The 2023 season was the last for some long-time UTSA contributors. While their playing days at the Alamodome are over, some will be taking their talents to the next level. UTSA’s 2024 Pro Day had scouts from all 32 NFL teams in attendance. Here is how things unfolded at the RACE building.
With just seven players participating in drills this year, the bench press showcase was fairly short. Defensive lineman Trumane Bell II and former offensive lineman Payne He’bert both benched 24 reps of 225 pounds.
The next highlight of the day came from safety Rashad Wisdom in the vertical jump drill. Wisdom, despite being 5-foot-9, posted an impressive 37” vertical.
“This is what I’ve been training for these past couple months, this day specifically,” Wisdom said.
Wide receivers Joshua Cephus and Tykee Ogle-Kellogg both put up impressive verticals as well, 32.5” and 29.5” respectively. While this drill is not extremely important for defensive linemen, Bell’s 31.5” vertical will only aid him in the draft process.
The broad jump exercise yielded the best results for all participants.
Cephus had the best performance with a 10’2 jump, followed closely by Wisdom and Ogle-Kellogg who both jumped 9’10. You want your wide receivers and defensive backs to ace this drill. The ability to make diving and contested catches are all linked to this exercise. Scouts think of it as something that has to translate for a player to make it in the NFL.
The 40-yard dash was dominated by Wisdom and Cephus. Wisdom had the best time of the day with a 4.49-second official time. Cephus, despite claiming that he “left some in the tank,” crossed the 40 yards in 4.52 seconds.
Following the conclusion of the event, head coach Jeff Traylor spoke highly of a couple of his departing seniors.
“I’m really thrilled for those guys, that’s who both of them [Cephus and Wisdom] are and that’s why they’ll have a real good chance of making a team, because of the people they are,” Traylor said. “They both would never think of opting out of a bowl game, that’s just not how those kids are made up.”
The 2024 NFL Draft will occur a little over a month from now. These former Roadrunners will wait patiently for their phone to ring to see if they will join Tariq Woolen and Spencer Burford on the short list of ‘Runners to go pro.
