Gophers football hosted its annual Pro Day in Athlete’s Village, which featured some of its best talent from coach P.J. Fleck’s tenure and representatives from all 32 NFL teams.
The participants included safety Tyler Nubin, tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, long snapper Brady Weeks, wide receiver Corey Crooms Jr., running back Sean Tyler, defensive lineman Kyler Baugh, defensive lineman Chris Collins and cornerback Tre’Von Jones.
Nubin, the top-ranked prospect from the Gophers roster heading into the NFL Draft, did not disappoint the scouts. After only participating in drills at the NFL Combine, Nubin was a full participant at Pro Day.
“I got surgery after the regular season, meniscectomy in my lateral meniscus in my right knee,” Nubin said. “I accelerated the recovery process because I wanted to do everything at the combine. It kind of bit me in the butt a little bit.”
The Gophers’ all-time interceptions leader later participated in individual drills with Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel.
Spann-Ford limited his participation in the Pro Day, sticking with his 40-yard dash time of 4.77 seconds. He mainly focused on the cone and route running drills with passes being thrown by Max Brosmer, the Gophers’ new transfer quarterback from the University of New Hampshire.
Spann-Ford said three NFL teams have shown interest in him over the past week.
“I’ve met with three in the past week: the Jets, Broncos and Cowboys,” Spann-Ford said. “So, just continuing to do those visits, meetings and just improve my game along with that and working out.”
Autman-Bell showed off his speed in the 40-yard dash and his strength, repping 225 pounds on the bench press 18 times.
Autman-Bell said he heard multiple numbers from his 40-yard dash, but the consensus was around 4.5 seconds.
“I heard 4.4, so I’m going to run with my 4.4, but I heard it was 4.5, so that’s cool with me,” Autman-Bell said.
Autman-Bell trained in Florida before the Pro Day and hopes to be playing professionally, whether through the draft or making an NFL roster.
Baugh, weighing in at 302 pounds, showed off his explosiveness with a 33.5-inch vertical leap and 34 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, which was the highest mark of any player in attendance.
“I felt really good about today,” Baugh said. “All that hard work that I had for the past three months, I feel like it paid off today.”
Baugh added he never expected to be participating in a Pro Day. The former Gophers defensive lineman is from Talihina, a small town in Oklahoma, and spent his first three seasons in the FCS at Houston Baptist.
Weeks showed off his athleticism with a Gopher-high 34.5-inch vertical and repping 225 pounds 18 times.
Weeks said he expected his 34.5-inch vertical leap and wanted to show off that long snappers are athletes, too.
“I know I’m a little sneaky athlete,” Weeks said. “But it’s great to get out there and show everyone what I do have.”
Weeks has been snapping since eighth grade, and he attributes it to his time with his father. Kent Weeks, Brady’s father, played three different positions at Northwestern: running back, cornerback and punter.
Weeks, like eight of his Minnesota teammates who appeared in the Pro Day, concluded their Gopher careers by showcasing their skillsets to NFL scouts.
Eddie Lentoni
Apr 27, 2024 at 10:15 am
@MarkRobinson Thank you for posting that. I’m a Giants fan and have been digging and digging to learn his 40-time, among other test #s. I had read that “speed is an issue”, but couldn’t find details.
Thank you for your comment.
Mark Robinson
Mar 21, 2024 at 10:20 am
Nubin went from likely early 2nd round to likely 4th rounder. This article says he shined. He had terrible numbers and lost A LOT of money.