Florida Gators: Nine Gators “invited” to the NFL Combine
By Jeremy Klump
Even though the 2021 NFL Combine was already “canceled” this offseason, the NFL still sent out combine interviews. The Florida Gators will be well represented as nine former Gators have received the invite.
The nine Gators getting the invite are Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, Kyle Trask, Stone Forsythe, Trevon Grimes, Tedarrell Slaton, Shawn Davis, Evan McPherson, and Marco Wilson.
Pitts is obviously the big name on the list, as the 2020 John Mackey award winner is the No. 1 player in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Even though the combine was “canceled,” there is still some significance to being invited. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted the memo sent from the NFL. Sadly, there will be no in-person workouts, but according to the NFL, “Instead, any workouts will take place on individual pro days on college campuses. We will work with the schools to encourage consistency in testing and drills across pro days and ensure that all clubs have access to video from those workouts, irrespective of whether the club is represented at a particular workout.”
Another significant aspect of the combine is the medical examinations, but the NFL has a plan for that too. According to the NFL, “Each club will be permitted to send one physician and one athletic trainer to conduct these in-person exams, which will likely be scheduled over a two or three-day period.”
The last aspect of the combine is the interviews with teams, but the NFL will conduct those virtually. The combine may be canceled, but it’s actually just the on-field drills and workouts that were canceled. It will be an interesting offseason, as Pro Days will be crucial in evaluating a prospect. Teams will have to put a lot of faith and trust in their scouts, mainly to ensure the numbers they get from the Pro Days are not skewed.
Florida will host their pro day Wednesday, March 31, where 17 total Gators will compete in front of NFL teams.
Congrats to those nine former Gators, and we wish all of the former Gators the best in their NFL Draft process. Go Gators!