In the final game of his college career, the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 21 last year, Wyoming wide receiver Tanner Gentry put on a show with seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns in pouring rain.

That performance capped a stellar senior season for Gentry, a 2013 Grandview High School graduate. He finished last season with 72 catches for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns — and seemed to be on the fast track to being selected in the NFL draft.

“I felt like I did everything I could during my senior year to show I was ready for the NFL,” Gentry said. “I caught the tough passes, I performed well on the big stages, and I knew I had put in the work going all the way back to my high school days.”

His predraft, pro-day workout at Wyoming further buoyed those hopes, as his speed (4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash), strength (19 bench-press reps) and hops (38-inch vertical leap) pointed toward being drafted.

But the seven-round draft came, and went, and Gentry wasn’t selected. When he signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

“It’s almost an identical situation to when I came out of high school, because at Grandview I had really good tape and a good high school career, but only landed two scholarship offers and was only a two-star recruit,” Gentry said. “Then I went to college and did the same thing — put up big numbers my last two seasons — but a great college career left me underrated again.”

His three-year, $1.6 million contract with the Bears aside — which is dependent upon Gentry making the team’s final 53-man roster — the 6-2, 210-pound wideout realizes there is once again a gulf between what he has done and what he is projected to do.

The knock on Gentry is that he put up big numbers in a conference, the Mountain West, that isn’t in the power five; that he’s too short to be a dominant NFL wideout; and that his athleticism doesn’t compare to prospects such as Western Michigan’s Corey Davis, who was the first wideout selected in the draft (the fifth overall pick).

But Gentry thrives on flying under the radar.

“He plays better with a chip on his shoulder,” said Nick Vinson, Gentry’s longtime trainer at Elite Speed Sports Performance in Centennial. “And I think the fact he’s been neglected in the football scene his entire life has always created a push for him on the field. He hears the doubts loud and clear, just as he did coming out of high school.”

Gentry heads to Chicago on May 11 for the Bears’ rookie minicamp. The Bears didn’t draft a wide receiver this year but have holes to fill at the position.

“I know they need help at receiver, and I’m confident that I can go out there and earn a spot,” Gentry said. “I can be a guy who will catch every ball, who will fight to make plays on 50-50 catches, and who plays hard and with passion and makes the most of every snap.”

As is usually the case in the learning curve between college and the NFL, football IQ is crucial for Gentry to earn a starting role with the Bears.

“It comes down to playbook knowledge,” Vinson said. “He’s going to have to learn that like the back of his hand. His schedule is 6:45 in the morning to 7 at night in the rookie developmental program this summer, so he’ll have to go home after those long days and study that playbook until he falls asleep.”

It’s a challenge Gentry is more than ready for.

“I know I have a lot of people to go prove wrong,” Gentry said. “That’s all the motivation I need heading into camp.”