CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than 300 former college football players will convene next week in Indianapolis for the scouting combine in pursuit of their NFL dream.

More than a thousand more will participate in pro days over the next few months, hoping to get a call during the April 28-30 draft or immediately afterward, when teams fill out rosters with undrafted players.

Safety J.T. Ibe was one of the latter a year ago, earning what he considered at the time to be his dream job with the Carolina Panthers.

Then, on Aug. 3, 2021, in the time it took the former University of South Carolina safety to make what Panthers coach Matt Rhule called an "unacceptable" hit in training camp, the dream was over.

Ibe was cut less than 30 minutes after Rhule kicked him out of practice for a helmet shot that sent wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to the hospital. He was on a plane and home in Texas less than four hours after the incident that got national attention when video of the hit went viral.

A closer look at the JT Ibe hit that took Keith Kirkwood out of practice + into an ambulance. pic.twitter.com/87JnosMrqr

— John Ellis (@1PantherPlace) August 3, 2021

It happened so fast that Ibe wasn’t sure what happened.

"Like in everything in life, you have the law of physics," Ibe told ESPN.com. "For every reaction, there’s an opposite reaction. And it’s about how you respond to that. My football career was f---ing crazy. And then for it to end like that, it makes sense, right?

"I’m back on my feet now because that reaction caused another reaction. Unless you curl up like a ball, you have to keep going."

Today, the 25-year-old is working in software sales. His message to those now beginning their NFL journey is to "enjoy every moment," because you never know when or how it will end.

"Because at the end of the day, there’s a lot of things that are out of our control," Ibe said. "I can’t control that situation. I can’t control how a coach is going to respond. So the lesson I would say is enjoy every moment because, like in life, nothing’s guaranteed."

The other part of Ibe’s message?

"It’s not a dream," he said. "It’s a job."

The release

As much as Ibe tries to put the hit that changed his life behind him, the memory of it remains fresh.

"Oh, yeah, this is deep," he said. "So I got kicked off the field. I’m walking back to the locker room upset. I really didn’t even know what happened. It’s just like the whole team is looking at me. Practice stops completely, and then I’m crying."

As Ibe sat in the locker room at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, collecting his thoughts on everything that happened, general manager Scott Fitterer walked in.

"I get released," Ibe said. "It was super fast. That’s why it went viral. It was a brash decision, right? The way I work, you never make emotional decisions. And you can call this an emotional decision because it happened so fast."

Ibe understands how bad the hit looked, but as he did the day it happened, he insisted he wasn’t trying to hurt Kirkwood, that he simply was trying to make a play on the ball.

He asked trainers to apologize to Kirkwood and later issued a statement through his agent, Ray Haija, that said, "Truthfully, I feel terrible for the play. I’m glad Keith is doing fine, but as a teammate, I’m supposed to protect my brothers during practice and I didn’t do that today, and I let the team and coaches down.

"I was aiming for the ball and didn’t think I hit him that hard or launched into him, but looking back at the clip, I didn’t choose the most efficient way."

Ibe also talked to Kirkwood personally to apologize.

"He’s like, ‘Dude, that’s just the media. They have to eat that story up. I know you didn’t do it on purpose,"’ Ibe said. "But you don’t hear that side of the thing because it’s not what gets clicks."

Haija said he’s never had a client released that quickly over one play or one mistake.

"The intensity of [the Panthers’] actions was a little more intense than it needed to be for that moment," he said. "Generally, they don’t end up losing their opportunity because of that."

Tarnished images

Ibe still considers himself "physically gifted enough" to play in the NFL. He also feels branded by the image of his hit to the point that no team will give him a chance.

And even if a team did, he likely wouldn’t take it.

"Being honest, I just don’t respect the business," Ibe said. "Why would you want to be a part of a business that does that to your image? I understand business, but [what happened to me] changed my opinion of the NFL."

Ibe didn’t look at it that way in 2020, when he spent the year working in software sales and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic because no team wanted him.

His goal still was to fulfill his NFL dream after spending four years at Rice and two at South Carolina in an extended college career caused by injuries.

He finally achieved that after putting up strong enough numbers at South Carolina’s 2021 pro day to be signed by the Panthers entering their second season under Rhule.

Now Ibe barely watches football because his image of the game he played since his childhood is as tarnished as his own image became after that one play.

"I could have stopped at COVID, when I didn’t get a pro day, and I already had started working, but I still had an itch," Ibe said. "And so I went back. Now I don’t have that itch at all. Once you lose respect for something, you can’t go back."

It’s a business

Ibe’s phone has been quiet, at least in terms of interest from the NFL.

"It really just forced me to look at things from a different perspective," Ibe said. "The NFL is a business. ... They can run those businesses however they choose."

What’s important to Ibe is he persevered after the hit just as he persevered after not getting a shot at the NFL initially in 2019.

He credits his parents, who were born in Nigeria and moved to Texas in the 1980s to chase the "American Dream," for giving him the power of resilience. He noted that his father came to the U.S. hoping to become an architect, drove taxis when that fell through, and ultimately owned the taxi company that enabled him to support his family.

"This is why I am the way I am, because of my parents and the way they bounced back from everything," Ibe said. "I just try to believe life is about how you react to everything."

That doesn’t mean Ibe regrets pursuing the NFL. He believes the drive it took to get to the league will help him succeed in business -- and as a side job to his software sales, he advises people in his new world on what it takes to reach their goals.

Ibe’s mother, Franca, is proud of the way her son has handled this situation. She recalled the countless times since he began playing pee wee football that she tried to convince him to stop, but each time he told her he could make it.

"He bounced back very, very well," said Franca, a nurse. "A little setback. But as long as you still have your mind and know what you want to do, I know he’s going to make it in life, to make it big the way he wants in life."

Haija agreed.

"He’s a great guy who is going to have a great life," he said. "This is going to be a piece of his story, but he’s got many things ahead of him."

Ibe’s only regret was allowing his dream of getting to the NFL to initially define him.

"In the end, it’s just a job," he said. "Three years ago, I would have thought, 'Wow, I’m an NFL player!'

"Now I would tell other players don’t put your whole identity into the game, because once you leave the game, nobody cares about you."