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With spring sports canceled and no Boise State games or practices to write about, the Idaho Press is using this time to check in with former Boise State athletes. This is another entry in our series called ‘Where are they now’.

Sean Modster redshirted in 2014 and played for the Boise State football team from 2015-18. He had just 11 catches in his first three seasons in the Boise State football program, but had 100 catches in his final two years. He had 68 catches for 978 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior, and would have likely joined the 1,000-yard receiving club had the First Responder Bowl against Boston College not gotten canceled in his final game as a Bronco in 2018. Modster signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens last April, and earned a spot on the practice squad for the 2019 season. He’s hoping to stick on the Ravens’ 53-man roster in 2020.

Idaho Press: What was it like as a member of the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, and how were you able to stick despite not being a high draft prospect coming out of Boise State?

Sean Modster: It was a good time. I experienced a lot, learned a lot and now I know what I need to get better at moving forward. I was kind of a late bloomer coming out of college and wasn’t really having much production early on, but heading into my senior year, I wanted to do the best I could to leave my mark at Boise State. I wasn’t trying to get to the NFL, but fortunately I did enough to be recognized and was given the opportunity to continue my career in football. The Ravens came along and gave me a spot to fight for another spot and I always wanted to be on the 53-man roster, but it was great to be on the practice squad and develop myself and my skill set and get my feet wet in terms of being in the league.

It can be like, ‘Oh you’re just on the practice squad,’ but it’s still a job and they are paying you and you have to take it very seriously. You’re going against the starters every day, so why not get the most out of it and learn that you can compete with the best and take that to heart every day and keep getting better and you’ll be where you want to be. Just being part of the team, I’m grateful and hoping to take what I learned and try to be better next year to make the team. I’ll show up to OTAs (Organized Team Activities) and camp ready to go.

IP: What was it like getting to play in some NFL preseason games?

SM: It was cool getting to play on some different fields. To think you were playing against NFL guys, it was kind of surreal. You don’t want to make it too complicated. You’ve played football your whole life, so you know the rhythm and feeling on game day. It’s another notch up, but it was fun to let loose and complete.

IP: How cool is it to be getting paid to play football?

SM: It’s pretty cool. In college you don’t get that benefit and know you’re getting paid doing something you really enjoy. I take it very seriously because this is a job that others wish they could do and I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to do that. I don’t want to take it for granted. Every day is a blessing. It’s very humbling to be out there with some of the greats.

IP: What memories or thoughts come to mind from your time at Boise State?

SM: I grew up on life lessons, my parents and grandparents always shared life lessons with me and that’s how I look back on things. One was ‘What can I do better?’ And really that would have been taking serious the first two or three years of college. I didn’t really strive for my best. I didn’t want the best for myself as a football player, so now I’m constantly doing it. Being at Boise State, the memories and experiences and hard work, that’s the stuff I grew on to be part of my structure and my process as I try to be my best.

IP: Is there a game or moment that stands out to you?

SM: Oh yeah. I go back to the Virginia game in 2016 when I dropped some balls and had one of the worst games of my career. But that process of being patient, we had the bye week next and knowing where I was at, ‘I’m not a good football player’, my faith was low, I was down on myself. But I’m glad I had teammates and was around people that cared for me, and when the BYU game came next after the bye, I scored my first touchdown. It was just a process of never giving up and looking back and saying ‘Why did I look down on myself when the result was always going to happen?’ I learned about my faith in God and to trust him and be faithful to the process.

IP: How did you go from someone that had 11 catches your first two years at Boise State to 100 catches in your final two years?

SM: Really just taking things seriously and not taking anything for granted. You have to look at each day as something special and something you get to do and not something you have to do. I took it seriously every day, where it was, ‘I get to practice, I get to run these plays, I get to be around my teammates.’ I was on the verge of not being part of the team anymore, and not being part of that atmosphere, and that was my own decision to make, and something I took very seriously and something I grew on and something that drove me to be better, not just for myself, but for my teammates. God promises his blessings and he took care of the rest.

IP: How will you remember your time at Boise State and do you still try to follow the team?

SM: I feel really proud. I’m a proud alumni of Boise State. Every year there will be people that leave, but new faces come in and I know how that is, and looking back on the younger guys under me, I was proud to see them go out and play for each other and do what they did last year. I’m really proud of those guys. I have a bond with them from when I was there and that will always be passed down from generation to generation. I love what the team is doing. I always watch the games. I wanted to come to the championship game or the bowl game but couldn’t last year, but it definitely won’t be the last time I’m in Boise.

This article originally ran on idahopress.com.

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