Winston Churchill once said, “Mountaintops inspire leaders, but valleys mature them,” and Tuesday’s NFL Pro Day was a prime example of that.
There were impressive drill times. A.J. Moore ran a 4.39 40-yard dash. There were impressive reps. Daronte Bouldin set a new school record with 35 reps on the bench press. Which is all nice and good.
Although these athletes performed at a high level Tuesday, the biggest story of the day might not lie in their numbers but in the peaks and valleys they overcame during their time in Oxford.
These players won Ole Miss its first Sugar Bowl since 1970 and beat the mighty Alabama twice. The Rebels also won three out of four matches against in-state rival Mississippi State and were one 4th and 25 lateral away from an appearance in the SEC Championship Game in 2015.
There’s the mountaintop.
These players are also ones who have been put through the ringer over the last two seasons. From the departure of former head coach Hugh Freeze to an NCAA scandal that resulted in postseason bans and the name of their school and program being smeared, these 12 athletes have seen some of the darkest days in Ole Miss football history.
There’s the valley.
Marquis Haynes decided to stay at Ole Miss for his senior year and was suddenly faced with the news that Ole Miss could not compete for the postseason in 2017. Then his head coach was fired. Despite all this adversity, Haynes did not leave. Instead, he helped lead the Rebel defense while earning the Chucky Mullins Courage Award and wearing Mullins’ No. 38.
And there’s the leader.
The same can be said for many of the other Rebels that competed at Pro Day. Gary Wunderlich, Jordan Wilkins, Herbert Moore and others all experienced hardship throughout their careers – some personal and some related to the turmoil surrounding the program. Adversity like that faced by the Rebels has a way of making or breaking individuals. Based on the attitudes of these players throughout the season and in Pro Day, it sure looks like it helped make them.
NFL scouts will head back to their respective cities and pour over the drill numbers and career stats of these Rebels before next month’s NFL draft. There’s talent in these 12, and it’s obvious.
Whether these men make it to the NFL will be largely based on their athleticism and performance. What scouts don’t see, however, is what these players have been through in their lives and collegiate careers. If there is any group of players who have seen the highs and lows of athletic experience, it’s these guys from Ole Miss. While they may have not experienced the NFL yet, they have seen and felt adversity unlike most other collegiate athletes throughout the country, and it has helped mold them into who they are today.
“Mountaintops inspire leaders, but valleys mature them.”
These Ole Miss players have been inspired and matured, and NFL rosters could be surprised by what they bring to the table.
