THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams had more than just the draft on their mind this past weekend when they called Cal Lutheran football standout receiver, Aaron Lacombe, Saturday afternoon. After displaying his skills at the Ram's local pre-draft workout, Lacombe earned an invitation to the Rams' Rookie Minicamp on May 11.

How did you receive your invite?

"The third day of the draft, I got a text early in the morning from one of the Rams scouts. They sent me a little picture with a jersey in a locker with my name on it and said 'We want to talk to your agent about some opportunities after the seventh round.'

Later in the day, my agent said, 'It's confirmed. You got an invite to the Rams' Minicamp,' but we would listen to some other teams if they called too. 

Then we talked again the next morning and looked at everything. There were some teams that were maybe going to call, but it seemed liked the Rams were the best way to go, so I ended up choosing them Sunday morning."

How'd it feel?

"Felt good. Based off my performance at local day, I thought I was the best receiver there. I have kind of been expecting these things to happen, but it's nice to see it all come as planned. It's just the next step in the journey."

What distinguishes you from other receivers you'll be competing against?

"It's cliché, but I think my work ethic will help me go really far. I'm going in a lot hungrier than other guys. A lot of these guys played at big schools, and I have a chip on my shoulder being a Division III guy. I think that's going to keep me motivated, to keep working and to keep taking every rep like it's my last rep."

How do you feel about competing for a 53-man roster spot now that you've been given the opportunity? 

"That's all I really asked for. I know coming from a DIII that the road was going to be hard, but now that I have this opportunity, the next goal is making the 53 man roster at the end of training camp. I just have to keep plugging away and get to work. I'm excited for everything that's about to happen."

What things have you taken away from your time at Cal Lutheran that will help you at the next level?

"I think more than anything at Cal Lutheran, I grew a lot as a player mentally. The coaches pushed me to be a really hard practice player, because when you're a guy who is a starter, sometimes you feel like 'oh, I can take practices off or not go as hard or maybe limit my reps,' but these past two years they really pushed me to push myself mentally and physically. I think that's really going to help me at this next level, because every practice I have is going to have to be like a game for me. I think I prepared these past couple of seasons at Cal Lutheran to do that."

What do you think you could contribute to the Rams? 

"They have three really good receivers – Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods – those are their big three right now, but I think they need more depth at receiver. I might be an under-the-radar guy when I get there, but I think I can come in and be one of those fourth or fifth receiver guys, work my way up and bring some depth to their receiving core."

What are you looking forward to the most? 

"Just going out there and competing. It's going to be fun. This is NFL-ball now. I have been expecting this stuff to come and now I'm getting the chance to do it. I'm going to be going against the top guys from around the nation that will be coming out for minicamp, including guys that got drafted. It's going to be really fun, but at the same time I have to worry about myself and make sure I'm focused solely on making the squad."

What's going to be the most challenging part? 

"Honestly, probably just the grind of minicamp. We're going to be running a lot, some special teams work too, so I have to keep my legs right. I'll be in the training room there, getting ice baths and doing all of the necessary stuff to keep my body going. However, learning the playbook, I've always been good at that. No more school, so that's going to be my only homework, just learning that playbook. So I'm excited for that."

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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director