The sun had long since gone down and Ricardo Louis still wasn’t settled in his hotel room.

The next stop was Philadelphia, and a date the next day with the NFL’s Eagles for a workout and meetings.

That’s how the last month has gone for the former Auburn wide receiver. It’s been a whirlwind tour of several NFL outposts since Auburn’s NFL hopefuls went through Pro Day on March 7.

“It’s been crazy, but that’s OK,” Louis said by phone Tuesday night. “This is what we put all that work in for, to have a chance to play at this next level. I’ll go wherever they ask me to go. I’m glad they all keep asking.”

Louis, a Miami native, has been back home working out all spring, gearing up for the April 28-30 draft. So far he’s been to Tampa to visit with the Buccaneers and to Arizona for meetings and a workout with the Cardinals. Next up are the Eagles, with a few more scheduled before draft day rolls around.

“It’s been a great experience,” Louis said. “I’m getting a chance to meet a lot of people and the meetings are good. We really go through a lot of stuff. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.”

There’s no question about that, because a lot of uncertainty surrounds what might happen in the draft with Louis. Many seven-round mock drafts don’t have him getting picked at all. A few others do, but the consensus is he’s ranked somewhere around 30th at the receiver position. There were 35 receivers drafted last year.

Nervous? Concerned?

“Not at all,” Louis said. “I’ve been happy with my workouts. I have been working hard on the things that I need to and I feel good about someone giving me a chance. That’s all I ask, because when I get out on the field and compete, I’m confident that I can play in the NFL.”

Louis, who loves to box – “and is really, really good,” his Auburn teammate Peyton Barber says – and dabble in all kinds of art, doesn’t have eye-popping college stats like many other receivers in this draft. But he’s had his moments at Auburn.

Oh, has he had some moments.

No matter what, he’s an Auburn legend forever

In Louis’ four-year career at Auburn, he made just 98 catches for 1,338 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. (He ran for two others.) He was never the No. 1 receiver until 2015, and that was only after his teammate and friend Duke Williams was kicked off the team.

But one of the touchdowns? Well, it’s one of those “we’ll never forget it” moments.

It came in that magical 2013 season and when you score a touchdown that gets an eternal nickname, then you’re a hero forever. That’s Louis and his catch, “The Prayer at Jordan-Hare.”

In the final minute of Auburn’s showdown with Georgia in 2013, Louis grabbed a tipped ball that bounded off the hands of two Bulldogs defenders and scampered into the end zone to finish off a 73-yard score in the final minute. It was the margin of difference in the 43-38 win and kept alive their chances to win the SEC West. They did that two weeks later in the miracle “Kick-Six” win against Alabama, then won the SEC a week later before losing in the national title game to Florida State.

“Sure, I still think about that catch all the time. Why not?” he said. “People are always asking me about it all the time anyway, so it always comes up. For me, that was the best moment of my career. It was a just so great, that kind of play in that kind of moment to win a game that we really needed bad. I mean, we don’t win that game,  the ‘Kick-Six’ the next week doesn’t mean anything, another than beating Alabama, of course.

“I’ll never forget it, that’s for sure.”

That’s understandable. That season was special and even though they came up short in the title game, Louis will always have 2013. It was that great.

“That year means so much because of what had happened the year before,” Louis said. “We were 3-9 and we were embarrassed. Going in to 2013, we all worked so hard and made sure that wasn’t going to happen again. We won so many huge games that year and had so much fun. It’s one of those great years in Auburn history, that’s for sure.”

Louis caught 28 passes that year, but only 21 in 2014. With Williams gone last year, he made 46 catches for 716 yards, both career highs.

The numbers could have been substantially better – and he says so during NFL meetings – had the Tigers gotten better quarterback play in 2015. Both Jeremy Johnson and Sean White struggled throughout the season and the Auburn passing game struggled. It affected everyone’s numbers, including Louis, the No. 1 receiver.

“Our quarterback situation was what it was, and we just had to deal with it,” Louis said. “We played better later in the year and we made some plays. I think I showed enough to impress people.”

Louis had a few big games in 2015. He had four catches for 137 yards against Ole Miss, seven catches for 154 yards against Kentucky and 10 catches for 76 yards in the early-September game with Jacksonville State. There was plenty there to impress.

But then there was the end of the season. In the final four games that mattered – Texas A&M, Georgia, Alabama and the bowl game against Memphis – he had only six catches for 63 yards. Total.

NFL folks have seen all of that, of course.

How does he look in NFL eyes?

NFL scouts have mixed feelings about how Louis’  game translates to the next level. There was this from draft experts on NFL.com:

“Don’t see anything draftable about him. I don’t like his routes and I don’t like his hands. You like him better than me, I guess.” — NFC southeastern area scout.

Ouch. But then there’s this:

“Louis has good size and could help himself with a good 40 time at the combine – (he did, running 4.43) –  but he’s still raw and his hands aren’t consistent enough. It may take a little while, but I see enough upside in Louis to consider him a future NFL backup with some ‘big slot’ potential.”

If Louis gets drafted, it should be on the third day, when rounds four through seven are in play. If he doesn’t get picked, several teams will want him in camp.

USATSI_8958619_168381178_lowres

Some teams, because they don’t like his hands or route-running as a receiver, wanted to see him do some work at Pro Day with the safeties. Louis hasn’t played defense since high school, but he’ll do whatever it takes. Special teams should be a vital factor, and he’s all in.

“All of my trips so far, the talk’s all been about receiver, but if the other thing comes up, I’m fine with that too,” Louis said. “I just want a chance to play. And once I’m there, I want to stay there.”

Since the end of the season, he’s worked hard on his pass catching and route-running and the work has paid off.

“Lots of people have said nice things about what I’ve been doing in the workouts, so that makes me feel good,” he said. “It’s all about continuing to get better.”

One AFC scout said he’s seen lots of players like Louis before.

“He’s still kind of raw, and I think it’s because it took him some time there at Auburn just getting used to being a receiver after being a quarterback in high school,” the scout said. “But personally, I love his athletic ability. He can run well and he’s got a nice, thick body where he can be physical. I don’t think he’ll ever be a star, but he can help a team.”

A chance. That’s all Louis asks. And it will come, more than likely.