15 Aggies show out at Utah State’s annual pro day
LOGAN – Utah State football hosted their annual Pro-Day on Wednesday for USU seniors to work out for NFL Scouts. The Pro-Day began in the iFIT Sports Performance Center with the bench press before transitioning to the Stan Laub Indoor Training Center.
The day’s workout consisted of bench press, vertical leap, broad jump, 40-yard dash, and numerous speed and position-specific drills. Over 15 NFL teams sent scouts to participate and observe the athletes.
Utah State’s wide receivers were a main focus throughout the morning, with Brandon Bowling, Derek Wright and Deven Thompkins all putting up strong numbers for the observers.
Thompkins led the group in receiving yards throughout the season and finished as one of the top wideouts in the country. He continued to show off his athleticism with nine repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press, a 38.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump.
Thompkins’ led the team in the broad jump, while his vertical was top among the wide receiver group and second-best on the team, behind running back Devonta’e Henry-Cole at 39.5 inches.
The slot receiver out of Florida is listed at 5’ 8”, which is undersized for a wide receiver, but feels his impressive vertical leap can make up for the otherwise lack of size.
“I mean, the film shows that,” Thompkins said after his workout. “I just know that my athleticism is what’s going to separate me from everybody else.”
Thompkins’ vertical jump puts him tied for the fourth-highest vertical of all wide receivers at the 2022 NFL Combine.
Wright started his morning with 21 repetitions on the bench press, the best of any skill position throughout the morning. In fact, Wright’s 21 reps were more than any wide receiver that participated in the Combine.
“I was pretty proud of my bench,” Wright said after his performance. “I thought I did well.”
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(@derekwright_05)Houston Texans (@denarius11) check my guy Derek out FRFR‼️#UtahStateProday#MILEWR pic.twitter.com/EBsALxLHp4
— Ross Apo (@RossApoWR_EZ) March 23, 2022
The head-turners of the morning; however, would come from the defensive side of the ball in the form of Marcus Moore and Nick Henniger.
Moore led the team with 32 repetitions on the bench press, followed by Henniger who had 30. Both players had more reps than any defensive participant at the Combine. Moore even tied the Combine leader with his 32 reps.
36 inch vertical jump for Heninger. pic.twitter.com/KVXl4ajWSV
— Jacob Nielson (@Jacobnielson12) March 23, 2022
About a half-hour later, Moore clocked in with a sub 4.75 40-yard dash. His impressive 40 time and 34.5 inch vertical jump would rank first among defensive tackle combine participants.
“Been working all my life for this day right here,” Moore said. “I did my best I could, and I guess 4.7 is what it was. Heck yeah, feel great about it.”
It was an impressive display of athleticism for the athletes at their Pro-Day, as it was all season. Despite having numerous players ranking very highly in the Mountain West Conference and the nation for their respective position, USU football did not receive one invite to the 2022 NFL Combine.
“At the end of the day, we all got the opportunity, which is all you need,” Henniger said. “One opportunity to show the scouts, show these guys what we can do, and we got that. We were fortunate enough to get that.”
*All times and marks listed in this story are unofficial.