Pro Day Preview for March 4th: Texas A&M, Mississippi St., Arkansas, Purdue

Sep 21, 2013; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (70) against the SMU Mustangs at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Monday signaled the beginning of a very eventful couple of weeks for NFL teams and prospects, for the first couple of Pro Days began. Teams such as Minnesota, Wake Forrest, Auburn and Pittsburgh have held their own respective pro days over the past two days, with teams such as Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Arkansas are on the docket for tomorrow.

Pro Days are a big deal for players and scouts because it is the last chance that players have to work out in front a ton of coaches and scouts at once. Along with that, players who were unable to fully compete at the NFL combine last month will have a chance to show case their abilities and, hopefully, be able healthy enough to participate in the drills they were unable to previously.

Here is a list of players who will have the spotlight on them tomorrow during their Pro Day:

Oct 4, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi (70) lines up against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M: During Texas A&M’s bowl game last season, Ogbuehi suffered a devastating ACL injury. Due to this injury, Ogbuehi was not able to run at the combine and it will also keep him sidelined for his pro day on March 4th.

Before getting injured, Ogbuehi seemed destined to become the third straight Texas A&M tackle to be taken in the first round. Ogbuehi is a very quick and nimble tackle, who relied on his athleticism and footwork to become a dominate offensive tackle at the college level.

At his pro day tomorrow, Ogbuehi will be able to have teams check up on his knee and where he is in his recovery process, as well as having teams conduct interviews with him. If Ogbuehi’s reports show that he is making a quick and full recovery and he is able to nail his interviews, Ogbuehi might still be able to salvage his chance of being a first round pick, come April 30th.

Trey Williams, RB, Texas A&M: While he isn’t a household name, Williams will attract his fair share of attention at the Texas A&M pro day tomorrow. Williams is a very small back, but he was able to stay tall after his strong combine performance. At the combine, Williams ran a 4.49 and was a top performer in the 3 cone drill and 20 yard shuttle. Williams will need to have another strong workout tomorrow to prove to teams that he can be an effective player in the NFL, despite his demeaning stature.

Preston Smith, DE, Mississippi State: Smith had a strong senior year, almost reaching the double-digit sack mark. On top of that, Smith performed very well at the NFL Combine, ranking near the top in the 40 yard dash, the broad jump, 3 cone drill and 60 yard shuttle. NFL Network’s Gil Brandt tweeted this about Preston Smith earlier today:

Smith is on the rise and if he is able to have a strong performance at his pro day tomorrow, Smith could see his name start to shoot up draft boards.

Nov 16, 2013; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker Benardrick McKinney (50) tries to pump up the crowd noise against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State: McKinney is seen by many as a fringe first round guy and with the lack of high-end inside linebackers in this year’s draft, McKinney has quite a bit riding on his pro day tomorrow. McKinney played very well in his junior season at Mississippi State, spearheading the Bulldogs defense, which helped the team rise all the way to Number 1 in the BCS rankings last season. McKinney had a consistent pro day, not standing out in any particular drill, making his pro day ever more important. If McKinney can improve upon his times at the combine and interview well, he might be the top inside linebacker chosen in the NFL Draft.

Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas: At the moment, Flowers is a mid day two prospect, with a slight chance of going in the second round. Flowers currently projects as a 3-4 defensive end in the NFL, but he is a little smaller than some teams would like. Flowers does play with a lot of power, however, and teams will be interested to see his bench press results. Another issue with Flowers though is his speed. He is fairly slow, clocking in at 4.93 at the combine,. An improvement on his time will definitely help his draft stock as well.

Sep 21, 2013; Madison, WI, USA; Purdue Boilermakers defensive end Ryan Russell (99) during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin defeated Purdue 41-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Russell, DE, Purdue: Russell was the only Purdue player invited to the combine last month, so there is some pressure on him, as he maybe the only player to represent the school in the NFL Draft next month. The thing that worries teams the most about Russell is his lack of production during his college career. Russell managed to get 8.5 sacks…combined in his last three years. In comparison, that’s less that what Preston Smith was able to register last season. However, despite his lack of production, his potential will excite some teams because he has almost all the intangibles a team looks for in a defensive end, measuring in at 6’4″, 269 lbs, with 33 3/8″ arms and a 4.75 40 yard dash time. Teams will be looking to see if Russell shows any sort of improvement or refinement during the on the field portion of his pro day.