Pro Day lacks star power of recent years but opportunity still there
Georgia’s Pro Day on Wednesday may lack the star power we’ve witnessed in recent years, but Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart believes there is plenty of opportunity to be had for the players taking part.
“It’s always an opportunity for our guys who were seniors last year to have a chance to advance themselves,” Smart said. “Unfortunately, we only had one guy (Isaiah McKenzie) make the Combine, but that makes the Pro Day a lot more important.”
According to numbers released by Georgia, 15 former Bulldogs will be taking part and working out in front of a still-be-determined amount of NFL personnel slated to be in Athens for the half-day event.
They included linebacker Chuks Amaechi, offensive tackle Tyler Catalina, wide receiver Reggie Davis, tailback Brendan Douglas, cornerback Shattle Fenteng, wide receiver Charlie Hegedus and center Brandon Kublanow.
Others include McKenzie, linebacker Tommy Long, safety Quincy Mauger, linebacker Johnny O’Neal, offensive tackle Greg Pyke cornerback Maurice Smith and snapper Glenn Welch.
Former Bulldog Tim Kimbrough, who left the program prior to the start of last year, will also be in attendance.
“There’s a lot of players now making NFL rosters who were either undrafted or late-round picks because, let’s call it what it is, they’re cheaper than the older (NFL) players. So the advent of the salary cap and the CBA has forced teams to do greater evaluations of these undrafted or late-round guys,” Smart said. “So, we’ve got some guys who will fall in that area, maybe a late pick, undrafted. But I think we’ve got some guys with a chance to make a team, so I’m expecting a good turnout of teams who didn’t get to see these guys at the combine.”
Wednesday’s Pro Day will also be a first of sorts as the Bulldogs and Smart will get to showcase their brand new indoor athletic facility to the assembled NFL personnel.
Pro Day gets underway at 9:15 a.m. in the weight room for weigh-ins and the bench press before moving over to the IAF for the vertical, broad jump, 40-yard dash, shuttle and linemen drills.