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Nebraska and Louisville were just part of a packed pro-day schedule Tuesday. There were a lot of decision-makers on hand at Louisville to watch quarterback Tyler Shough, while the Cornhuskers offer a lot of sleeper talent in this year’s draft.
Notes from Nebraska pro day
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Nebraska’s pro day was well attended, as the program has several middle-round picks, including a potential Day 2 prospect. The Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings had their tight end coaches on hand, while the Kansas City Chiefs sent their receivers coach.
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The Vikings also had linebackers coach Thad Bogardus on hand, while Green Bay Packers director of football operations Milt Hendrickson took in the workout.
The Cornhuskers have three very underrated prospects who are not mentioned enough outside the scouting community: defensive tackle Nash Hutmacher, a combine snub, tight end Thomas Fidone II, who did well in Indianapolis, and safety Isaac Gifford, who led the Cornhuskers with 73 tackles last season.
Fidone is a sleeper in what is turning out to be a solid tight end class. He looked good catching the ball in drills Tuesday after combine testing numbers that would be characterized anywhere from good to outstanding.
Fidone met with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday evening and met extensively with the Vikings as well as Rams senior personnel executive Marty Barrett on Tuesday. He has an official-30 visit lined up with the New Orleans Saints and an individual workout scheduled with the Buffalo Bills.
Hutmacher spent most of his college career doing the dirty work upfront for the Cornhuskers. I wrote about him early during Shrine Bowl week, as he looked terrific. Today at pro day, he surprised scouts with some outstanding testing marks. Measuring 6-foot-3 and 312 pounds, he timed 5.13 seconds in the 40, 7.46 seconds in the three-cone, and 4.56 seconds in the short shuttle.
Hutmacher hit 29.5 inches in the vertical jump as well as 9-foot-3 in the broad and completed 26 reps on the bench press. All those marks exceeded expectations. He projects as a zero-technique/nose tackle on Sundays, and he'll come off the board on Day 3. The Bills have scheduled a workout with Hutmacher.
Gifford had a terrific day, timing 4.45 seconds in the 40, 36 on the vertical jump, and 10-foot-6 in the broad jump. He also completed 16 reps on the bench. His three-cone time was 6.92 seconds, and his short shuttle was 4.10 seconds. Gifford, who measured 6-foot, 203 pounds, met with the Arizona Cardinals at pro day.
Receiver Isaiah Neyor, who timed 4.40 seconds in the 40 at the combine after measuring just over 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, ran the shuttles today and participated in position drills.
He looked solid in drills, but he did have one drop. Neyor, a track athlete turned football player, has immense upside and will be a Day 3 pick who’ll start on special teams as a rookie while he continues to develop his game at receiver. He met with the Saints and Cincinnati Bengals at length, with the Bengals running his position drills.
Center Ben Scott, a long-time favorite of mine, measured 6-foot-4.5 and 306 pounds. He completed 26 reps on the bench, hit 27 inches on the vertical jump, and nine feet on the broad jump. He timed 5.10 seconds in the 40, 7.66 seconds in the three-con,e and 4.62 seconds in the short shuttle, all good marks.
A transfer from Arizona State, Scott has started all along the offensive line, playing center for Nebraska for the past two seasons. He looked smooth and athletic in position drills, where he snapped the ball on every drill.
Scott is a solid and versatile lineman who should make an NFL roster as an inexpensive utility lineman. He is taking part in the Cardinals’ pro day and is drawing interest from the San Francisco 49ers.
Notes from Louisville pro day
All but one of the league’s 32 teams were on hand for Louisville pro day, and several important decision-makers attended the workout.
Included on the list of attendees were Cleveland Browns receivers coach Chad O’Shea, Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Darian Thompson, Miami Dolphins Assistant GM Marvin Allen, position coaches Scott Tolzien, Grady Brown, and Jay Rodgers of the Saints, New England Patriots Director of college scouting Cam Williams and New York Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand.
Obviously, most were on hand for quarterback Tyler Shough, who had a terrific day by all accounts. Multiple people told me Shough looked good and delivered just a single poor pass.
He’s big, athletic, and looks the part. League sources told me the past week they believe that after Cam Ward, Shough is the quarterback from this class who will have the most success early in his career.
This has as much to do with the uncertainties of the 2025 quarterback class as it does with confidence in Shough’s game. Regardless, Shough had a terrific senior season and checked a lot of boxes since the Senior Bowl.
Shough’s upcoming calendar is filled with official-30 visits and private workouts. Some believe he could end up in Round 1, an opinion I do not share, with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks whispered around league circles as interested.
Everyone I’ve spoken to says to keep an eye on the Browns, New York Giants, and Las Vegas Raiders at the top of Round 2.
Cornerback Quincy Riley, presently graded as a fourth-round prospect on my board, sat on his combine 40, but he did position drills. He looked smooth as well as explosive, and Riley himself told me he felt good.
Since Louisville had five defensive backs working out Tuesday and most of the scouts in attendance had to catch flights to Columbus for Ohio State pro day Wednesday, the position drills were limited, and Riley told me he only had seven reps on the day. He has official 30 visits set with the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers.
Receiver Ja'Corey Brooks timed in the low-to-mid 4.6s but looked good in drills. He did meet at length with the Browns receivers coach.
Notes from Southeastern Louisana pro day
Cornerback Keydrain Calligan, who started his career at Louisiana-Monroe, turned heads at pro day. Measuring 6-foot-0.5 and 202 pounds, Calligan ran as fast as 4.37 seconds in the 40 and 6.88 seconds in the three-cone while touching 38.5 inches in the vertical jump.
The Texans took Calligan out for lunch after the workout. Last season, Calligan posted 39 tackles, four PBUs, and intercepted a pass.
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