Pro scouts show up in big numbers to watch K-State NFL Draft hopefuls on pro day
.JPG "Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn (RB27) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 5, 2023.")
Professional scouts descend on Kansas State every spring to take a look at the Wildcats’ latest batch of NFL Draft hopefuls when they work out on pro day, but something felt different about the event this year.
It was much more crowded than usual.
As 13 former K-State football players showed off their athleticism in front of decision-makers at the next level, a gaggle of scouts gathered to watch their every move. In total, 47 scouts were in attendance for pro day. All 32 NFL teams were represented by at least one talent evaluator. There was also one scout from the Canadian Football League in attendance.
K-State isn’t used to hosting that many scouts, but it was expected given how many NFL prospects were on the roster last year when the Wildcats won a Big 12 championship and played in the Sugar Bowl.
“It says a lot about Kansas State,” former cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe said. “I mean, we are the Big 12 champs, right? And we have some dudes like Deuce Vaughn and Felix Anudike-Uzomah, just some big-time players. I honestly thank them for bringing all these scouts out.”
All that attention made it an easy call for transfers to attend K-State’s pro day rather than the school they started out with.
“There are a lot of great players here,” former receiver Kade Warner said. “And a lot of those great players weren’t highly recruited either. Kansas State is not the type of school that is going to go out and get five stars day after day after day. A lot of these guys developed and are now good enough to go to the league and have a chance to be professional athletes. It speaks volumes about not only this place but the atmosphere that the coaches have put in place.”
Most NFL scouts were in attendance to get an up close look at Anudike-Uzomah and Vaughn.
Anudike-Uzomah is projected to go in the first few rounds as a defensive end. The 6-foot-4, 256-pound playmaker says his goal is to impress teams so thoroughly over the next few months that he receives an invitation to the NFL Draft in his hometown of Kansas City and gets to spend some time in the green room.
“If I get invited to the green room I am definitely going to go,” he said. “That is a dream come true at Union Station. I have been there 1,000 times. It is crazy that the draft is going to be there.”
He helped his draft stock on Friday by running an impressive time on the three-cone drill. He did not attempt a 40-yard dash.
“I wanted to prove that I can move in space,” he said. “The type of defense we run, it didn’t allow me to get out in space and drop and run. The point of today was to show that I am able to be an edge rusher who can move in space and play down on the line. I can rush the passer and drop into coverage.”
Vaughn also seemed to help himself by posting a time close to 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He was also brave enough to catch punts in high winds and run routes for Adrian Martinez while he showed off his arm. One of his catches, in particular, had scouts buzzing.
Seemingly everyone took notice when he ran a wheel route and made a diving catch from Martinez.
“I wanted to showcase as a route runner and being able to catch the ball out of the backfield,” Vaughn said. “I also wanted to prove I could track the ball on punts and catch those cleanly. I also wanted to run a pretty good 40, and I felt like I did a nice job.”
The fastest 40-yard dash of the day belonged to Boye-Doe. The Lawrence native said he was timed between 4.28 and 4.33 seconds by the scouts in attendance.
Either one of those numbers would have ranked within the top 5 for all positions at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Boye-Doe wasn’t invited to that showcase. Fortunately, a member of every NFL team got to watch him zoom up and down the practice field at K-State’s pro day.
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Pro scouts show up in big numbers to watch K-State NFL Draft hopefuls on pro day."