It was around this time last year when Cole Tracy and his Assumption College roommate, Matt Hickey, were hanging out and watching TV, and the NFL Network was rolling commercials for coverage of the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine.

“We were joking,” Tracy, who had signed with LSU as a graduate transfer for the 2018 season, recalled last week, “and he would say, ‘Dude, if you have a good season, this is a good possibility.’

“Not that we knew it was going to happen,” Tracy said, “and we definitely couldn’t have predicted this whole season was going to go this way, but we were definitely aware of what comes with a good season at this level.”

Tracy, who is from Camarillo, California, was a record-setting kicker at Assumption and went on to do the same during his marvelous season at LSU, while etching his name in the NCAA record book as well. His rise from Division 2 star to big-time college football luminary stirred pride at Assumption and in Worcester and drew national recognition.

“Cole Tracy Mania” seemed to reach a crescendo when he drilled the winning 42-yard field goal as time expired in a mid-September game at Auburn.

It only escalated from there.

Tracy went on to earn first-team All-SEC honors and second team All-America honors from Walter Camp, the Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association. He was finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to college football’s top placekicker, and was selected for the Senior Bowl.

In LSU’s Fiesta Bowl win over Central Florida, Tracy made all four of his field goal attempts to set the NCAA all-division record with 97 career field goals. He also owns the NCAA all-division record for points by kicking with 502.

Soon after the Senior Bowl, Tracy received his invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, which is being held this week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It’s the next step in fulfilling his dream of playing in the NFL.

“The last six months, it’s been on the run,” Tracy said in a phone interview from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he trained for the combine at LSU’s facilities. “It hasn’t slowed down at all, which is good. That’s kind of how I naturally am anyway, always on the move. For some people, it might overwhelm them or they might not enjoy it, but for me, I love it. I love being able to go from one thing to the next and this year definitely has been that.

“It’s been crazy, absolutely crazy. I’m just really fortunate for all the great opportunities and really humbled. It’s crazy, the whole story, and I’m just trying to write as many chapters as I can. It’s been so much fun.”

Tracy, who connected on 29 of 33 field goals for the Tigers, made all 42 of his PATs and, in his LSU debut, tied a school record with a 54-yard field goal, is one of three placekickers invited to the combine. The group is scheduled for on-field workouts Friday.

“It’s about 15 kicks or so, and each one you move back 5 yards, and there’s a kickoff portion,” Tracy said. “The first three days (of the combine) are psychological testing, medical testing and interviews where teams will really ask whatever they want, kicking related or non-kicking related, whatever is going to allow them to get to know us the best way they can.”

Last week, Tracy met with LSU special teams coordinator Greg McMahon, who spent 11 seasons on the New Orleans Saints staff, to get an idea of what to expect. Tracy has been training with LSU strength coach Earl Chevalier, whom he worked with all season.

“I wanted to take advantage of the training facilities that we have here,” Tracy said, “and I’ve been working with Earl Chevalier since I got here, so we were thinking it wasn’t really worth it trying to find a new trainer who would have to learn what I’m good at and what I’m not. He’s really good, and he’s very specialized in people who are specialized.

"I’m not going to be participating in the 40-yard dash or the bench press (at the combine), so we didn’t want to go with a traditional facility where they’re training defensive backs or linebackers. My position is completely different. He emphasizes stuff to keep me fluid and moving as quickly as I can.”

Tracy has also struck up a friendship with Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen. The two first met, through Assumption vice president of advancement Tim Stanton, at the 2018 Walter Camp Football Foundation Awards Dinner. Tracy and Andersen have remained in contact and even had a recent kicking session together.

“We talked about the NFL game,” Tracy said. “We talked about his experiences and how they might help me further my game.”

Tracy is also in regular contact with Bob Chesney, his coach at Assumption who is now at Holy Cross. Chesney and his wife, Andrea, were in attendance at the Fiesta Bowl.

“He’s obviously still very involved in this whole process and in my life,” Tracy said.

In November, Tracy was in Worcester for an Assumption football game during LSU’s bye week.

After the combine, Tracy will participate in LSU’s pro day March 22.

The NFL Draft is April 25-27 in Nashville, Tennessee. Just two kickers were drafted last year and a total of six in the previous four years.

“I’m not sure (if I’ll be drafted),” Tracy said. “A lot of it depends on the next few steps, the combine, the pro day, if you can impress whomever the best that you can. A lot of it has to be the right fit. I’m hoping (I get drafted), but if not then I’m just looking for any type of opportunity. It was the same thing at LSU — I was just looking for a shot.”

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JenTandG.