Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Blue Raiders take advantage of the “opportunity” of 2022 Pro Day
3/29/2022 6:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Early, though not necessarily bright and early with the overcast skies outside on Tuesday, the Middle Tennessee weight room had shifted its attention mostly over to the bench press station for 2022's pro day. But all it took was one jump to have everyone whip their attention back to the vertical jump.
"OK DQ!" a teammate shouted out amid whoops and cheers from the rest of the crowd, as the linebacker soared just short of 35 inches on his first jump. A quick flutter of feet later, and seemingly the whole room held their breath for DQ Thomas' second and final jump. Up, down, his arms went once, up, down, his arms went twice, up, down, his arms went one final time, before he burst up and tapped two more tabs over, giving him 35 inches on the dot for his vertical jump.
Nearly two hours later, with a full morning of workouts completed not just for Thomas, but 11 other Blue Raiders in attendance at this year's Pro Day, and Thomas was all smiles.
"I really wanted more, but I can't complain," Thomas said. "I'm fortunate for it, blessed for it. I put in the work that I did, I'm glad it paid off."
For players like Thomas and Reed Blankenship, both of whom participated in collegiate all-star games after Middle Tennessee's Bahamas Bowl victory and are generating substantial NFL buzz, Pro Day was one last chance for them to impress NFL scouts. For others in attendance, it perhaps was one last shot at catching an organization's attention with their measurables, both at the NFL and the CFL level.
But as head coach Rick Stockstill pointed out, Pro Day was really just one small piece of the puzzle for players wanting to go pro in sports.
"This is an important day, but it's not the most important day," Stockstill said. "They had four years, some three years, of tape that they put out. This is just for scouts to get a close up (look), see and talk to them, see how well they take coaching, if they listen, how they've taken care of their body since they got through playing."
The coaching is perhaps the most jarring part of the day to the outsider, with different scouts taking different tacks to how they walk players through the drill. Some are smooth, offering helpful tips to help guys improve their numbers (like the Jets scout telling one player that he was jumping up too much on his broad jump, and to think about trying to jump out instead). Others are more willing to ratchet up the already high pressure, critiquing technique until they get it right, but willing to complement a job well done when the player nails it.
That increased pressure, clearly, was part of what made the end of the day a relief for Blankenship.
"(It's) a huge weight lifted off my shoulder, I don't have to run a 40 any more," Blankenship said shortly after he completed his position specific drills, where his coverage skills were on display for all in attendance. "I felt outside my numbers were really great, can't complain about those. I think everybody did great. Everybody showed up and showed out. There's not really much you can do now, it's all in their hands and now it's just getting ready for the draft."
Helping alleviate that pressure, however, was the strong attendance from MT's coaching staff and current players watching their teammates go through the paces both inside the weight room and out, as seen by the oohs and aahs in DQ's vertical jump or Jarrin Pierce's diving catch during wide receiver workouts. Families for many of the participants also showed up to watch, particularly when the event moved onto the field at Floyd Stadium.
"It's pretty cool, to be honest with you, that so many of our current players came out and watched these guys work out," Stockstill said. "It just shows you the brotherhood, the friendship that they have. I've always opened it up for parents, because it's a special day for them also. They've followed their son. They've watched him play. They've traveled to games. Why wouldn't I let them come watch them perform in one of the biggest interviews that they've had up to this point in their life?"
This year's NFL draft is almost exactly a month away, which only makes the next few weeks nerve racking for all involved. But as folks like Blankenship walked off the field with a plethora of scouts looking to get to know him just that bit more, it left the veteran Blue Raider safety humbled and grateful for the opportunity of the day.
"It's been a grind, honestly," Blankenship said of the draft process. "I've been in Texas training, then I went to the East-West Bowl Game, we got to sit down with different teams. It gets a little nerve racking, (because) you've never been in that situation before. Just having that opportunity, it means the world. A lot of people don't get that chance."
Notes
"OK DQ!" a teammate shouted out amid whoops and cheers from the rest of the crowd, as the linebacker soared just short of 35 inches on his first jump. A quick flutter of feet later, and seemingly the whole room held their breath for DQ Thomas' second and final jump. Up, down, his arms went once, up, down, his arms went twice, up, down, his arms went one final time, before he burst up and tapped two more tabs over, giving him 35 inches on the dot for his vertical jump.
Nearly two hours later, with a full morning of workouts completed not just for Thomas, but 11 other Blue Raiders in attendance at this year's Pro Day, and Thomas was all smiles.
