American Idol NC | NC native, former NFL player Blake Proehl headed to Hollywood

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — Following a compelling audition, a former NFL player from North Carolina is on his way to Hollywood.

Blake Proehl, formerly with the Minnesota Vikings, performed “In case you didn’t know” by Brett Young for judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie.

Proehl received applause from all three judges and was commended for his audition.

“If you will allow us to be your coaches, you’re gonna be top 10,” said Perry.

“I wrote one thing down that stood out. Natural,” Richie said.

Proehl played football for East Carolina University as a wide receiver before becoming an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings, as reported by ABC affiliate WSOC.

He later left the team after sustaining an injury.

“I went through a really tough injury…I tore a bunch of stuff,” Proehl shared in an interview with Ryan Seacrest. “They said hey it’ll be a success story if you’re able to run again in general.”

Proehl turned to music while recovering from his injury and credited his grandmother as the reason for his decision to audition.

“My grandma is the reason why I’m here,” he said. “She’s the reason why I have any confidence at all to be in this room.”

You can watch Blake’s performance again on Monday on Hulu.