Getting the chance was the first step for former Kansas University football player Austine Nwabuisi. Now, he’s itching to make the most of it.

Nwabuisi, a former KU fullback, agreed to a contract Sunday with the New York Jets after not being selected in last weekend’s NFL Draft. Nwabuisi will head Thursday to New York, where he’ll take part in the Jets’ mini-camp to show them what he’s made of.

“I’m real excited,” Nwabuisi said. “All I wanted was an opportunity to go somewhere and prove myself.”

The Jets gave it, just as they did former Jayhawk Adrian Jones, now an offensive lineman with New York after being drafted last year in the fourth round.

Nwabuisi’s not sure when or where the Jets’ interest in him heightened, but it may have been in March at KU’s Pro Day at Anschutz Sports Pavilion. There, Nwabuisi and several of his senior classmates showed off during different speed, strength and agility drills for a dozen or so NFL scouts.

It paid off for a few Jayhawks. Defensive end David McMillan, who also shone at the NFL Combine, was drafted in the fifth round Sunday by Cleveland, and tight end Lyonel Anderson agreed to a contract Sunday with the Cincinnati Bengals after working out for several different franchises during the last month.

Nwabuisi wasn’t an obvious pro prospect to the untrained eye, largely because his duties as KU’s starting fullback primarily were without the football.

“I didn’t play as much at Kansas as I would’ve liked,” Nwabuisi said.

“I felt like (Pro Day) gave me a chance to show off my athletic ability. My speed and my size are things they probably liked.”

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Nwabuisi had six career touchdowns, including three his senior season. But he had just 17 carries his first three years, and rushed 25 times for 98 yards his senior year, including touchdown runs against Toledo, Texas and Missouri.

The ball-carrying opportunities were sparse, but New York saw something in Nwabuisi, an athletic 6-foot, 235-pounder. The Jets kept in touch with Nwabuisi’s agent during the last several weeks and soon after the draft agreed to a contract.

Nwabuisi’s slated to play fullback for the Jets, but the Houston native admitted he would play just about anywhere if it meant getting on an NFL field.

Thursday will be his first step toward doing that.

“I’m a little bit nervous,” he said, “but most of all, I’m ready to go out there and just play football.”