Ole Miss held its pro day on Thursday in the Manning Center to showcase past and present athletes with 37 scouts and NFL personnel from 29 professional teams present. The main purpose of the day was for scouts and personnel to see the top prospects for the NFL, and it gives the players a chance to prove themselves.
Among those who competed were Elijah Moore, Kenny Yeboah, Royce Newman, Chad Kelly, Jalen Julius, DaMarkus Lodge and Damore’ea Stringfellow. Even despite having big-name former players returning to Mississippi, all eyes were still on this year’s incoming draft picks.
Elijah Moore had a stand-out day with a 4.32 second time in the 40-yard dash. He had 17 bench press reps, a vertical jump of 36 inches, a 4.00 second shuttle run and a 6.65 second three-cone drill. Moore continued to shine after a record-breaking season of 1,193 receiving yards and 86 receptions.
“His workload and play count in this game are a lot different from any other receiver in this draft,” Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin said on Moore’s pro day performance. “He is the lead player. Should be a first-round draft pick. With his work ethic, he can play for a long time in that league.”
Moore will be among a huge class of strong wide receivers from the SEC such as Heisman winner Devonta Smith, Justin Jefferson and Jaylen Waddle. In current draft predictions, Moore has not been named among the top three wide receivers to go into the draft. While his numbers speak for themselves, it is often his size that pundits bring up as a hindrance to his athletic performance. In a press conference following his outstanding pro day, Moore made it clear what is actually happening behind the scenes.
“Pretty much all of them lately,” Moore said as his response regarding which NFL teams have contacted him.
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Another stand-out from this year’s offensive production was Yeboah. The graduate transfer from Temple University had 524 receiving yards with six touchdowns before opting out for the draft before the LSU game this fall. However, he hurt himself while running the 40-yard dash on Thursday and was unable to finish the other events.
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Offensive lineman Newman ran a 5.08 second 40-yard dash with 23 bench press reps. Six-foot-six and 300 pound Newman was critical this year in protecting head quarterback Matt Corral and allowed for one sack in 2019 before making the switch to guard in 2020. Newman has a versatile resume with playing multiple positions on the field.
“Royce played really well this year. He has film from being a guard, too, so that’s valuable and people can look at him at both spots,” Kiffin said.
The 2021 NFL Draft will take place from April 29 to May 1.
