A Wildcat is changing his stripes.

    Former Meridian High standout Cordera Eason is now a Cincinnati Bengal, after inking a free agent deal following the NFL Draft on Saturday.

    “It feels good,” Eason said about being a professional athlete now. “It hasn’t hit me yet that I’m moving on, but I’m just trying to enjoy it right now.”   

    Eason, a former Ole Miss running back, wasn’t among the 255 names called during the three-day event. Still, after toting the ball just 186 times in his four years — 140 coming in 2008 when he was second on the team with 647 yards — in Oxford for 801 yards, Eason is just ready for an opportunity to show what he can do. He began to do that with a strong showing at Ole Miss’ pro day in late March. It also raised his hopes for a selection in the draft. However, he is now just focused on proving his worth when he heads to Cincinnati on Thursday for a minicamp that begins Friday.

    “I was projected to be from like the fourth round to a free agent,” he added. “I expected to get drafted in the later rounds, but I didn’t get too down on the situation because all I ever wanted was a shot, an opportunity. I’ve got the opportunity now, and it’s a great opportunity to go in and show what I can do. I don’t look at the draft as a failure because there’s many people who didn’t get drafted that became successful.

    “I got the phone call from Marvin Lewis and he asked if I wanted to be a Bengal, and congratulations and stuff like that. That to me, that meant more than the average because most guys don’t get the opportunity.”

    It won’t be his first visit to Cincinnati. Prior to the draft, Eason visited the Bengals and that trip helped seal his decision to join Cincinnati.

    “Me and the running backs coach got along real well,” he said. “We sat in a room and talked for like an hour about different things in the offense. The offense that they run is kind of similar to what I’ve been running at Ole Miss. Of course, they’ve got some wrinkles to it and different things, but the basic concept — blocking scheme and stuff like that — is pretty much similar to what I’m used to at Ole Miss.

    “I feel like that gives me a head’s up going in there because I kind of know the blocking scheme. Then, they love the inside zone and that’s like my favorite play period. That’s what I love doing, the inside zone. And they love running it, so everything just kind of tied in. It just fit perfect.”

    In the end, that connection with Jim Anderson, helped sway Eason away from his childhood favorite New Orleans.

    “The Saints were pushing real hard,” Eason said, adding that the New York Giants were also in contact with him during the draft. “They kept calling me throughout the draft.

    “The (Saints) are basically the hometown team with no team in Mississippi. That’s all I looked up to was Saints. Deuce (McAllister), I watched him. And my family loves the Saints.

    “It was hard. But it’s a business thing and it had to be done. They had a good situation also, but I just felt like Cincinnati was the place.”