DeMarcus Ware played wide receiver and linebacker for a 5-5 football team at Auburn High School as a senior. That spring, he completed his prep career by playing right field as the Tigers reached the semifinals of the AHSAA Class 6A baseball playoffs and finishing 15th in the 6A boys’ long jump at the state outdoor track and field championships.

At that point, it probably wouldn’t have been reasonable to predict that 22 years later, Ware would be on the doorstep of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But he is.

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On Thursday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce its Class of 2023, and Ware is among the 15 modern-era finalists being considered for enshrinement.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Ware said during an appearance on “OutKick 360.” “It’s almost like the Super Bowl. I gave my whole resume out every single year, but now this is my final resume and I get to put that out there each time. And how cool would it be that now all the things, the hard work that you put in get enshrined forever with the best? And that’s saying a lot when you say with the best. That’s like that 1 percent of guys that even play in the NFL even make the Hall of Fame.”

Two decades ago, the opportunity of a lifetime for Ware seemed like the chance to earn a college degree and play football Troy.

“I didn’t know what recruitment was,” Ware said. “I had one school that offered me a scholarship, which was Troy University. I ran like a 4.7. I was a 185-pound wide receiver coming out. And they said, ‘DeMarcus, when you get to Troy, we’re going to put you at defensive end.’ At the time, they were Division I-AA, so we played a lot of the Jacksonville States, the Alabama States, the Alabama A&Ms. So we played those small teams, so me being at 195 was normal.

“But it just got to a point where I got that scholarship, and we started playing these big schools like Marshall and Missouri, and I’m like, ‘I can’t play Nebraska at 185. Are you kidding me?’ And so, lo and behold, I grew 3 inches, and I gained 50 pounds in four years and ran a 4.3. So that was genetics plus being able to get on the right program at the right time.”

Troy made its transition from NCAA I-AA to NCAA I-A football in Ware’s first season. The Trojans’ first game in 2001 came against Nebraska, but Troy also still had four Division I-AA opponents on its schedule that season and had four more in 2002. By Ware’s senior campaign in 2004, the Trojans didn’t have any.

The Dallas Cowboys made Ware the 11th player picked in the 2005 NFL Draft, as he became the first first-round selection from Troy.

In nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Ware earned first-team All-Pro recognition four times and was picked for the Pro Bowl seven times. Ware spent his final three seasons with the Denver Broncos, earning two more Pro Bowl invitations and helping the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 to cap the 2015 season.

Ware ranks ninth on the NFL’s career sacks list with 138.5 during his 12 seasons, and he led the league in sacks in 2008 with 20 and 2010 with 15.5

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 will be chosen from the 15 modern-era finalists, Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko, Ken Riley and Don Coryell by the 49-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

A player is considered modern era if he has been retired for at least five seasons and was active within the past 25 seasons. Howley, Klecko and Riley are the senior nominees (predating the 25-year window for modern-era nominees), and Coryell is the nominee of the Coach/Contributor Committee.

Former Vigor High School and Auburn star Willie Anderson also is a modern-era finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. Anderson and Ware have reached finalist status for the second straight year.

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The other modern-era finalists for the Class of 2023 include Jared Allen, Ronde Barber, Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Albert Lewis, Darrelle Revis, Joe Thomas, Zach Thomas, Reggie Wayne, Patrick Willis and Darren Woodson.

Fifteen men who played at Alabama high schools and colleges are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The state’s Hall of Famers are Robert Brazile (Vigor), Buck Buchanan (Parker), Frank Gatski (Auburn), Kevin Greene (Auburn), John Hannah (Albertville, Alabama), Don Hutson (Alabama), Walter Jones (Aliceville), Joe Namath (Alabama), Ozzie Newsome (Colbert County, Alabama), Terrell Owens (Benjamin Russell), Ken Stabler (Foley, Alabama), John Stallworth (Tuscaloosa, Alabama A&M), Bart Starr (Sidney Lanier, Alabama), Dwight Stephenson (Alabama) and Derrick Thomas (Alabama).

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.