You could make the case that no player has hurt his stock more during the pre-draft period than Florida’s Jachai Polite. Once considered a lock to go in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, poor showings at the NFL Combine and during Florida’s Pro Day have plummeted Polite’s stock as the draft nears.

Following a breakout season in which Polite registered 11 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss, four passes defended, six forced fumbles, and 45 tackles, all career highs for the junior, he quickly emerged as one of the top pass-rushing prospects in the upcoming draft. However, poor showings at the NFL Combine and at Florida’s Pro Day have resulted in some questioning if Polite will even hear his name during the first few rounds of the draft.

While Florida fans may not have seen that coming, one person that apparently did was Gator defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. During his recent post-practice media availability, Grantham revealed he advised Polite to return to Gainesville to hone his skills before leaving for the NFL.

“Yeah that was my advice, only because there’s a lot of factors that go into being a first-round talent,” Grantham said according to Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. “When guys spend millions of dollars on you, they’re gonna research you, test you, prod you. They want to know exactly what they’re getting because that’s a large sum of money to invest.

“So you really need to be prepared fully, both mentally and physically.”

Based on that response, Grantham knew the hype around Polite would burst upon further inspection. That’s not exactly the kind of comment Polite is likely going to appreciate from his former coach with the draft just weeks away but had he listened to Grantham in the first place, he would currently be refining his skills instead of falling down draft boards.

While noting that Polite has some things to work on moving forward, Grantham did also acknowledge the pass rusher is a “first-round talent” and plays much faster than his registered 40-yard dash times, which hovered around 5.0 during the NFL Combine and Florida’s Pro Day.

That thought is being backed up recently by NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth, who recently came out and said Polite would be a “big-time steal” if he fell to Round 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft.