How did the Huskers Do in front of NFL Scouts

While Dylan Raiola’s throws garnered significant attention, Nebraska’s Pro Day on Wednesday provided opportunities for eight Huskers to showcase their skills in front of NFL teams. Representatives from the Chiefs, Commanders, Cardinals, Jets, Broncos, Packers, Bears, Raiders, and Patriots were seen in the crowd during the workouts.

With no Husker participating in the NFL Scouting Combine, this year’s Pro Day added significant importance. As of this writing, no official times have been released, but here is a look at how each player did in their position specific drills.

The first group we saw was Anthony Grant, Joshua Fleeks and Billy Kemp going through a receiving workout before finishing with some running back specific workouts.

Anthony Grant

During the receiving portion Grant showcased soft hands catching every ball in sight. However he did show some limitations as a route runner often drifting on his cuts. In the running back specific drills Grant’s quick feet shined during the bag drill.

Joshua Fleeks

Playing both running back and receiver, Fleeks was looking to showcase that versatility. While Fleeks didn’t look bad, he just wasn’t quite as crisp as Kemp running routes often slowing down or rounding instead of breaking out. Fleeks also tended to trap the ball rather than extending out to make catches.

Billy Kemp

Kemp was at his best running the shorter routes as he was able to showcase his quickness and burst out of his breaks. On an out and in route, Kemp was very impressive bursting out of his break. Kemp caught every ball that was thrown to him, including several that were outside his frame.

The scouts even had Kemp go through running back drills and looked pretty impressive for a receiver. Wednesday was an impressive showing for Kemp who looked like a NFL slot receiver.

The next group to work out were the defenders as Luke Reimer joined defensive backs Quinton Newsome, Omar Brown and Phalen Sanford.

Luke Reimer

Working out with the defensive backs Reimer was able to hold his own. Reimer showed good depth in his drops while also displaying quickness to burst forward. Doing drills doesn’t do Reimer’s game justice as he thrives with good instincts and is always around the ball.

Quinton Newsome

To anybody that watched Newsome the past couple of years it was no surprise he looked good on the field drills. Newsome showed fluidity in his movements changing directions and displayed good quickness throughout.

Omar Brown

In my opinion, Omar Brown had the best day of any Husker at the Pro Day. Brown looked smooth doing throughout the drills despite mentioning some tightness during the drills. In the W drill Brown not only was smooth in his backpedal but showed good change of direction ability. I went into the Pro Day thinking Brown had the best chance to be drafted and today’s performance solidified that.

Phalen Sanford

Sanford did well this past year stepping up when Singleton got hurt. Sanford is a good athlete and when Nebraska has tested in previous years he’s always had good numbers. So the Pro Day was a chance for him to really shine. During drills you could see the explosive straight line speed, but where he struggled was having to change direction. Sanford looked tight in his movements, especially compared to Omar Brown and Quinton Newsome.

The Last Group to go was just Nouili who was the lone offensive lineman to workout.

Nouredin Nouili

In the drills they worked a lot with the bags and had him moving laterally. Nouili looked good at times but struggled a few times when his momentum got him going one way and he struggled to make a quick change of direction. During a pass blocking drill Nouili looked very good going to his left to get depth and deliver a punch.