretch the field and provide a deep threat to any offense.

"He’s a vertical stretch wide receiver. Tracks the ball really well," said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. "I don’t think he’s a complete wideout in terms of running the full route tree. He has a specific purpose and a specific role that he can fill."

At the Senior Bowl, the 6-3, 205-pound Iosivas met with almost every NFL team in an informal setting, he said. Jeremiah said the beginning of the fourth round is "probably the sweet-spot for somebody like that, but I think he’ll definitely have a role."

The NFL dream – Iosivas spent his childhood creating a player named after himself in the "Madden" video game franchise and putting the avatar on the Colts – became a distinct possibility during his junior season, he said, while leading Princeton with five touchdown catches and averaging 17.1 yards per reception.

Surace, who coached with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2002-09, wanted Iosivas to be aware of his professional potential sometime during spring of his freshman year – which he spent on the practice/junior varsity team, since Ivy League teams don't have the option to redshirt players – or early in his sophomore season.

"Just making sure that he knew his skill set was going to play up at that level," Surace said.

Seventh heaven: Iosivas' heptathlon exploits

Iosivas attended football meetings during the winter and spring, but his practice time was saved for track.

The heptathlon, he said, is an event in which someone can showcase the gamut of their athleticism. Teams know Iosivas is fast and can see he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, and he can point to his 6.71-second 60-meter dash at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, the fastest ever for the heptathlon.

“In high jump, pole vault, you’re in the air doing acrobatic things that help with those acrobatic catches,” Iosivas said. “Knowing where I am in the air, it’s just all hand coordinator or body coordination.”

How many Ivy League players are in the NFL?

Nine former Ivy League players began the 2022 NFL season on active rosters, with Iosivas looking to join their ranks all while improving the perception of the academic-centered league.

"I just try to keep that tradition going, and hopefully more NFL teams start to look more at the Ivy and they’ll get more exposure," Iosivas said.

He continued: “I’m trying to put myself on the map and put all my boys on the map – even the Ivy League on the map, even though we don’t like the other teams. It’s all for the boys at this point.”

Surace said that there can be a misconception within the league.

"Also the fact that he does do track," Surace said. "A lot of scouts come in, and it might be on the 101 handbook, ‘Is he a track guy?’"

Iosivas feels like he has answered that question.

From Hawaii to New Jersey to the NFL

Upon moving to New Jersey five years ago, Iosivas quickly learned that a New Jersey poké bowl would not meet his standards of home cooking. That was one part of the culture shock he dealt with.

Being far from family. The non-idyllic climate of the Northeast. The academic rigors. Different types of people.

“I learned a lot about myself," Iosivas said. "A lot about football.”

And in the end, it was worth it.

“I always just wanted to prove it to myself and prove to other people that I am the athlete that I know I am," Iosivas said. “Now I’m on this stage, where I can show that.”

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Princeton's Andrei Iosivas chases NFL draft dream after track stardom