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Published Mar 16, 2022
Record number of scouts descend on UGA's Pro Day
Jed May  •  UGASports
Staff

Wednesday marked another impressive milestone in a Georgia offseason full of them.

The Bulldogs welcomed 122 NFL personnel to Athens for the program's annual Pro Day. According to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, that's the most ever for a Bulldog Pro Day.

After a record-breaking performance at the NFL combine, the Bulldogs got to showcase themselves once again in the comfort of Georgia's indoor facility.

"I think it's very unique to have this kind of collection of talent," Smart told reporters. "You don't have that every year. It's not every year you're going to have 14 guys at the combine. It's just tough to do. And I'm proud of this group."

NFL head coaches Bill Belichick (New England Patriots), Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys), and Lovie Smith (Houston Texans) were all in attendance.

Other NFL personnel present included Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, and New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen.

Some of those personnel arrived in Athens last night to watch film with Georgia's NFL prospects.

"They’ve been very complimentary of our kids, the leadership of our players, the knowledge," Smart said.

Several of Georgia's current players also stopped by to watch workouts. Some of the observers included offensive lineman Tate Ratledge, tight end Oscar Delp, and others.

Pro Day and the combine have ramifications for future Bulldogs as well. While Smart said recruits are often more pre-occupied with social media, he did say days like Wednesday help "sell the next Jordan Davis on Jordan Davis."

"We want to push what these guys have done out, what they've been able to achieve, the amount of NFL personnel here—we want kids to see that," Smart said. "Where we're one of the few schools in the country where we're open to NFL teams whenever they can come, they can watch our players. A lot of coaches aren't comfortable with that, but for us, we want our players to get seen, get evaluated, and be able to put their best out there."

The significance of holding Pro Day in the program's indoor facility didn't get lost on Smart and the prospects. Over the last three or four years, they've spent countless hours training on the very same turf.

On Wednesday, they took the field one last time as they prepared for their NFL future.

"They made the decision to come to school here," Smart said. "Our job is to develop them and make sure they're better people when they leave. I think each one of these kids will tell you they're more successful because of the work ethic they were able to achieve here."

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