The Florida Gators have some big-named 2021 NFL Draft prospects, making their Pro Day must-watch television. It was nice for Florida football fans to see some former Gators wearing the blue and orange one more time.
All eyes were on the Gators’ draft prospects as they performed multiple NFL Combine test to showcase their skills. The former Gators did the typical 40-yard dash, broad jump, vertical jump, short shuttle, three-cone, bench press, and on-field drills in front of tons of NFL scouts, coaches, general managers, and owners.
Pro Days have become an essential aspect of the draft process, as COVID-19 took away the 2021 NFL Combine. Teams were still able to interview and check medicals on the Gators invited, but there was no typical event that many fans have fallen in love with.
Without the NFL Combine, many Pro Day numbers have been called not question, as the times are unofficial. The 40-yard dash times have seemed faster for sure, but as Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com pointed out (via Ryan McCrystal), Florida has been known to have players actually run their 40-yard dash slower than they have at the NFL Combine.
A stat like that is actually extremely surprising, but it makes you feel good about the Gators’ times as they gear up for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Florida’s biggest star, Kyle Pitts, did work out at the Florida Pro Day. Pitts is the No. 1 player in the 2021 NFL Draft, so a great workout would have solidified him as a top 6 pick. Wide receiver Kadarius Toney was a player many wanted to see at his Pro Day as well.
The complete list of Gators that participated in the Florida football Pro Day (via FloridaGators.com) was: Kyree Campbell, Shawn Davis, Brett DioGuardi, Marlon Dunlap Jr., Stone Forsythe, Trevon Grimes, Brett Heggie, Evan McPherson, Nick Oelrich, Kyle Pitts, Tedarrell Slaton, Brad Stewart Jr., Donovan Stiner, Kadarius Toney, Kyle Trask, Marco Wilson, Adam Shuler, Kalif Jackson, and Martez Ivey.
With that in mind, here are the winners and losers of the Florida football Pro Day.
Florida football Pro Day losers.
Let me start out by saying, I do not think any Gators hurt their draft stock tremendously. It was not like someone went out there and ran a 6.0 40-yard dash, or benched 225 one time, or came in extremely overweight.
One positive aspect of only having Pro Days and not having the NFL Combine was that the players could focus on just their Pro Day. Preparing for the NFL Combine and their Pro Day is a lot, but focusing on just the Pro Day is huge.
The players did not have to have long, grueling days like they do at the NFL Combine. They did not have interviews all night and day, and they were able to just wake up the morning of the Pro Day, fresh and ready to compete. And the Gators did compete.
Shawn Davis: One of my favorite and underrated former Gators is safety Shawn Davis. I think Davis plays the game the right way, flying around the field and making plays. I believe Davis will be drafted, but I do not feel his Pro Day did anything to help him.
Davis had an issue with his 40-yard dash, where it looked like he stumbled a little and hurt himself. Davis actually ended up on the ground, but he did confirm via Twitter that he was okay. However, not having a 40-time won’t help his draft stock, but I do not think it will hurt him.
Kyle Trask: I saw a mixed review on Trask’s Pro Day. There were some positives because he ran under a 5.0 40-yard dash and looked to be in great shape. I did see some people praising his on-field workout, but I felt a little indifferent about it.
Trask was throwing the ball well at times, but he showed me what I always say at Florida. He is a guy that can make some big-time throws, but he can also make some throws that make you wonder if the same guy is playing quarterback. Many of his deep balls were under-thrown, and even though I don’t think it was a terrible showing, I just feel it could have been better.
Both Davis and Trask really weren’t “losers” from their Pro Day, but I just feel they weren’t winners, so that is why they both are listed here.
Florida football Pro Day winners.
The biggest winner of the Florida football Pro Day was Marco Wilson, and by a large margin. Wilson had become a well-known name outside of Florida for his mental error when he threw a cleat against LSU. That could have ruined Wilson’s career if he had let it, but it was clear it only fueled him to be better.
Wilson was incredible. He jumped out of the building, recording a 43.5 inch vertical. If a top 10 vertical in the history of the NFL Draft process wasn’t enough to open your eyes, Wilson added a 4.34 40-yard dash, 26 reps of 225 on the bench press, and an 11-4 broad jump.
Those are insane numbers, and he did it at almost 6-foot, 191 pounds, and had nearly 31-inch arms. Wilson made himself some money for sure and maybe even put himself in the conversation of the top 6 cornerbacks in the draft class officially.
Kyle Pitts was the other name that really stood out, obviously. 6-6 245 pounds and a 4.44 40-yard dash. That is all Pitts really had to do, but he also broke the wingspan record with 83 3/8″, which is just incredible. He added 22 reps on the bench and just had a really good day. He showcased his skills that have many believing he could be a Hall of Fame player.
Another big winner from the Florida football Pro Day was wide receiver, Kadarius Toney. I did not expect Toney to run a fast 40-yard dash, but I was wrong and really wrong. Toney recorded a 4.39 40-yard dash and really proved me wrong about his long speed. That 40-yard dash will likely push him into the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.