"I really wanted more, but I can't complain," Thomas said. "I'm fortunate for it, blessed for it. I put in the work that I did, I'm glad it paid off."
For players like Thomas and Reed Blankenship, both of whom participated in collegiate all-star games after Middle Tennessee's Bahamas Bowl victory and are generating substantial NFL buzz, Pro Day was one last chance for them to impress NFL scouts. For others in attendance, it perhaps was one last shot at catching an organization's attention with their measurables, both at the NFL and the CFL level.
But as head coach Rick Stockstill pointed out, Pro Day was really just one small piece of the puzzle for players wanting to go pro in sports.
"This is an important day, but it's not the most important day," Stockstill said. "They had four years, some three years, of tape that they put out. This is just for scouts to get a close up (look), see and talk to them, see how well they take coaching, if they listen, how they've taken care of their body since they got through playing."
The coaching is perhaps the most jarring part of the day to the outsider, with different scouts taking different tacks to how they walk players through the drill. Some are smooth, offering helpful tips to help guys improve their numbers (like the Jets scout telling one player that he was jumping up too much on his broad jump, and to think about trying to jump out instead). Others are more willing to ratchet up the already high pressure, critiquing technique until they get it right, but willing to complement a job well done when the player nails it.
That increased pressure, clearly, was part of what made the end of the day a relief for Blankenship.
"(It's) a huge weight lifted off my shoulder, I don't have to run a 40 any more," Blankenship said shortly after he completed his position specific drills, where his coverage skills were on display for all in attendance. "I felt outside my numbers were really great, can't complain about those. I think everybody did great. Everybody showed up and showed out. There's not really much you can do now, it's all in their hands and now it's just getting ready for the draft."
Helping alleviate that pressure, however, was the strong attendance from MT's coaching staff and current players watching their teammates go through the paces both inside the weight room and out, as seen by the oohs and aahs in DQ's vertical jump or Jarrin Pierce's diving catch during wide receiver workouts. Families for many of the participants also showed up to watch, particularly when the event moved onto the field at Floyd Stadium.
"It's pretty cool, to be honest with you, that so many of our current players came out and watched these guys work out," Stockstill said. "It just shows you the brotherhood, the friendship that they have. I've always opened it up for parents, because it's a special day for them also. They've followed their son. They've watched him play. They've traveled to games. Why wouldn't I let them come watch them perform in one of the biggest interviews that they've had up to this point in their life?"
This year's NFL draft is almost exactly a month away, which only makes the next few weeks nerve racking for all involved. But as folks like Blankenship walked off the field with a plethora of scouts looking to get to know him just that bit more, it left the veteran Blue Raider safety humbled and grateful for the opportunity of the day.
"It's been a grind, honestly," Blankenship said of the draft process. "I've been in Texas training, then I went to the East-West Bowl Game, we got to sit down with different teams. It gets a little nerve racking, (because) you've never been in that situation before. Just having that opportunity, it means the world. A lot of people don't get that chance."
Notes
- Among the scouts in attendance on Tuesday were a plethora of folks with Middle Tennessee ties. Vikings scout Alex Dale played safety for the Blue Raiders as recently as 2017, and was actually teammates of both Blankenship and Thomas. Cam Robinson, a former standout linebacker for the Blue Raiders, was in attendance for the Edmonton Elks of the CFL, where he's currently the linebackers coach. And Dom Green, a former assistant coach at MT under Boots Donnelly, was in attendance on behalf of the New York Jets.
- "All of our players, whether they go into coaching, whether they go into scouting, whether they go into the business world, I'm just so honored and proud when they come back," Rick Stocksill said. "For Cam and Alex to be able to come back, they put a lot of sweat and work into this field. And now they're on it evaluating (them). Alex played with Reed, Alex played with DQ. Cam's a little bit older. But I think it's cool that they've been able to come out here and now they're in the evaluation process, in Alex's case, of former teammates."
- One of the two QBs throwing to the WRs and RBs during position workouts was Mailk Henry, who was most well known for his time at Independence Community College, which was documented on the Netflix Series "Last Chance U." Henry, who played at both Florida State and Nevada as a collegiate athlete in addition to in Indy, most recently played professional for the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League.
- Brad Anderson posted a 34 1/2 vertical jump ... Reed Blankenship notched a 4.22 shuttle ... DQ Thomas repped 24 on the bench press and had a 4.27 shuttle ... Jarrin Pierce had a 4.22 shuttle
Players Mentioned
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