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With all eyes on the NFL Scouting Combine later this month (February 20-26), it’s easy to overlook that an often equally important month of Pro Days will soon begin. Throughout the month of March, college football programs from around the country and from all three major divisions will host their own version of combine workouts exclusively for their draft eligible players. In many cases, schools will even invite former non-draft eligible players back to test in hopes of signing a free agent deal.
Testing at Pro Days is similar to the Combine where players run the 40-yard dash, cone drills, bench press, and perform various agility drills. It’s not unusual to see prospects perform better at Pro Days given the familiar environment.
Pro Days are typically well attended by NFL scouts as they offer one last opportunity to fine tune evaluations and find diamonds in the rough. Pro Days often help narrow down draft boards and help teams prepare for individual workouts and interviews beginning in April.
Below is a list of Pro Days by date (per NFL.com):
March 1: Purdue, Texas-El Paso
March 4: Alabama-Birmingham, Alcorn, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Troy
March 5: Alabama State, Auburn, Buffalo, Jackson State, Northwestern, Southern Mississippi, Youngstown State
March 6: Alabama A&M, Arkansas, Mississippi State, North Alabama, South Florida, Wisconsin
March 7: Arizona, Central Arkansas, Clemson, Furman, Illinois, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Syracuse, Washington State
March 8: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Montana, TCU, Texas A&M
March 11: California (Pa.), Penn State
March 12: Delaware State, Florida, Jacksonville State, Lehigh, Towson, Sacramento State, UCLA
March 13: Alabama, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Rutgers
March 14: Georgia Tech, Tulsa, UNLV, West Alabama, West Virginia
March 18: Air Force, Howard, Valdosta State
March 19: Florida A&M, Florida State, Louisville, Richmond (with Liberty), Virginia
March 20: Ball State, Central Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina State, Tennessee
March 21: Boise State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Kentucky, Stanford
March 22: Missouri Western, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt
March 25: Middle Tennessee State
March 26: McNeese State, North Carolina, North Carolina Central, Texas
March 27: LSU, Louisiana Tech, SMU, USC
March 28: BYU, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Yale