Mississippi State football hosted their 2017 Pro Day on Wednesday morning, where 19 former Bulldogs did what they could to impress NFL scouts leading into the 2017 NFL Draft in April.
Of the 19 former players, 14 played on the 2016 roster last fall. This year’s Pro Day was a little less eventful compared to last year as MSU lacks big prospects going into the draft, but there were still 27 NFL teams in attendance and over 30 scouts. Of the prospects coming out of MSU this draft class, one stands above the rest: wide receiver Fred Ross.
Ross, who was a 4-star recruit out of high school, came to MSU with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. He fulfilled those expectations and then some as he had an extremely productive career at MSU.
He broke the school records for consecutive games with a reception with 35, career receptions with 199, 100-yard receiving game with 10, and career receiving yards with 2,528. His 199 receptions were also good enough for the ninth most catches in a career in SEC history.
Head Coach Dan Mullen thinks Ross’ versatility will land him on a roster. Ross plays all three receiver spots and also returned punts for MSU.
“He has the flexibility to do a lot of different things at the next level,” Mullen said. “When you have small rosters, those are very valuable traits.”
Ross, who participated in the NFL combine earlier this month, decided to sit on his combine numbers instead of working out at MSU. He ran a solid 40-yard dash at the combine with a 4.51. Ross said he is excited to put all the workouts behind him and just focus on football.
“You don’t play football running straight 40-yards, you will never do that,” Ross said. “So just coming out here and running routes and actually working on football, that is a good feeling.”
Ross is projected to go on the third day of the draft in the fourth through sixth rounds. He has been in contact with teams and has his first meeting scheduled with the defending Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots on April 4.
“I’m pretty sure they are going to pick my brain,” Ross said of his expectations of his meeting with New England. “We’ll get out on the field and do a light work out just to get to know me better.”
He has also been linked to the Dallas Cowboys, which would reunite him with former MSU quarterback and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott. Ross, a Tyler, Texas, native, said it would be a big deal to play for his home state team.
“I live like an hour away from Dallas. It would be big for my family to get to come watch me play,” Ross said,” Me and Dak would be reunited so it would be a great thing.”
While Ross is the biggest prospect of the day, there were other Bulldogs who hoped to shine and keep their NFL dreams alive. Running back Brandon Holloway had the best 40 time of the day. He ran an official 4.31, and that was after stumbling towards the start of his run.
“It was decent, it could have been a lot better,” Holloway. “That first one I almost tripped and fell but I made it work, I think I showed what I could do.”
Holloway has been spending the past few months training in his hometown of Orlando, Florida, and the training paid off today. Not only did Holloway run the fastest 40-yard dash time he also had the best broad jump of the day, jumping 10’2”.
Safety Kivon Coman also had an impressive day. He ran a 4.5 40-yard dash time and also had the best vertical jump of the day. He jumped 39.5 inches. Defensive lineman Nick James ran just over a 5.1 40-yard dash. He jumped an 8’5” broad jump and benched 225 pounds 29 times. Linebacker Richie Brown also participated in Pro Day. He unofficially ran a 4.64 40-yard dash and showed a 37-inch vertical.
Senior defensive lineman A.J. Jefferson is rehabbing a shoulder injury and only did position drills. He said he would host his own individual Pro Day in about a month. Jefferson, though he did not participate in a lot of the drills, summed up pro day to the media afterwards.
“It was a reunion,” Jefferson said. “Seeing everybody out here getting the work in and striving for one goal, it was fun.”
