CHAMPAIGN — When Josh Gesky walked into the Smith Center earlier this week, his Illinois teammates had to do a double-take. Gesky, a three-year starting guard for the Illini, had dropped more than 20 pounds in preparation for his Pro Day on Thursday and looked like a different man.
"I didn't recognize him when I came back here a couple days ago," Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer said. "…He has slimmed out, man."
Added Illini center Josh Kreutz, who played five seasons with Gesky: "When I saw him, I said, 'You look good,' and he was ready to run. …It's pretty special to watch him go."
Gesky arrived in Champaign out of high school as a 6-foot-5, 260-pound, small-school prospect from Manteno (Ill.). In his last official activity as an Illini football player on Thursday, Gesky walked out of the Illinois football facility as a bona fide NFL Draft prospect after starring during the Illini's Pro Day.
The three-year starting guard impressed the 32 NFL teams that were in attendance with a workout that should put the so-far-under-the-radar prospect squarely in the mix to be a Day Three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which runs from April 23-25.
According to NFL scouts in attendance, Gesky ran between a 4.94 and 5.00-second 40-yard dash, which would've ranked among the top-10 among offensive linemen at the NFL Combine. He also had a vertical leap of 33 inches (would've ranked fifth at the Combine), a broad jump of 9-foot-1 (which would've ranked in the middle of Combine participants) and had 30 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press (fourth among Combine participants).
"I wanted to obviously show how fast I am here, so I'm a little bit lighter now. I'm able to move," Gesky told Illini Inquirer. "I'm able to show I can play at 308, I'm able to play at 330. Whatever teams need me at, I'm going to be able to go out there and show them I can do it. I thought today was a great opportunity to show them that. I felt really good about the numbers I put up. I worked a lot of long hours, a lot of people to thank for it, a lot of work went into it. All my speed coaches, all my strength coaches, very grateful for all the work they put in."
Following a day that will likely boost his NFL Draft stock, Gesky made sure to shout out many in the Illinois program who helped lead to the moment: head coach Bret Bielema, offensive line coach Bart Miller, assistant offensive line coach Byron Bell, former assistant offensive line coach Adam Kleffner and offensive front assistant Blake Smithback, as well as strength and conditioning coach Tank Wright.
But Gesky also singled out another influential person in his development: former Illini and NFL offensive lineman Tony Pashos, who has helped train Gesky for the past four years.
"He helped me develop along my journey," Gesky said. "He helped me from the technique, the IQ of football, helped me in aspect of football: the speed, the strength, the conditioning. He was great at developing me along with Illinois. I feel like they were a great connection. Him and Illinois together, they kind of went hand in hand. They worked great together."
Pashos lives close to Gesky in Manteno. He knew Joel Gesky, Josh's father, through some mutual acquaintances, and Tony met Josh when he played high school ball. But after Josh's freshman season at Illinois, Joel asked Pashos — who was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Illinois, a fifth-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and had an decade-long career in the NFL — if he could help train Josh during the offseason.