TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In 2013, Florida State’s annual Pro Day ended up producing the year’s largest class of draft prospects when the Seminoles sent 11 players to the NFL.
By the looks of the more than 70 scouts who turned out Tuesday for Florida State’s 2014 Pro Day, NFL teams are expecting much of the same this year.
Highlighted by projected early-round picks such as bruising junior defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan (6-foot-2, 299 pounds), senior defensive back Terrence Brooks (5-11, 200), senior defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (5-10, 190) and sophomore receiver and BCS national title game hero Kelvin Benjamin (6-5, 234), a total of 35 current and former Florida State stars flashed their talents in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams.
Among those in attendance Tuesday were Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell.
New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who paid particular attention to Seminoles senior linebacker Christian Jones for most of the day, also was on hand, as was Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
“It’s been great,” Joyner, a unanimous first-team All-America defensive back, told the school’s official website, Seminoles.com, following his workout. “Sometimes you get scared because you’re around great men who have been around the game for a long time and have seen what greatness is, so it’s so intimidating to have to give them an impression on you. But you just have to come out and be yourself.”
Joyner, a projected second-round pick, is rated as the 53rd overall prospect and the No. 7 defensive back in the draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com. He performed well in his agility drills Tuesday, making sharp cuts that elicited several “wows” from scouts on hand, but he had several drops during passing drills. Joyner also surprisingly opted not to run the 40-yard dash again, letting his time of 4.55 at the recent NFL Combine stand.
Benjamin, who caught the game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds left to lift Florida State past Auburn 34-31 in January’s BCS National Championship game, also left a few scouts scratching their heads when he, too, opted not to run the 40 again. Benjamin, whose time of 4.61 at the NFL Combine didn’t exactly blow anyone away, is still projected to be taken in the first or second round, and NFLDraftScout.com ranks him as the sixth-best wideout available.
Benjamin did participate in some drills Tuesday, most notably hoisting 17 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
“I’m having fun with it. All the eyes on you. That’s what you want,”
Benjamin said. “That’s where I shine at.”
Other Seminoles who shined Tuesday included Jernigan, the man most scouts came to see. Projected to be the first Florida State player drafted this year, Jernigan ran the 40-yard dash again, but his unofficial time of 5.03 on Tuesday didn’t improve much on his NFL Combine mark of 5.06. Still, the 53 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks he tallied last season, along with the fact that Florida State finished third overall in the nation in defense and first against the pass, is likely more than enough to keep him in the running to be one of the first defensive players selected.
Jernigan made no secret of the fact it would be a dream come true to be invited to the draft in New York.
“My mom actually saved the picture I drew in church back in the third grade of an NFL player, because that’s what I said I wanted to be,” Jernigan said. “It’s just a blessing to (be here and to have this opportunity). I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Perhaps the player who saw his draft stock climb the most Tuesday was junior running back James Wilder Jr., whose father played in the NFL. Wilder, who ran a 4.86 40-yard dash at the combine, lowered that figure to an unofficial 4.56 on Tuesday. Calling himself overweight at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Wilder — a projected sixth-round pick — dropped six pounds to 227 but still managed to put up three more reps on the bench press than in his combine workout.
“I had a bad 40 at my combine, so I just had to show them what I really ran today,” Wilder said. “And I ran a pretty good time.”
Fellow running back Devonta Freeman, a junior, said his goal Tuesday was to “also show I can be a good receiver and that I have good hands.”
Jones — who appeared to add more muscle to his already imposing 6-4, 235-pound frame since the NFL Combine — struggled some during his workout and likely didn’t help his projected mid-round draft position.
Senior defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel (6-0, 295) confirmed that he was open to a position change, while senior wideout Kenny Shaw (6-0, 170)
— one of few Seminoles headed to the draft who was not invited to the NFL Combine — drew the attention of scouts after shining during the passing drills. Shaw produced 933 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season for the Seminoles.
Bryan Stork, the Rimington Trophy winner as the country’s top center last season, benched 225 pounds 21 times.
Brooks, ranked by NFLDraftScout.com as the No. 3 free safety and the No. 71 overall prospect, declared after his workout, “I wanted to come out here and prove I’m the best safety in this class, and I’m not going to stop until I do.”
Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher also attended the Pro Day festivities — and it was hard to tell if he ever stopped smiling.
“I’m just happy for them and all the hard work they’ve put into this,”
said Fisher, who won his first national championship as a head coach last season. “Now they have a chance to come out here and fulfill their dream.”
NOTES: A surprise attendee was one-time star defensive back and former five-star prep recruit Greg Reid, who was kicked off the Seminoles before the 2012 season due to repeated violations of team rules. Reid, who played at Lowndes County (Ga.) High School with Florida State starting LB Telvin Smith, eventually transferred to Division II Valdosta State, where he tore his ACL and missed his senior season in 2012. Reid then took last year off to recover from the injury after post-surgery complications, but he said Tuesday he was 100 percent. He wowed many of the scouts on hand with an unofficial 40 time of 4.37 — easily the fastest of any player participating in Tallahassee … Senior DE Dan Hicks, who was expected to participate in the Pro Day, instead was sidelined on crutches during the event. He continues to battle nagging setbacks from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of 2012, though he played 14 games for the Seminoles last season … Heisman Trophy-winning QB Jameis Winston stopped in briefly to check out the Pro Day action. He cracked jokes with Fisher and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and he could be heard calling out words of support to his teammates during the offensive and defensive passing drills.