GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For many draft prospects, Pro Day is an opportunity to push back against any negative narratives coming out of Indianapolis. In the case of Jalen “Teez” Tabor, he did the opposite.

Coming off 40-yard dash times in the high 4.6s (an unofficial 4.68) at the NFL Scouting Combine, Tabor ran again Tuesday in Florida’s indoor practice facility. The times were worse, as he clocked in the 4.7s on three tries.

With those times, anyone and everyone was asked about Tabor.

“Even in talking to these guys (NFL personnel) it’s about what you put on film,” coach Jim McElwain said.

For Tabor and everyone supporting him, “look at the film” became the line of the day.

“Just press play,” Tabor said. “I already did everything I could do. Just press play, you know what I mean? That’s what I do. I’m pretty sure I’ve got more picks than a lot of the top guys. I’m pretty sure I’ve got more touchdowns, probably more touchdowns than they got picks. I don’t get it. They say I’m slow, but I’m not getting beat that way and I’m beating people back this way.”

Despite his slow times being the talk of the day, Tabor showed no sign of a bruised ego. Instead of worrying about his draft stock, he worried about the NFL teams that might pass on him.

“Press play. They see it,” Tabor said. “It is what it is. I mean, it’s not going to be my loss if you pass on me. I’m going to be in this league for a long time. Somebody could lose their job if they pass on me, so I ain’t mad at it.”

It will undoubtedly hurt Tabor from a financial perspective. He was long presumed to be a first-round pick before the NFL Combine, starting with a long offseason of media buzz. The 4.68 time led to talk of him going in the second round, Tuesday’s times had reporters tweeting about the third round. It’s all but confirmed that Tabor’s first contract will be much lower than anyone expected one year ago.

To defend himself, Tabor pointed to future Hall of Famers who went low in the draft.

“In my heart, I’m a first-round pick,” Tabor said. “I know I’m a first-round pick. But, you know, guys slide sometimes. Tom Brady went in the sixth round. Josh Norman fourth. Richard Sherman fifth. They (are) first-round picks, though. They get paid like them.

“You see a lot of these guys, these top-flight guy who go out here and run 4.3, and they’ll be out of the league in four years, you know what I’m saying? I’m in for the long run. Not this little … this is minor. I’m trying to play ball.”

Jarrad Davis, a teammate for three seasons, says throw out the 40 time: Tabor is a cornerback, pure and simple.

“I mean, Jalen’s an athlete, man,” Davis said. “No matter what that 40 says, no matter what any of these times say, he’s an athlete. He’s going to bring his best to the table every day. He’s going to work extremely hard. He’s not going to take any days off. He’s going to make sure you guys know he’s the best. Whether his 40 says this, whatever, he’s not a track star, he’s a cornerback. He’s going to play cornerback in the NFL one day.”

Speaking of Davis …

Jarrad Davis looked healthy, dominant

Davis battled ankle injuries throughout the second half of the season and did not work out at the NFL Combine. At Pro Day, however, he made the best impression possible with a 38.5-inch vertical leap, a 10.9 shuttle time and a 4.56 40-yard dash.

McElwain wasn’t surprised to see his former linebacker pull off the impressive vertical; he’s seen Davis find a burst of power before.

“You talk about measurables, that’s one of those that shows explosive power and that’s why they do the drill,” the coach said. “You guys saw how he hits people. You saw that in the vertical.”

The 40 time was Davis’ fastest, even better than his training sessions.

“It’s just part of my game mode,” Davis said. “I came out here just like I was in The Swamp, just seeing all the coaches and everybody, my family was here supporting me. Just to come out there and kind of mentally mimic that atmosphere, I was able to put myself in a zone I haven’t been in in a while.”

Davis avoided Combine workouts to give his left ankle more time to heal. Skipping the Combine gave him goals for Tuesday.

“You know, that definitely played a role in it,” he said “I set marks for myself and really pushed myself to train and compete. If I didn’t get those times, I’d have to go back and put some more work in. I had 2 1/2 weeks. I feel like I was in good shape coming out here ready to work.”

Davis and Marcus Maye, another one of the day’s top performers, returned for their senior seasons in 2016. McElwain will certainly point to them when advising other Gators.

“Both guys chose to come back and helped themselves actually as they go up in the draft order from a year ago,” McElwain said. “Guys that obviously all these guys are talking about. When you talk about Marcus, his versatility not only to play center field but come down and play in the box and still cover guys as well.

“Jarrad, I mean here’s a guy, look, he could have shut it down with that injury and you guys saw what he did, just even in that Georgia game when he shouldn’t have been playing. And yet that showed more to these guys about him being able to come out and play and want to play and play hurt.”

Austin Appleby ‘excited’ about Gators’ offense

Pro Day was important for Austin Appleby, the Purdue graduate transfer who stepped in for Luke Del Rio last year, starting seven games. He wasn’t invited to the Combine, so Tuesday’s opportunity to throw for pro scouts and coaches was his biggest chance to convince a team that he deserves a shot.

Appleby was a good sport as many of his questions from the media dealt with what went wrong on offense last season and whether things will change in the fall.

“It’s consistency. I think it’s the same story moving forward,” Appleby said. “We’ve got the best playmakers in America. We’ve got great coaches. Got a great plan. Now it’s about putting it all together. If you go back and look at all the tape, whether it be the first half of Tennessee, or you name it, there’s times where we’re prolific. And then there’s times where we kind of sputter our wheels a little bit. …

“But for us, it’s about the consistency – being able to operate at the level that we’re capable to operate at all times. And I’ve been out here for the last couple spring practices, and really encouraged. Everybody’s a year older.”

Besides Appleby, the only late-season starter Florida replaces on offense is LT David Sharpe. Martez Ivey, a former 5-star prospect at the position, is expected to take over that spot.

“So, you fill in the quarterback spot, you go figure out the left tackle, a receiver or two, they all step up – we’re so deep at that position – and then you’re rolling,” Appleby said. “Everybody’s got that other year. Everybody’s becoming upperclassmen for the most part. Now it’s time to turn over and play like veterans, and I’m really excited for the offense.”

There’s excitement, or at least cautious optimism, surrounding the offense because of redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. Both were signed by the current staff out of high school, something that can’t be said for the Gators’ previous four starting signal-callers. Franks and Trask have drawn rave reviews for arm strength, but Appleby cautioned that there is more to be the starting quarterback.

“The arm talent, it speaks for themselves. You can see the way that those two spin the ball, it’s unbelievable,” Appleby said. “That’s not playing quarterback, now. You’ve got to understand how to set your protections. To be able to learn to play the position at a high level in Mac and Coach Nuss’ system. That’s where that growth needs to happen, and it is happening.

“They’re so much further along than they were this time last year. They did not even know how to call plays at this time last year. I think the opportunity for those two to have the spring to themselves is huge for them. … They’ve got all the talent in the world and the sky’s the limit. They’ll be as good as they want to be.”