STARKVILLE — Johnthan Banks isn’t shy about sharing his opinion about the NFL Scouting Combine.
The 2012 winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back, Banks, by his own admission, turned in a disappointing performance at the Combine two months after his final season with the Mississippi State football team.
“They keep you up all day, all night, you never get a break and you’re expected to run your best,” Banks said of his experience at the Combine. “I didn’t run very well, didn’t do drills well. It was all a beauty pageant.”
Even though Banks was an All-American and had 15 career interceptions, his showing at the Combine in Indianapolis might have hurt his draft stock. Luckily for Banks, he had another venue where he could impress professional scouts and decision-makers. Two weeks after the combine, Banks participated in MSU’s Pro Day, the annual on-campus event that brings NFL scouts and coaches to Starkville.
That’s where Banks made his money. He improved his 40-yard dash time from 4.61 seconds at the combine to 4.5 seconds, and had better showings in every other drill.
Two months later, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used the 43rd overall pick to select the former East Webster High School product in the second round of the 2013 draft.
“It was a big difference for me,” Banks said. “I didn’t like the Combine. Being able to have a chance to work out at my home school with all my teammates, that was the chance I needed.”
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, 19 of MSU’s newest NFL prospects will participate in the Pro Day. Speed and agility drills will take place at the Palmeiro Center, while weightlifting drills will be held in the Seal Football Complex.
For players like safety Jay Hughes, who had two interceptions and a defensive touchdown in 2014, the event is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“It really feels like a game as far as how we are getting ready for it,” Hughes said. “I am not really nervous yet, but I think I will be when it comes time to work out.”
The group of draft hopefuls is the biggest in six seasons under coach Dan Mullen. In addition to Hughes, running backs Josh Robinson and Nick Griffin; wide receivers Jameon Lewis and Robert Johnson; tight ends Brandon Hill and Malcolm Johnson; offensive linemen Ben Beckwith, Dillon Day, and Blaine Clausell; defensive linemen Kaleb Eulls, Preston Smith, and P.J. Jones; linebackers Benardrick McKinney, Christian Holmes, and Matt Wells; and defensive back Jamerson Love will participate.
To Wells, MSU’s outside linebacker nicknamed “Cheetah” by his teammates due to his sub-4.4 speed, the Pro Day is the chance to shine after he didn’t receive an invitation to the Combine.
“I feel like I’m being ignored a little bit,” said Wells, who had 45 tackles, including 8.5 for a loss and four sacks this past season. “I just have to go out there and run as well as I can to try to turn some heads. I feel motivated to do that.”
The headliners
For three Bulldogs, the Pro Day is merely the latest in a two-month process that has included the Combine and All-Star games.
Defensive end Preston Smith, the three-time Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week as a senior, opened his offseason with a five-tackle, one-sack performance in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in January. At the Combine, the 6-foot-6, 267-pounder had a time of 4.71 in the 40. He ranked in the top 10 among defensive ends in every relevant drill.
Smith, who led the Bulldogs with nine sacks, returns to Starkville to work out in the friendly confines of the Palmeiro Center.
McKinney ranked among the top five linebackers in the 40-yard dash, the three-cone shuttle drill, the vertical jump, and the broad jump. After his time of 4.66 in the 40 was second among inside linebackers, it remains unclear if McKinney will perform that drill in Starkville.
“Everybody knows (McKinney) can play,” Wells said. “I don’t know how much he has to prove at this point.”
McKinney led MSU with 71 tackles in 2014.
Robinson, the junior tailback who rushed for 1,203 yards and 11 touchdowns, likely won’t have that luxury. Robinson clocked at 4.77 and 4.70 in the 40, which put him 22nd among draft-eligible backs.
“Once they see him in person at the Pro Day, scouts will love him,” said former MSU back Vick Ballard, currently with the Indianapolis Colts. “Josh isn’t going to get drafted because of his 40 time. It will be because someone looks at his film and likes what he sees. But with the chance to run at home, he will post a better time and someone will take notice. I think there’s a spot in this league for him.”
The speedster
Love is the player who almost universally comes up in a discussion about which Bulldog will post the best numbers at Pro Day.
After redshirting in 2010 following a standout career at Aberdeen High, Love enjoyed four solid years at MSU, culminating in a 34-tackle performance as a senior. Known as one of the fastest players on the team, Love looks forward to his chance to shine.
“I’ve been working real hard to get my time down, get all my drills where I need them to be,” said Love, who spent much of January in South Florida training for the draft. “It’s exciting. It’ll be good to be around my boys as we all try to make it together.”
Love’s MSU teammates believe he has an opportunity to turn heads.
“He’s got what you can’t really teach, and that’s natural speed,” Hughes said. “He might have been the fastest player on our team, either he or Matt (Wells) or Justin (Cox). He’s got that great speed that is going to make somebody notice him.”
The big guys
Perhaps no three players were as overlooked last season as Clausell (left tackle), Beckwith (second-team All-SEC guard by the league’s media), and Day (46 starts in four years).
None of the three received an invitation to Indianapolis, and only Clausell, a 6-foot-5, 300-pounder, participated in the Senior Bowl.
At MSU’s Pro Day, they will have a chance to make their names known.
“I was really shocked (Day) didn’t get invited to the Combine,” Robert Johnson said. “He’s got it all. He’s big, he can move, and he’s got a mean streak.”
Back for more
For four years, Tyler Russell was a steady performer at quarterback for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder threw 42 touchdowns and left MSU with the single-season record of 24, which Dak Prescott broke last season (28).
But with his career winding down late in the 2013 season, Russell injured his shoulder in a 24-17 overtime win at Arkansas. He missed the final two games of his career and the ensuing offseason. As a result, he didn’t have a chance to work out for NFL scouts and coaches. More than a year later, Russell will participate in Wednesday’s showcase.
“I’ve thought about it for more than a year,” Russell said. “To play for four years and get injured at the end, it didn’t feel good. It really hurt. But I really believe everything happens for a reason, and maybe that wasn’t my time, so I’ve been working out and getting ready. I think I still have a lot to give, and I don’t think my football days are over.”
Spending time this week on campus getting ready to throw for scouts later this week, Russell has impressed some observers.
“I really think his arm is stronger now than it was when he was here,” said Robert Johnson. “He was throwing to me yesterday and the ball was whistling when it got to me.”
Waiting for his turn
Former MSU safety Justin Cox won’t participate in the Pro Day.
The West Point native missed the final three games of his MSU career after a Nov. 25, 2014, arrest for domestic violence. That charge was dropped a little more than a month later, and Cox, who spent nearly a month training for the draft in Aventura, Florida, was invited to the Combine.
In Indianapolis, the junior college All-American at East Mississippi Community College, ran a 4.36 in the a 40, which ranked second among all defensive back prospects.
Still, Cox wants his chance to improve on that number, but he will work out March 12 at a Pro Day at West Point High.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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