It was a rainy day in Gainesville, but NFL scouts and coaches still came to the Swamp to see 16 Gator players work out for Pro Day.
Many of the players were looking to improve on their performances from the NFL combine. Some were looking to show they are still able to perform at the level they showed at the combine.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who suffered several injuries this past season, said he wanted to use this day as an opportunity to show he is fully healed.
“I’m healthy,” Jenkins said. “Today proved that I can still run around. A lot of people were concerned how I was going to come back from the injury, but I think that’s one of the things I proved today.”
Safety Josh Evans said he felt like he didn’t run his best time at the combine because of a tweaked hamstring. He took this opportunity to improve and continue to put his name out there.
“I just wanted to come back out here and re-run it, see if I could run a better time,” Evans said. “Just a good workout to give the all the scouts and coaches another look at me.”
One of the major players that did not hit the field was Sharrif Floyd. It was Floyd’s decision to not participate.
Floyd ran a 4.92 second 40 yard dash in the NFL Combine. His draft stock is fairly high by all accounts. Scouts, Inc. is projecting Floyd to go as high as the second overall pick. SB Nation has him projected as the third overall pick.
Despite the poor weather, workouts went off without a hitch and all NFL franchises were represented. Florida coach Will Muschamp said the success of Pro Day is directly correlated with how well the program can recruit.
“All 32 teams are here, and that’s the way it ought to be,” Muschamp said. “If we continue to do a good job of evaluating, recruiting, and developing our players, which we will, our Pro Days will continue to look that way.”
About 10 Florida players are projected to make the move to the pros in the upcoming NFL draft. The draft is scheduled to begin on April 25 at 8 p.m.