This year’s Ohio State Pro Day kicked off at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Every NFL team and over 140 personnel were on hand. Eighteen former Buckeyes worked out in the hopes that they would be able to get the shot at the next level. Joining the 17 draft-eligible Buckeyes was former Ohio State running back Miyan Williams. He declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he went undrafted and did not sign with any team after. The fact that he missed all of Spring due to an injury he suffered at the end of the 2023 season contributed. He signed a deal with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts. Williams worked out, hoping to get an invite to Fall Camp in the NFL.
Williams can be considered a winner at the Ohio State Pro Day for just suiting up and getting in front of NFL scouts and coaches. However, there were a few others who raised a few eyebrows and gave the NFL what it needed to consider for the draft.
It should be noted that potential first-round pick Tyleik Williams took a fall during his 40-yard dash. It looked serious at first but he walked off on his own and came back out to support his teammates and released an, “I’m fine,” statement after.
NFL-Bound Buckeyes Impress At The Ohio State Pro Day
Improving on a Bad Combine Performance
Judging quarterbacks based off throws against air, both good and bad, is a moot practice. Remember Zach Wilson’s Pro Day? Remember how good he was in the NFL? At the Scouting Combine, Will Howard struggled to throw the ball to receivers with whom he had no chemistry. He has plenty of NFL-worthy traits and teams will likely love to have him in the locker room but that Combine performance was forgettable.
This time, it was much better. Throwing to Emeka Egbuka, Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, TreVeyon Henderson, and Miyan Williams, Howard looked much more like an NFL-bound quarterback. He attempted 67 passes and completed all but two. Better yet, those two incompletions were drops.
This year’s quarterback class in the draft is less-than-stellar. Right now, there are only two quarterbacks expected to go in the first round. One of them has draft experts divided, so who knows. Howard had to test well to be in contention to be a day-two selection.
On his performance, Howard said, “I think I was able to put everything on display here. I’m happy about how it went, and hopefully, everyone else agrees.”
Grown Man Strength
Of the eight Buckeyes currently projected to land in the first two rounds, five live on the line. One of the biggest strengths of the National Championship-winning season was how the lines played down the stretch. Between Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Tyleik Williams, Jack Sawyer, and Jaylahn Tuimoloau, the Buckeyes had an embarrassment of riches.
Most of the Buckeyes invited to the Combine did not participate, so this was the first chance for NFL scouts to get a good look at each player. Simmons is still rehabbing from his season-ending knee injury. Even then, he was able to get measured and put up 34 reps on the bench press. He didn’t do any of the timed drills or the explosive testing but he did spend a little time in movement drills. In those drills, he did not look like that knee was still bothering him, likely putting a number of teams’ concerns at ease.
On the defensive side, Ty Hamilton has seen his stock rise over the last few months. The defensive tackle led the way with 35 bench press reps and took part in every drill to give the NFL a better scope of his athleticism.
Ohio State in the NFL
If you buy stock in the Relative Athletic Score (RAS), only five of the group don’t have an RAS score of at least 8.5…because they did not test. Eight Buckeyes own RAS of 9.2 or better, with Quinshon Judkins owning the top grade at 9.89. This group from the Ohio State Pro Day could break the NFL Draft record for most selections from a single school. It is expected that Ohio State will tie Georgia’s and Michigan’s record of 15. It’ll likely come down to whether or not Gee Scott Jr. (who had a strong Pro Day himself) or Josh Fryar hear their names called.
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