Every player has a different agenda on Pro Day.
Some are trying to maintain their draft status in the eyes of NFL personnel, while others are hoping they can prove they belong on the professional level.
And everything is done under the watchful gaze of NFL general managers, coaches and scouts, who are hoping they can find the draft pick to change their franchises’ fortunes.
With personnel from all 32 NFL teams in attendance, 22 former Tigers took part in LSU’s Pro Day at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility on Friday, hoping to maintain the program’s status as an NFL breeding ground.
Nearly 100 NFL representatives were in attendance, meticulously scouting the 19 Tigers who recently ended their LSU careers and three others still hoping for a chance at the next level.
Perhaps the most notable player at Pro Day was former LSU offensive tackle La’el Collins, who sits as the Tigers’ highest-graded player on ESPN’s draft board at No. 28. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Collins pegged as the 16th pick going to the Houston Texans.
LSU coach Les Miles said he doesn’t know which team will select his former four-year lineman in this year’s NFL Draft, which begins April 30. But Miles firmly believes Collins has first-round talent.
“He’s going to play a significant role for some NFL franchise for quite some time,” Miles said. “He is a first round draft pick.”
After performing in all six events in the NFL Combine in February, Collins narrowed his day to only the position drills, during which he worked out with former teammate Elliott Porter.
But even without Pro Day, numerous teams have already come knocking on Collins’ door.
The former All-American said he “really can’t keep count” how many scouts and coaches have contacted him since his senior season ended Dec. 30, 2014, and he’s tried to harness as much information as possible.
“Throughout this whole process, my biggest goal is to become a sponge,” Collins said. “I wanted to soak in everything I could from each guy.”
However, the Tigers’ other first-round projection — former LSU cornerback Jalen Collins — was only a spectator Friday.
Jalen, who ESPN projects as a first-round pick, held himself out of Pro Day because of an “incomplete Jones fracture” in his right foot doctors alerted him to at the NFL Combine.
After discovering the injury, Jalen said he underwent surgery and had a screw put in his foot to “prevent any breaks down the road.”
Despite the setback, the rangy, 6-foot-1 cornerback performed well enough in February’s combine to warrant first round consideration, and ESPN now has him ranked as the 29th-best prospect. Jalen said he has meetings scheduled with the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars next week.
“It feels like all the hard work I’ve been putting in has kind of paid off,” Jalen said.
However, there was one player trying to show pro scouts his performance at the NFL Combine was a fluke — former LSU running back Kenny Hilliard.
Hilliard, who finished his four-year college career with 1,557 rushing yards, ran a disappointing 4.8 in the 40-yard dash during February’s combine but boosted that low mark to a 4.60 on Friday.
Hilliard said he worked with Mack Chuilli — founder and CEO of Traction Center for Sports Excellence — to improve the time of his 40-yard dash, focusing on his first-step burst and reducing the number of steps he took every 10 yards.
Hilliard said NFL personnel asked him Thursday if he’d be able to improve his underwhelming 40-yard dash from the combine but declined to give a definitive answer.
“I told them just to be prepared and watch what I run,” Hilliard said. “I kind of shocked those guys that I ran the great time that I did [Friday].”
Hilliard’s former backfield partner, running back Terrence Magee, also showcased his talents in front of the nearly 100 talent evaluators in the Tigers’ practice facility.
Magee clocked in with a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash and flashed his skills as a receiving threat out of the backfield, hauling in several passes from former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey.
“That’s what I do,” Magee said. “I get out of the backfield, run routes, catch balls and pass protect and things of that nature. I’m not that fast. It ain’t too often I break a 40-yard run.”
Two players who didn’t have to run a 40-yard dash were former Tigers Danielle Hunter and Kwon Alexander.
With his imposing 6-foot-5, 252-pound frame, Hunter said NFL teams have asked him to consider moving from his comfortable position at defensive end to outside linebacker. So on Friday, the Texas native performed with both groups to show scouts he could handle the position switch.
Hunter’s 4.57 40-yard dash was the fastest among all defensive linemen during February’s NFL Combine, so he was focused on one thing during the split drills — his hips.
“That’s the main thing about football, your hips,” Hunter said. “All the coaches, no matter what drill it is, they look at your hips and explosion.”
After recording the second-fastest 40-yard dash for a linebacker during February’s combine, Alexander took it lighter Friday, performing in only the 60-yard shuttle and position drills. He said he’s already heard from “a couple” NFL teams but isn’t concerned where he ends up playing.
“Football is football,” Alexander said. “Wherever I go, I’m going to play football.”
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR