STARKVILLE — After Mississippi State’s 2024 season ended with a loss at Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, Ethan Miner took a few days to visit his wife’s parents’ house and go fishing. Then, it was right back to work.

Miner’s college career, which included four seasons at Arkansas State, one year at North Texas and one as the starting center for the Bulldogs, was over. But the NFL Draft was fast approaching, and Miner — listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 302 pounds last fall — needed to be in the best shape of his life.

“I said, ‘I gotta get on a diet,’” Miner said. “I had my wife take a picture of me for a progress (check). She hands me back my phone; I said, ‘That’s what I look like right now?’ It’s was a lot of chicken and rice. Strict diet, training, reading my Bible, spending time with my wife. That was all we did. She finally made me put some seasoning on it, too.”

Miner and 10 other MSU players went through drills Thursday in front of NFL scouts as part of the Bulldogs’ annual pre-draft Pro Day. MSU has had at least one player selected in the last 15 NFL Drafts, although that streak is in jeopardy after a 2-10 season in 2024 with no Bulldogs invited to last month’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Six of MSU’s Pro Day participants, Miner included, spent just one year in Starkville after joining the Bulldogs in the transfer portal prior to 2024. Wide receiver Kelly Akharaiyi was a high-profile transfer following his stellar 2023 at Texas-El Paso. But he dealt with an injury early in the year and the Bulldogs’ offense struggled to unlock his potential.

Coming off a 1,033-yard season at UTEP, Akharaiyi had just 391 receiving yards on 11 catches with two touchdowns at MSU. The breakaway speed, though, is undeniable, and he has many of the raw skills NFL teams covet in a wide receiver.

“Turn on the film. You’ve seen what I can do,” Akharaiyi said. “I can go down the field, I can stretch the field, catch the ball and get upfield.”

Other participants included tight end Justin Ball, defensive backs Corey Ellington and Montre Miller, linebackers Stone Blanton and JP Purvis, defensive linemen Sulaiman Kpaka and De’Monte Russell and offensive lineman Marlon Martinez. Quarterback Kinkead Dent of Tennessee-Martin, who is from Mississippi and was previously a backup at Ole Miss, was also at the Palmeiro Center.

Jimmy Bell Jr., a basketball player at MSU in the 2023-24 season, never played for the Bulldogs in football, but he was going through drills as an offensive lineman. Bell did briefly practice with the football teams at both West Virginia and MSU.

“He’s got a ton of courage,” Miner said. “I played six years, did all the training, and I was nervous the past two days (for this). I couldn’t get my mind off of it. He’s only played basketball the last couple years. He’s a big guy. He can definitely make a team and show what he’s got. It took a lot of courage to come out here and do this in front of NFL scouts. I respect him a lot for that.”

While more than half of the Bulldogs’ Pro Day players were transfers, Purvis spent six seasons at MSU under five different head coaches, counting Greg Knox in his two-game interim stint in 2023. He finished his college career with 100 total tackles and 1.5 sacks, as well as a blocked punt in last year’s season opener.

The three-day, seven-round draft begins Apr. 24.

“I’ve been through a lot, starting all the way back from freshman year to now. Injuries and outside factors and a lot of things,” Purvis said. “I made it through. It means I understand the game more. Just having different coaches, you’re able to be versatile and you’re learning.”