TAMPA, Fla. — 33 scouts from 28 NFL teams filled the USF Indoor Performance Facility Wednesday to watch prospects perform at Pro Day. Nine former USF standouts and 13 international players got one more chance to impress their potential bosses before next month's draft.
"I was just worried about putting on the best performance I can. I didn’t really care who was out there watching. One scout. It could be all 32 teams. It doesn’t really matter," former Bulls linebacker Dwayne Boyles said after his workout. "As long as I do what I gotta do. It’s a blessing. I just thank God. The one I’ve been praying to about this. Appreciate this opportunity to come out here and put on for the city."
Players ran the 40-yard dash, bench pressed 225 pounds, completed the vertical and broad jumps, and competed in several quickness and agility drills. It's been a ten-week build-up for center Brad Cecil and the rest of his teammates.
"It was an everyday thing. Everything I did was for this day. What time I went to sleep, what I ate, how often I stretched," Cecil said after completing his last blocking drill. "Speed and conditioning workout, then doing an offensive line workout. Then doing yoga. By the way, yoga’s awesome. I learned to like yoga."
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was among the dozens of onlookers that included players' former teammates, family, and friends. Sometimes pressure can make a situation like Pro Day even more fun.
"You see them out here, and you’re like, 'Okay.' I mean, once you get going, you’re going. I hit all the numbers that I thought I was going to hit," offensive lineman Demetris Harris said with a confident smile. "I know I turned some heads. 'Who’s this, who’s this?' Yeah, that’s me!"
The NFL's International Player Pathway opens doors for prospects across the globe as the league tries to attract more young players who want to take their shot at football on the highest level.
Roy Mbaeteka is from Nigeria. He signed a contract with the New York Giants last season, but he wants to test free agency in 2023. He said players making it to the final rounds of the NFL selection process is a huge inspiration to young athletes in his home country.
"When they see someone that they know they've worked out with once, or seen once, and they see him out here trying to make it in the big leagues…it gives them hope," Mbaeteka said after his workout. "He thinks that 'I can do it. If he can do it, we can do it.'"
Junior Aho is a native of France who played junior college football before transferring to SMU. He wants to be one of many foreign players who can make a strong impression on NFL scouts.
"I hope what we’re doing now will give more opportunity to the next generation of international players who want to play football. So, I’m glad to be in that program," Aho said.
The 2023 NFL Draft is April 27-29 in Kansas City.
