GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Sometimes the best advice is to not take the advice you're offered.

That's certainly the case for offensive tackle D.J. Humphries.

D.J. Humphries has gone from being told by the NFL to stay in school to now being a likely first-round pick in the draft. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

When the 6-foot-5, 307-pounder was considering leaving the University of Florida after three seasons, he did what nearly every other player does: petitioned the NFL for information regarding his potential draft position. When he got the results back in December, it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

He was told to stay in school.

It's a good thing Humphries didn't listen because now he's regarded as a first-round pick and his draft stock continues to rise. ESPN analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have Humphries going 25th to the Carolina Panthers and 28th to the Denver Broncos, respectively, in their latest mock drafts.

"It's been awesome," said Humphries, who started 19 games for the Gators from 2012 to 2014. "It's been an amazing experience, coming from being told I need to go back to school to being projected [in] the first round. That was my goal, to be honest. It was what I was trying to do so it's amazing to set goals and accomplish them."

One of the concerns about Humphries was his ability to put on and maintain weight. He was a five-start recruit when he arrived at UF in 2012, but he weighed only 250 pounds. Humphries would work in the offseason to get bigger, but he would gradually lose the weight during the season.

He said he has put on 22 pounds since the 2014 season ended and believes he'll be able to remain more than 300 pounds because he has changed his eating habits.

"When I was in college my whole thought process was to stuff as many calories in my face as I can -- eat a whole pizza before I go to sleep type deal," Humphries said. "I just learned I don't have to do that. I can eat the right stuff. I can eat grilled chicken, right type of pastas and stuff like that, but just eat a lot of it and still gain good weight.

"I'm going to be honest with you, since I been over 300 pounds I've been kind of like formed the fat-boy mentality. Nowadays if I don't eat every 3-4 hours I get a little irritated. So I've just got to keep myself full these days."

That's some good advice that he has taken.