Typically, after Florida has its Pro Day, a standard piece we here at Hail Florida Hail, and plenty of others, like to do is show who helped themselves and who hurt themselves in terms of becoming an NFL prospect. And for the most part, the Gators had a decent enough showing at the NFL Combine and hoped to carry that momentum to their Pro Day on Saturday.
Instead, what unfolded in Gainesville only seems to confirm something that many fans had suspected for years during the Billy Napier Era.
Florida has a poor showing at Pro Day
The headliner event, the 40-yard dash, was one to forget. Devin Moore, who is working back from injuries, ran 4.59 seconds. That’s slower than the 4.50 he ran at the NFL Combine. Michael Caraway Jr. ran 4.57 seconds.
Then we move on to the bench press, where Jake Slaughter reped 225 pounds 22 times. Compared to most humans, that’s elite. Compared to the offensive linemen who did the event at the NFL Combine, Slaughter would have come in next to last. Clemson RB Adam Randall repped 26 times at the Combine. George Gumbs Jr. also hit 22 reps.
But that at least puts them in close enough contact with the rest of the draft hopefuls. Then there is whatever happened with Damieon George Jr. on the bench press. Keeping in mind that George weighed in at 356 pounds, George did 12 reps of 225 pounds.
12.
There are dudes weighing 200 pounds at your local gym who could rep 225 pounds 12 times right now.
Is George hurt? Maybe, maybe not, but it finally closes the lid on an area that fans suspected was a major weakness during the Billy Napier Era, and that was the weight room.
During the Napier Era, the Gators just never felt like the stronger team, and as injuries piled up at a rate that was far faster than the rest of the SEC fans wondered aloud what was really going on in the weight room. Insiders often tried to claim everything was fine with the weight room, but these numbers, combined with comments Jon Sumrall made when he took over, paint a picture that no, everything was not fine.
The NFL Draft takes place in Pittsburgh from April 23 to April 25.