By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- His career as a record-setting quarterback at Bridgewater State University ended on the afternoon of Nov. 11.

James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) earned his second Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player Award when the Bears defeated Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the Cranberry Bowl that day, but four months later, football remains a big part of his life.

The senior, who will graduate with a degree in physical education in May, is pursuing a professional football career and will be auditioning for scouts from numerous NFL teams at a Pro Day hosted by Holy Cross in Worcester on Thursday afternoon.

Cahoon is the lone quarterback who will be working out and one of three Division 3 players who will be in attendance getting evaluated by the NFL personnel who are looking for talent to either draft or sign as free agents in April.

A three-year starter at BSU, Cahoon smashed the program record by throwing for 7,065 yards, nearly 1,000 more than Danny Higgins did when he played from 2013-16.

Following the season last fall, Cahoon went right to work in his bid to draw the attention of pro teams, a process that included playing in two senior all-star games in Florida.

He took part in the FCS National Bowl at Daytona Beach Stadium on Dec. 10 and the Podyum All-Star Bowl at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah, Fla., on Jan. 6.

There were practice sessions in the days before each game with scouts from NFL and Canadian Football League teams on hand to watch the players from all divisions around the country.

Since then, Cahoon has been working with BSU assistant coaches Rene Moyen and Nick Reca and at the M2 QB Academy with owner and former Bears quarterback Mike McCarthy plus ex-BSU running back Alex McLaughlin.

"I think it's been a dream come true," said Cahoon of going through the process in recent months. "I really love football. I think I'm the most competitive guy in the world. To have the chance to eat, sleep and breathe this and really focus on developing and being the best version of myself has been awesome.

"I love football and I'll do anything to keep that going."

Getting the chance to practice with and against players from all over the country at the two games in Florida gave Cahoon a boost.

"Honestly, if you had asked me if I was going to have a shot a year ago or two years ago, I probably would have laughed," said Cahoon. "Not that I didn't have the confidence in myself, but when I went to the senior bowl games, I realized that I don't think any of the high level guys were any different than me.

"Those two games and two weeks of practices helped. I was able to have some informal conversations with some teams. That gave me confidence that I definitely have the ability to play at the next level.

"I think I did pretty well for myself. I had a couple of really good weeks of practice, got some more tape, got exposure to really talented guys from all across the country."

Cahoon, who is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, set the BSU record for career completion percentage at .599 and threw for 56 touchdowns with six games over 300 yards.

"I really realized after my freshman year going into the COVID year that I had a lot of work to do, a lot of catching up to do," said Cahoon, who was a backup to Stefano D'Emilia as a freshman in 2019. "Since I came to Bridgewater, I've had access to a bunch of great people and great resources.

"(Head) coach (Joe) Verria, coach Moyen, all the coaches have instilled in me the qualities and confidence and work ethic and attention to detail. They've brought the best out in me and helped me develop year after year."

That has led Cahoon to the all-star games in Florida and now working out in front of pro scouts in pursuit of a possible career in football.

"He's got the arm and the accuracy," said Verria. "He knows everything that's going on on the field. He really can read coverages."

At the Pro Day this week, Cahoon will be throwing to prospects like Dylan Laube, who took part in the NFL Scouting Combine last month, Kyle Lepkowski and Heron Maurisseau, all of the University of New Hampshire, and Jalen Coker of Holy Cross.

"That's huge," said Cahoon. "To get the exposure in front of NFL teams with a bunch of high level guys, that'll be really huge for me. I'm looking forward to it.

"The past three months, I really dove into working on eliminating inefficiencies in my mechanics, tying footwork and NFL concepts together, really developing my body and just working to be able process information quicker and understand NFL concepts and schemes."

Cahoon hopes to impress scouts in order to join an NFL team for a rookie mini-camp in the spring, and if that doesn't work out, there are other pro football options he would welcome in order to continue playing.

"I think every little kid that enjoys sports or plays football has a dream when they are little to play in the NFL," said Cahoon. "It's a lifelong dream come true to be in the same realm of these other guys, to be mentioned as having the potential of getting signed by an NFL team or getting invited to a mini-camp.

"(After Holy Cross), I'll just continue to go back to work, work through inefficiencies and work on my mechanics. Anything that happens, happens, honestly. The chance to get to play football professionally would be a dream come true."