Former Florida State football players put their talents on display ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Florida State’s football program has churned out tons of professional talent in the past few years, boasting 33 players on NFL rosters at the beginning of the 2018 season.
This year’s draft class looks to add to that number, as their talents were on full display for Thursday’s Pro Day at the Dunlap Athletic Training Facility. The ’Noles who turned out for the event participated in a series of strength and conditioning drills before splitting up to perform various exercises specific to their position, all with NFL scouts and coaches analyzing their mechanics and motions.
For some, FSU’s Pro Day was little more than a formality, as was the case for defensive end Brian Burns. Currently projected to be taken in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft, Burns’ impressive performance at the NFL Combine left little for him to prove heading into the day’s events.
As such, the six-foot-five defensive end opted to focus mainly on position drills, allowing NFL scouts to assess his mobility and ability to change direction in space. With the draft less than a month away, Burns has been in contact with the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.
Following his drills, Burns spoke about how well both he and his teammates performed on the day as they prepare for the NFL Draft.
For other players, such as defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas and wide receiver Nyqwan Murray, Pro Day was a chance to brush up on and perform better in drills that each struggled with at the NFL Combine.
Hoping to perform better without all of the uncomfortable spotlight of the Combine, Christmas was satisfied with his Pro Day performance in a facility that former Seminoles like himself had previously practiced in and were familiar with.
Christmas’ improvement on the 40-yard dash from a 5.08 at the NFL Combine to a 4.90 on Thursday solidified a successful outcome for him.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Murray unfortunately, as he pulled up during a position-specific catching drill clutching his hamstring and mouthing, “This isn’t me,” to assembled onlookers.
The wide receiver’s Pro Day performance was certainly limited by his recent injury, as he was unable to run the 40-yard dash due to the pain. Murray also felt he could have done better running routes in position drills if it weren’t for his injured leg.
On the other hand, defensive back A.J. Westbrook certainly made the most of his Pro Day, as he rode a fast start to an overall strong performance, literally.
In the 40-yard dash, which was the first event of the day, the Daytona Beach, Florida native made scouts do a double take as he posted a 4.40 finish. Westbrook then translated that success to his positional drills, keeping the scouts’ eyes on him despite the fact that several NFL personnel in attendance were likely there to see other players first.
In any case, Thursday’s Pro Day officially sealed the college careers of this year’s Florida State draft class. The Garnet & Gold will once again be well represented in the draft, with Burns projected to be a first-round pick, Christmas expected to be selected between the third and fifth rounds, and a slew of Seminoles likely to be taken after the fifth round.
March 24, 2019, 3:12 p.m.
March 31, 2019, 5:18 p.m.