Jackson State football attracts 27 NFL teams to pro day, even without Deion Sanders

Former Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders made it a point to shine light on pro day workouts at JSU and call out any NFL teams not in attendance.

Now that Sanders is off to Colorado, there were questions of what those pro days would look like without the support of his personality and marketing acumen.

If Monday was any indication, JSU will be just fine.

The NFL had 27 of its 32 teams represented at the JSU practice facility evaluating JSU players and players from Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State, Delta State and Mississippi College for the next month's NFL draft.

Last year, JSU reportedly hosted 22 teams for pro day (Sanders said there were 24), leading Sanders to call out the teams not in attendance.

“Where art thou? You could have sent somebody man. You could have shown up just a little bit,” Sanders said at the time.

"24 teams. 24 teams came to witness our kids yesterday in its entirety. And I appreciate you," Sanders said. "But, there's 32 teams in this Crayola box. Therefore, the Dolphins, the Broncos, the Texans, the Bills, the Buccaneers, the Ravens, the Panthers, the Browns, the Vikings, and the Eagles, where art thou? You could have sent somebody man. You could have shown up just a little bit."

On Monday, JSU had 11 players participate in workouts: Aubrey Miller Jr. Tony Gray, Aarion Hartman, De’Jahn Warren, Jason Mercier, Demetri Jordan, Isaiah Bolden, Santee Marshall, Dallas Daniels, Lane McGregor and Delano Salgado.

“I thought it was a phenomenal operation today,” Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor said. “I think for the most part our guys did a great job as well. Athletes that came from other schools had a phenomenal day.”

Taylor said pro day ran smoothly and was a success, adding that his players showed up in shape, ready to go. The NFL scouts pulled Warren, Daniel, Salgado, Miller and Bolden aside for interviews after workouts concluded.

Miller, who began his career at Missouri, stood out with 23 repetitions on the bench press at 225 pounds. His vertical jump was 35½ feet, and his broad jump was 9 feet, 7inches.

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Bolden’s draft stock is rising after running the third fastest 40-dash time at the NFL Combine for defensive backs earlier this month. Bolden, who began his career at Florida State, ran 4.31 in the dash, behind on D.J. Turner of Michigan (4.26) and Jakorian Bennett of Maryland (4.3).

“I thought about James Houston today,” Taylor said of the former JSU player who made a big impact as a Detroit Lions rookie in 2023. “I thought back to when he was out there working out for the scouts and now, he is in the NFL. Who’s that next James Houston in that bunch?”

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State has 27 NFL teams at pro day, even without Deion Sanders