Nebraska’s NFL draft hopefuls impress at Pro Day

As whistles blew, players hollered and Nebraska’s NFL draft hopefuls ran through a series of drills, a transformation was occurring in Nebraska athletics.

Shortly after Nebraska football’s 2024 Pro Day began, interim athletic director Dennis Leblanc paced the sidelines of the Hawks Championship Center with a cell phone to his ear. By the end of the hour, Nebraska had a permanent athletic director for the future, Troy Dannen, and a priority candidate for the university’s system president.

While head coach Matt Rhule was aware of the outside news — he briefly broke away from the drills to take reporters’ questions about Dannen — the players who he’d come to support were focused on anything but.

Even still, offensive lineman Nouredin Nouili put in a good word about the stability that Rhule and Leblanc provided over the last week.

“It’s not only Coach Rhule but all the head coaches that are here; there’s head coaches that have been here for over 20 years like the softball coach (Rhonda Revelle) and the volleyball coach (John Cook). Every head coach matters in a situation like that,” Nouili said. “… I think he’s (Leblanc) done a really good job, and without him I wouldn’t be standing here with two degrees; he’s helped me out a lot.”

Nouili was one of 11 Huskers who participated in the 40-yard dash, broad jump and position-specific drills in front of NFL scouts Wednesday morning. A large contingent of Husker coaches and players were also present to watch the drills, from sixth-year seniors such as Ty Robinson and Bryce Benhart to first-year early enrollees like Dylan Raiola and Daniel Kaelin.

While Raiola’s brief throwing session garnered plenty of attention, so did the testing of Nebraska’s defensive players. Defensive back Phalen Sanford provided a standout moment in his first attempt at the 40-yard dash, where his fast start led to cheers from teammates and surprised expressions from scouts glancing at their stopwatches.

Rhule had predicted such a scene during his pre-spring press conference on Monday.

“We have guys like Phalen Sanford that I just believe teams should take a chance on and bring in,” Rhule said. “When they see Phalen run 4.38, 4.42 or whatever he runs, it’ll open some eyes.”

With no official times available in the immediate aftermath of the Pro Day, the even-keeled Sanford wasn’t celebrating just yet.

“It’s just another time to come out, compete and show what you’re about and who you are, so I’m satisfied with everything,” Sanford said. “It means a lot that Coach Rhule has my back in that way, especially coming from a coach that’s been in the NFL. He knows what they’re looking for and he knows how important special teams are at that level.”

Alongside Sanford, defensive backs Omar Brown and Quinton Newsome also impressed during their testing. Newsome was pleased with his 40-yard dash, while Brown was a standout in the broad jump.

Brown, who spent two years at Nebraska after beginning his career at Northern Iowa, said he felt “a little tight” but had to push through in order to showcase his toughness to scouts.

“That’s what I came out here and showed the coaches; no matter what, I’m a dog,” Brown said.

Rhule said on Monday that he’d received plenty of positive feedback from scouts about Brown at the East-West Shrine Bowl. If not for an injury suffered late in the 2023 season, Newsome might’ve been able to go through the same pre-draft process as his teammate.

Instead, the veteran cornerback underwent offseason shoulder surgery that limited him for several weeks. Newsome was back to full health and able to run through all the pro day drills, but losing out on potential progress still presented a setback he’s glad to have overcome.

“It was just something that I had to fight through with the support of everybody around me,” Newsome said. “That took me a long way just knowing I had all these people who really look out for me and motivate me to keep going.”

A three-year starter at Nebraska, Newsome is perhaps the program’s best NFL draft prospect this offseason. Though Nebraska’s 56-year streak of having at least one player selected in the NFL Draft came to an end in 2019, it’d still be a slight letdown if zero Huskers are selected in the 2024 edition.

But to Rhule, it doesn’t matter if players land on a roster through the draft or through free agency. Nebraska’s head coach felt he saw NFL-caliber players working out on Wednesday, though it’ll be another month until Nebraska’s NFL hopefuls learn if the league’s executives feel the same way.

“I think the guys have done a fantastic job,” Rhule said “… I’ve been proud to tell the scouts, ‘We have a bunch of guys here that no matter how they get there — whether they’re drafted early, drafted late or free agents — we’ve got guys with the grit and toughness to make teams and stick around.’”