The 19 Crimson Tide football players hoping to go pro had their chance to impress representatives from 32 NFL teams at the University of Alabama’s annual Pro Day on Wednesday.
“I am just very pleased and happy that we have a great turnout here today to take a look at some of our players,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “This is a goal that a lot of our players have that they would like to have the opportunity to play at the next level someday. I know they’ve worked hard, they’ve done a great job for us, and we certainly want to do the best job that we can to help them fulfill some of those goals and aspirations after they did a fantastic job here at Alabama.”
Draft-eligible players who participated in the day’s events included running backs Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake (weigh-in only); quarterback Jake Coker; linebackers Reggie Ragland, Denzel Devall and Dillon Lee; defensive backs Cyrus Jones, Geno Matias-Smith, Bradley Sylve and Jabriel Washington; defensive linemen A’Shawn Robinson, D.J. Pettway, Darren Lake and Jarran Reed; tight ends Michael Nysewander and Ty Flournoy-Smith; offensive linemen Ryan Kelly and Dominick Jackson; and wide receiver Richard Mullaney.
A’Shawn Robinson goes through drills at Pro Day. Robinson on his and Dillon Lee’s draft prospects: “It is what it is because it’s determined by what the team needs. We don’t get to decide where we will be going and everything. All these mock drafts don’t really mean anything because the team needs to pick us. We don’t know where we are going or what round we will be going, so honestly it doesn’t matter. We are just trying to play football.” (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Jabriel Washington goes through drills at Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Dillon Lee shows his speed at Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Pro Day at the University of Alabama drew representatives from 32 NFL teams. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Derrick Henry shows his catching ability at Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Jake Coker delivers a pass during Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Ryan Kelly works out during Pro Day. Coach Nick Saban on whether Kelly could play guard: “He has played other positions here, and he probably could. I think that diversity is important because you usually only have eight guys active for a game on an offensive line, so guys being able to play multiple positions is really important.” (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Reggie Ragland goes through drills at Pro Day. Ragland on his performance: “It’s a great experience. Coming out here to live out my dream that I’ve had ever since I was a kid, I wanted this moment. Being able to talk to all those coaches … I’m just very thankful and blessed to have this opportunity.” (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Dillon Lee goes through drills on Pro Day. Lee on his performance: “Tired, but I feel good. I guess you could say I did pretty well. I think I did well with position work, and I ran pretty well. But I am exhausted from all of it, back to back like that.” (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Ty Flournoy-Smith goes through drills on Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Defensive back Cyrus Jones jumps for NFL scouts. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Ty Flournoy-Smith leaps for scouts at Pro Day. (Robert Sutton/UA Athletics)
Richard Mullaney snags a pass at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Derrick Henry shows his catching ability at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Derrick Henry shows his catching ability at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Jake Coker goes through drills at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Ryan Kelly goes through drills on Pro Day. “Ryan Kelly has a really good future, in my opinion,” coach Nick Saban said. “He’s a center. He’s very smart. He’s got quickness, and he plays with enough power. He’s a good pass protector, and he’s a great person and leader. If you’re looking for a great teammate and a productive guy at his position that could be outstanding, I think he fits the build.” (Ameilia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Dillon Lee goes through drills at Pro Day. “Dillon did a really good job for us playing outside backer,” coach Nick Saban said of Lee. “He’s got a lot of toughness, and he can run. He’s a smart player, especially a special teams player. So if you’re looking for a guy on your team to be a backup special teams player that you could develop into a potential starter one day, especially in regular, he could be a great candidate for that. He played a lot of roles here for us, and he did a great job.” (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Reggie Ragland goes through drills at Pro Day. “I think Reggie is a really good athlete, and he’s got great size,” coach Nick Saban said of Ragland. “He’s got a lot of lower-body explosion and power, but yet, he’s a good player in space. He’s very athletic, and very instinctive. He does have some pass rush abilities, which we didn’t really develop here because he didn’t play that position for us, and we had other guys that sort of did it pretty well for us. I think that’s an area where people will be surprised and how they will be able to develop him as a pass rusher as well.” (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Darren Lake shows his skills at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Jarran Reed shows his skills at Pro Day. “He came in going into my sophomore year, and we are pushing each other to be the best in the country,” teammate A’Shawn Robinson said of Reed. “We came out here, and the coaches saw that we did everything. We showed explosive quickness off the ball, and we both gave great effort. I thought we did a great job out here.” (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
D.J. Pettway shows his skills at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Coach Nick Saban talks to media at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Crimson Tide players try to impress NFL scouts at Pro Day. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
Defensive back Cyrus Jones jumps for NFL scouts. (Amelia B. Barton/UA Athletics)
After a Heisman Trophy-winning year that focused on what he could do with his legs, Henry used his Pro Day opportunity to show what he can do with his hands by catching passes out of the backfield.
“I got here and got to watch all my teammates out here compete, all of us out here competing and putting on a show for the scouts and all the teams,” Henry said during media interviews. “I felt pretty good, I just wanted to come out here and catch balls. I was just doing what I’ve been doing and showing scouts that I can catch, so it was a good day.”
Coker, who was not invited to the NFL Combine to show what he can do for a pro team, tried to make the most of Pro Day to attract attention. Saban said he doesn’t believe Coker was purposefully slighted by not making the organized NFL tryouts.
“I think the reason Jake didn’t get invited to the combine wasn’t because of Jake; I think it’s because there were 97 juniors that came out,” Saban said. “I think that’s an issue and a problem that we need to address with the NFL, because it’s unfair to some of the seniors that all those guys get invited, and some of them aren’t ranked as highly as the seniors who they know more about. I think Jake is going to do just fine. He is going to need to continue to develop. He’s got a great arm that can make all the throws. For his size, he’s very athletic, and I think people are going to like that.”
Coker told the “The Roundtable” on WJOX Thursday that he felt like he was able to show improvement at Pro Day.
“It was really positive,” he said. “My main thing going in was speeding up my feet, my delivery – showing them that I had worked on it and improved. I really felt like I showed that yesterday.”
Among the NFL representatives were New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley, Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson and Colts coach Chuck Pagano.
In addition to weigh-ins and measurements, most of the players participated in vertical and broad jumps, bench presses, 40-yard dashes, agility drills and position-specific drills.
The 2016 NFL Draft will take place April 28-30 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.
The Crimson Tide held its Pro Day a week after the national championship team was recognized at the White House.
