Instant takeaways: Kansas State Pro Day

KANSAS STATE SPEED

Any questions about the Kansas State team speed were answered on Friday at the team’s Pro Day. An NFL scout walked away shaking his head and admitted that he didn’t remember the last time he saw as much talent or speed on a K-State roster.

And that wasn’t even counting Julius Brents, who unsurprisingly chose not to work out in Manhattan.

I’m told that all three of Deuce Vaughn, Josh Hayes and Ekow Boye-Doe blew teams away with how fast they ran and how they performed in the agility drills as well. And for his size and position, Samuel Wheeler also impressed in the 40-yard dash.

RESTING ON HIS LAURELS

Speaking of Brents, nobody expected him to do any of the testing activities at Kansas State on Friday. After all, that is where he lit up the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis the most. He was the top cornerback in nearly every category.

I thought perhaps he would run the 40 again and log a better time on that front, but he instead chose to opt out of doing so. In fact, he didn’t do any of the drill work, either. The K-State cornerback was very comfortable with resting on everything he did about a month ago.

There is no shame in that.

Instead, Brents was pretty active in supporting his teammates that were competing and conversing with all of the Kansas State coaches that were in attendance as well. NFL teams also spoke to him throughout the event, with the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs being the most active with him.

DEUCE’S DAY

After doing little to no testing when at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Vaughn elected to do all of it in Manhattan at his Pro Day with every NFL team in attendance. To the surprise of nobody, he put on a show.

His 40 time was around 4.4 or 4.5 seconds. His agility and change-of-direction capabilities were on full display and he had eye-popping numbers in those specific events. And he was a sensation as always with his route-running, ball-tracking and hands.

We were told that the Indianapolis Colts special teams coordinator was particularly impressed by his willingness to field punts, after not having done so at the college level, even when the wind was blowing 50 miles per hour.

And aside from one gaffe, the K-State star was perfect at it on the toughest day to do it.

FELIX’S PLANS

Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah had a lot to prove after doing nothing in Indianapolis. Today was the day where he had to impress NFL coaches, front office members and scouts the most and he seemed to do so.

While he didn’t run the 40, he moved very well in the agility drills and was a fluid athlete in about everything he did in front of the professional decision-makers that were on hand. It was not a bad day for the future NFL edge rusher.

Most notably, Anudike-Uzomah wanted to show that he could drop off the line of scrimmage, and he did that well during the parts of the workout conducted by NFL staffers.

He continues to be optimistic about the potential of landing in the first round, but he is even more excited about the draft being in Kansas City. It’s a dream come true for him and motivated him to do everything in his power in the last year to give himself the opportunity to exit K-State a year early.

Anudike-Uzomah plans on being in the green room if invited.

K-STATE COACHING MOMENT

A personal observation I made was the coaching and teaching moment that was taken advantage of by Kansas State assistant Matthew Middleton. Wildcat receiver Phillip Brooks was a part of today’s activities because he caught balls for Adrian Martinez during his workout in front of NFL folks.

After Martinez’s throwing session, Middleton took Brooks aside and was giving him further instruction and tips on certain routes just from what he observed during the regiment. The two were having a very engaging conversation and a productive one.

It was cool to see the cohesion and bond the two have already created and established and how Middleton was opportunistic in his chance to help Brooks get better.

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