Video: Prospects Showcase Skills in Front of NFL Scouts at MSU Pro Day

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Over 30 NFL scouts representing 27 league teams gathered to watch one of the winningest senior classes in Mississippi State football history at 2017 MSU Pro Day on Wednesday at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.

A total of 19 Bulldogs, including 14 from the 2016 squad, participated in drills, position workouts and testing. Players were given the option to participate in the tests and drills of their choosing following weighing in.

“These guys and a lot of young guys have dreams of going off to play in the NFL,” ninth-year head coach Dan Mullen said. “These are guys who have worked hard throughout their career. They worked hard and played hard for Mississippi State and they were successful on and off the field. This was another day for them to be able to come out and showcase their skills and go live their dreams.”

NFL Combine participant Fred Ross ran the shuttle and routes only after a solid performance earlier this month. Ross will be interviewing with multiple NFL teams over the next month.

“I just wanted to come out here and be consistent,” Ross said. “I wanted to catch the football and show that I could run good routes. I wanted to show that I could be explosive and show that I can be a great football player. I think I showed that today and did that.”

Richie Brown, who played in the East West Shrine Game, had an impressive day. Brown posted one of the top vertical jump marks at 37 inches and then showed his footwork during linebacker drills.

Speedster Brandon Holloway clocked the fastest 40-yard dash time of the day at 4.31 seconds. Holloway, who has been training in his hometown of Tampa since the St. Petersburg Bowl, also had the best broad jump at 10-2. Safety Kivon Coman notched a 4.5 40 and had the best vertical of the day at 39.5 inches.

Several current NFL Bulldogs showed up to cheer on the aspiring pros, including Preston Smith of the Washington Redskins, Ryan Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, Gabe Jackson of the Oakland Raiders, Dillon Day of the Denver Broncos, Kaleb Eulls of the Los Angeles Chargers and three-year NFL standout Josh Boyd.

“I love seeing those guys come back,” Mullen said. “I think that is a special deal seeing all of those guys come back and support their old teammates. I just love when they come around. It shows what their belief in the program is, the University and the football family we have here when they come to support.”

“It’s big because coming to State, those were the guys that we looked up to,” Ross said. “Those are the guys that we admired and watched them play. They’re all on to bigger and better things, so it’s a motivation booster to come out here and do well because you know they’re watching. It was great to have those guys here.”
Defensive end A.J. Jefferson went through position drills and will likely hold his own private workouts with teams. Jefferson, a team captain, underwent shoulder surgery in early December and is working his way back to full strength.

The NFL Draft will take place April 27-29.

MSU Pro Day Quotes

Head Coach Dan Mullen

On how much he enjoyed watching the guys workout…

“It was fun. I thought they did a really good job in what we got to see. These guys and a lot of young guys have dreams of going off to play in the NFL. These are guys who have worked hard throughout their career. They worked hard and played hard for Mississippi State and they were successful on and off the field. This was another day for them to be able to come out and showcase their skills and go live their dreams.”

“I love seeing those guys come back. I think that is a special deal seeing all of those guys come back and support their old teammates. I just love when they come around. It shows what their belief in the program is, the university and the football family we have here when they come to support.”

“I think it is the older guys that come back, and when the young guys talk to the guys that are in the league, they see there is a certain standard and expectation that you have to carry when you represent our program when you get there. I think that has helped open the door for some of the other guys when NFL teams come up and say, ‘hey, we know if we get a guy from Mississippi State they are going to work their tail off every single day for us.’ That is something for me that is really special. That we have that kind of reputation and it is now a responsibility for the other guys to carry on.”

On Fred Ross…

“I think he ran a good time at the Combine and posted some good numbers. He’s a football player. I think he has the opportunity, like he did here, to play all three positions. He has the flexibility to do a lot of different things at the next level. When you have small rosters, those are very valuable traits.”

Defensive End A.J. Jefferson

“It was really fun. I almost cried when I saw a couple of those guys because I haven’t seen them since December because I’ve been off training. It was fun being able to work out with them one more time right here. Nick (James) always sounds like a bulldog when he does drills, so he made it interesting. It was a reunion out here seeing everybody get this work in. Everybody was striving towards one goal.”

“It means a lot. When we were over there doing bench presses, I heard someone screaming in my ear, almost biting me. I turned around and it was Josh Boyd. He was screaming at people doing the bench press. So I was like “Yeah, let’s do this.”  It means a lot for them to let u know that they still care and support us. They want what’s best for us.”

On his plans for the future…

“I’m just riding the wave and going to see what’s next. I’m going to continue rehabbing and am going to see what comes next.”

Linebacker Richie Brown

On his Pro Day…
“It’s been a good day. I feel happy with most everything that I did, maybe just not one or two drills that I think I could have done a little better at. But it was a pretty good day.”

On his training since the end of the season…

“It’s been great. I was down in Pensacola. It was beautiful weather. I think the coldest weather that we had was spring   break last week, ironically. It was 70 degrees pretty much the whole time. It was a good work with good people. So I have had a good two months.”

On what he worked on to prepare for Pro Day…

“I’ve gotten some better technique and a little bit more explosive. I’ve worked a lot on mobility and change of direction. So I was working on those kind of things.”

On his approach once Pro Day started …

“Your heart is racing. It was two months of preparation that you were constantly thinking about that moment so you just have to calm yourself and lean back on your roots of playing in the games in order to calm down.”

Wide Receiver Fred Ross

On the possibility of being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys…

“It would be big. I’m from Texas. I live like an hour away from Dallas. It would be big for my family to get to come watch me play. And then to be reunited with Dak [Prescott] would be a big thing.”

On how quickly his Pro Day arrived…

“It’s crazy. I remember coming out here and watching Dak last year and watching Preston Smith and Benardrick [McKinney], and it’s just crazy because time goes by so fast. Today went by fast, but it was just great to be out here with my team again and being able to compete with them one last time.”

On having NFL Bulldogs here to support him…

“It’s big because coming to State, those were the guys that we looked up to. Those are the guys that we admired and watched them play. They’re all on to bigger and better things, so it’s a motivation booster to come out here and do well because you know they’re watching. So it was great to have those guys here.”

On what he wanted to display to pro scouts today…

“I just wanted to come out here and be consistent. I wanted to catch the football and show that I could run good routes. I wanted to show that I could be explosive and show that I can be a great football player. I think I showed that today and did that.”