More than 35 NFL scouts and three head coaches piled into Kentucky’s Nutter Field House on Thursday for Kentucky’s Pro Day as part of the annual NFL Draft process.

It’s not often the Wildcats draw such a large crowd for their Pro Day, but there’s a difference between this year’s Pro Day and Pro Days of years past, and that difference’s name is Bud Dupree.

Dupree, a potential defensive end and/or linebacker at the NFL level, posted perhaps the single most impressive workout at the NFL Combine last month and is now slated to be drafted as high as the top 10 picks of the draft. With that in mind, it’s not hard to understand why Kentucky’s Pro Day was a stopping point for most NFL organizations in need of help in the front seven.

Those three head coaches represent the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, respectively, and it’s assumed all three were in attendance to see Dupree first and foremost.

For what it’s worth, Dupree has so many team visits scheduled he couldn’t list every one off the top of his head when addressing the media on Thursday.

Dupree did not go through every workout again, allowing some of his numbers from the combine (like his sub-4.7 second 40 time) to stand. However, he did undergo position drills for scouts, and once again he left scouts impressed over his remarkable at his size.

However, we were able to confirm Dupree is indeed human:

Nevertheless, even after that slip during drills, Dupree still managed to score an invite to attend the draft in Chicago, indicating he’s regarded as one of the top prospects in the class.

Working out alongside Dupree on Thursday was fellow UK defensive end Za’Darius Smith, a former junior college transfer expected to be a mid-round pick in this year’s draft.

Like Dupree, Smith participated in the combine last month to give scouts a taste of what he can do on the field, and he followed his combine performance up with another strong showing on Thursday.

He, too, has begun scheduling meetings with NFL teams between now and the draft in late April, indicating there is genuine interest throughout the league in selecting Smith this spring, which is rather remarkable considering Smith is among the most inexperienced prospects in the draft class.

The other two Wildcats to participate in last month’s combine were tailback Braylon Heard, who caught many by surprise when he announced he was heading to the NFL a year early, and offensive tackle Darrian Miller, who started all four years of his Kentucky career.

Heard, a former Nebraska transfer who has now received his degree from UK, addressed why he chose to leave school early during Thursday’s festivities.

Here’s footage of Heard’s 40-yard dash, which many unofficially clocked in the high 4.4-second range.

Miller, who played tackle in college but will likely play guard in the NFL, took to the bench press after skipping that particular workout at the combine.

Mark Stoops media availability at Pro Day:

It’s worth noting that Dupree is among the players who have remained in Kentucky to workout. He is currently enrolled in his final semester as an undergraduate student at UK.

Other Pro Day news & notes:

(The tweet above refers to wideout Javess Blue — UK’s top wideout a year ago — as well as tight end Steven Borden and defensive back Eric Dixon.)

(The tweet above is referring to defensive lineman Mike Douglas, Darrian Miller, tight end Ronnie Shields, fullback D.J. Warren and defensive back Nate Willis).