Ole Miss Pro Day Draws Scouts and Personnel from All 32 Teams to Watch Rebels
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Forty-five scouts and personnel from all 32 NFL teams gathered inside the Manning Center Wednesday for Ole Miss’ Pro Day as 17 Rebels put their skills on display with hopes of pursuing a future in the National Football League.
Daijahn Anthony, Ashanti Cistrunk, DeShawn Gaddie Jr., Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Cedric Johnson, Jalen Knox, Quincy McGee, Monty Montgomery, Deantre Prince, Spencer Sanders, Isaac Ukwu, Dayton Wade, Zamari Walton, Stephon Wynn Jr. and Teja Young all took part in the annual event. Former Rebels Jordan Wilkins (2014-15; 2017) and Isaiah Woullard (2018-22) also participated.
Anthony, who appeared in all 13 games with 10 starts for the Rebels in 2023, improved in all categories from the 2024 NFL Combine earlier in the month. The Richmond, Virginia, native ran a unofficial 4.51 in the 40-yard dash and registered a broad jump of 10-foot. He also ran the fastest time of the day in the 20-yard shuttle (4.17) and 3-cone drill (6.87).
Anthony finished fourth on the team last season with 61 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions and eight pass breakups.
“This last year has been a lot of movement and transition because this is the furthest I’ve ever been from my family, but it’s just the process and you just gotta try and soak it all in,” Anthony said. “I feel I did good during my personal performance, but I wish I ran my 40 time a little faster. Everyone knows I have the speed to play in the NFL, so I just have to continue to keep getting ready for this process and then we’ll see where we go during the draft.”
Wade also put up strong numbers and took full advantage of his opportunity to shine in front of pro scouts and personnel. Wade ran the fastest 40-yard of the day at an unofficial 4.44. He clocked in at 4.25 in the 20-yard shuttle and 7.02 in the 3-cone drill. Wade also showed off his jumping ability with a 37.5 inch vertical and 10-foot-5 broad jump.
Wade saw action in 49 career collegiate games at Ole Miss and Western Kentucky. He started 19 collegiate contests at wide receiver, with 18 of those coming with the Rebels over the last two seasons. Wade had career-best year in with a team-high 55 catches for 830 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Rebels. He tallied three 100-yard receiving games last season and earned honorable mention All-SEC honors.
“I felt like today was a day I could showcase things that I didn’t really get to showcase during the season,” Wade said. “I know people have a lot of questions about my size and everyone was wondering how fast I would run today. Hopefully I showed them what they wanted to see. I knew when I got my opportunity, I was going to go out there and do what was asked of me.”
Prince, a three-year starter for Ole Miss at cornerback, measured in at 184 pounds and just over 6-foot tall. He tallied a day-best 37.5 in the vertical and 7.49 in the 3-cone drill. Prince did not run the 40-yard dash Wednesday as he posted a blistering 4.38 earlier this month at the NFL Combine.
Prince played in 51 career games for the Rebels with 36 starts at corner over the course of four seasons. He ended his Ole Miss campaign with six total interceptions. The Charleston, Mississippi, native started all 13 games for the Rebels at cornerback in 2023 and tallied 36 total tackles and one interception on the season. He registered five tackles for loss and five pass breakups.
“Today was very fun and very exciting for me,” Prince said. “Being from small town like Charleston, I don’t have many opportunities like this, so I kinda wear that chip on my shoulder. No matter what I do or no matter what happens, I wear that chip on my shoulder everyday and just go to work.
“Coming out of Indianapolis, I knew what I needed to work on. I wanted to improve my time in the shuttle and L drills, as well as my vertical. So I worked on that during my time off and when I came to Pro Day today, I had to make sure I upheld that on my end.”
Johnson, who is forgoing his final season in a Rebel uniform to pursue an NFL career, also went through drills at the Manning Indoor Practice Fields. After not participating in the shuttle and 3-cone drill in Indianapolis, Johnson posted times of 4.3 (shuttle) and 7.47 (3-cone).
The Mobile, Alabama, native saw action in 12 games with 10 starts on the Ole Miss defensive line in 2023. He earned honorable mention All-SEC accolades by the College Football Network after tallying 40 total tackles on the season, with 6.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. The Reese’s Senior Bowl participant led the team with 12 quarterback hurries.
“I really wanted to show the scouts the combination of strength and speed, quickness and twitch,” Johnson said. “I feel like a lot of them already know that and the combine and pro day help confirm the things that they have been seeing on tape.”
Ole Miss will continue with its spring practice Thursday, culminating with the annual Grove Bowl on Saturday, April 13. The start of the annual event is set for 3 p.m. CT.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
