Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

Pro Day recap: Coleman headlines Volunteers’ workouts

Ethan Levine

By Ethan Levine

Published:

The Tennessee Volunteers held their annual NFL Draft Pro Day on Wednesday morning, but the fanfare surrounding the event did not quite match the Pro Day festivities at many other SEC schools, especially schools with a football tradition as rich as UT’s.

Nevertheless, only eight former Volunteers participated in Wednesday’s Pro Day, none of which are projected to be taken anywhere near the top of the draft.

Cornerback Justin Coleman is regarded as the team’s top pro prospect despite being projected as a sixth or seventh round pick at best, and he garnered the most attention among the players on display on Wednesday from a large crop of scouts and executives.

Coleman chose not to run the 40-yard dash after posting a promising time at the NFL Combine last month, but did manage to impress those in attendance, resulting in invites to conduct private workouts with a few teams.

“(I’ve had more) coaches contacting, saying they want a private workout or they just want to sit down and talk to me,” Coleman told the media after his workout. “They’re showing interest. Today I talked to Philadelphia and Indianapolis.”

The Cincinnati Bengals were another team in attendance to watch Coleman work out. The Bengals have a pair of star corners in the starting lineup in former Alabama standout Dre Kirkpatrick and the oft-troubled Adam “Pacman” Jones, but they’d love to add depth at the position, and Coleman’s talent matched with his draft projection may make him an ideal fit.

CBS Sports rates Coleman as the 31st best cornerback prospect in the draft class. Here’s an excerpt from his NFL.com draft profile:

Plays an aggressive brand of football. Physical in press coverage. Saw more action in slot in 2014 to take advantage of tackling. Defeats block and launches into ball carrier with proper timing. Contain-oriented on the perimeter against run. Instinctive and comfortable in zone. Recognizes combinations and makes proper adjustments. Good ball skills.

“I came out here to just put the icing on the cake,” Coleman said during his post-workout media availability. “I had a pretty strong combine, so all I had to do was do pretty well here at Pro Day to show that I’m pretty consistent.”

Coleman’s workout was even more significant to Tennessee’s program than many realize, even though the star corner will never play another game as a Volunteer. If Coleman goes undrafted, which would likely mean no Vols were drafted, it’d snap a streak of 52 consecutive years in which a UT player was selected in the draft.

“It would be an honor if I was the one to continue to that streak and be drafted,” Coleman said. “That would be pretty cool.”

A few other Vols not named Coleman also impressed on Wednesday, which should help their markets as potential undrafted free agents hoping to latch onto a training camp this summer.

The best of the non-Coleman bunch was punter Matt Darr, whose workout was as impressive as it was bizarre. For starers, his punting display was as good as he could’ve hoped. But it was his display of athleticism and strength that wowed scouts in attendance.

https://twitter.com/NDTScouting/status/580736816589885441

If Darr ever gets his shot in the NFL and is tasked with bringing down a punt returner on a long return, it’s safe to say he’s strong enough to wrestle most anyone to the ground.

Other news & notes from Tennessee’s Pro Day:

Gilliam was a senior last season and was regarded as Tennessee’s best offensive lineman. He played on the bum knee for most of the season, and the Vols allowed more sacks and tackles for loss than anyone else in the SEC as a result.

https://twitter.com/SportsbySharona/status/580734481201426433

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings