Thursday night will be a big night for Jace Amaro, the Texas Tech University record-breaking tight end who threw his name into this year's 2014 NFL Draft, hoping for his skills to attract the attention of a pro football team.

Amaro, one of only a few Latinos that are in the vast pool of NFL Draft hopefuls, thrived under Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury's fast-paced offense -- the former star quarterback at Texas Tech who took the vacant coaching job last year. Amaro caught 106 passes for 1,352 yards -- a Football Bowl Subdivision single-season record for yards and yards-per-game for a tight end. Considering most NFL draft experts are identifying that as a "down year" for quality All-Pro tight ends, Amaro's skill-sets make him an appealing draft pick in the first and second round.

"He's a very natural hands catcher, and he's a mismatch inside against the linebacker or safety," said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock to USA Today Sports. "He could slide late into the first round, but I doubt it. I think he's gonna be an early second-round pick."

Amaro's junior year at Texas Tech was a 180-degree turn from his 2012 season, when he was arrested for credit card fraud, but had the charges dropped after proving that he had permission to use the credit card.

Amaro also missed six games that season with a lacerated spleen, fractured rib and internal bleeding, which cost him half of the season. Amaro recovered in time to play in the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, but ended up getting ejected after punching University of Minnesota Gophers safety Derrick Wells during the game.

"The credit card thing was something that could have been prevented. It was a lack of knowledge on my part. I got in a bad situation. It had nothing to do with me being me. We didn't really do anything wrong," said Amaro about the credit card incident. "With the [punch], I kind of just reacted. You need to learn to control yourself in those situations and realize you can't do that in a game. Any one of the coaching staff would tell you I would be the last guy they would expect to do that."

While Amaro is the type of new-school NFL tight end that can play line up in the slotback or the wide receiver position to create mismatches against linebackers and the secondary (NFL.com describes Amaro as "an oversized receiver"), Amaro takes great pride in his blocking ability, despite the fact that the art of blocking is not as glamorous as catching a touchdown. Amaro points out that his Texas Tech coaches emphasize blocking downfield and that blocking is an underrated part of his game. Amaro's blocking ability gives him a slight advantage over University of North Carolina Tar Heel tight end Eric Ebron, who is considered the top-ranked tight end on the draft board, but whose blocking abilities have come into question.

"My sophomore year, I would have 10, 11, 12 pancakes a game," said Amaro. "People saying I can't block, I'm not really sure what they're watching."

Former Atlanta Falcon and Kansas City Chief tight end, Tony Gonzalez, who revolutionized the position, likes Amaro's physical attributes coming out of college. Ironically, Gonzalez's ex-team, the Atlanta Falcons, are looking at Amaro as a possible replacement for the retired future NFL Hall of Famer, with the Green Bay Packers, New England Partiots, New York Jets and New York Giants all scouting the young tight end as a potential first or second round draft pick, if he is still left on the board.

"Back in the day, a guy like Jace Amaro probably would've played defensive end," Gonzalez told USA Today. "You can't guard him, especially in the red zone. It's like, 'Jace, we're just gonna throw it in the air, doesn't matter who's on you.'"

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