Ohio State's 17 participants in Thursday's pro day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center included 13 former Buckeyes who were recruited to Ohio State as scholarship players, 10 of whom were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.
Yet the top performer at Thursday's event might have been a player who originally walked on at Ohio State.
Elijaah Goins, who was awarded a scholarship prior to his senior season and saw some playing time on special teams last year, had both the fastest 40-yard dash and the longest broad jump of the day among the players who participated in those drills.
Goins completed the 40-yard dash in an unofficial hand time of 4.41 seconds and recorded a 10-foot-10 broad jump, which would have tied for the 10th-longest broad jump among all participants at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Goins, who worked out with the defensive backs on Thursday despite working with the wide receivers last season at Ohio State, said he hadn't gotten any calls from NFL teams going into pro day but felt that he was able to capture some scouts' attention with his performance on Thursday.
"My goal was to come out here, turn some heads," said Goins, who said he spent time talking with the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings.
Elijaah Goins had reason to feel good about his performance at Ohio State's pro day on Thursday.
Another one of Thursday's top performers was Tyquan Lewis, who went through a full workout at pro day after being unable to do so at the combine due to a battle with the flu. Lewis ran an unofficial hand time of 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a fast time for a defensive end, and improved his broad jump – one of the two drills he actually was able to complete in Indianapolis – to 10 feet, 7 inches, five inches further than he leaped at the combine.
Defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle, meanwhile, was the top performer in the weight room, putting up 33 repetitions of 225 pounds – which would have tied him for eighth among all combine participants – in the bench press. Sprinkle pulled up on his second attempt of running the 40-yard dash, but continued to fight through the injury for a full workout.
Ohio State did not provide official results for Thursday's pro day, but Eleven Warriors recorded unofficial hand times for each participant (with the exception of Chris Worley, due to my error in failing to record his time properly) in the 40-yard dash, which can be seen below:
| Athlete | Position | Unofficial 40 Time |
|---|---|---|
| ELIJAAH GOINS | DB | 4.41 SECONDS |
| TREVON SAUNDERS (URBANA) | WR | 4.56 SECONDS |
| DAMON WEBB | S | 4.58 SECONDS |
| HUNTER JOSEPH (OTTERBEIN) | WR | 4.68 SECONDS |
| TYQUAN LEWIS | DE | 4.69 SECONDS |
| ZACH TURNURE | LB | 4.69 SECONDS |
| ERICK SMITH | S | 4.76 SECONDS |
| TREVON FORTE | CB | 4.76 SECONDS |
| MARCUS BAUGH | TE | 4.78 SECONDS |
| NICK SEME | FB | 4.86 SECONDS |
| SAM HUBBARD | DE | 4.88 SECONDS |
| TRACY SPRINKLE | DT | 5.08 SECONDS |
| MICHAEL HILL | DT | 5.43 SECONDS |
Thursday's pro day performances in the broad jump, as told to each prospect as they completed their leap by a Denver Broncos scout coordinating the drill, can also be seen below:
| Athlete | Position | Broad Jump |
|---|---|---|
| ELIJAAH GOINS | DB | 10 FEET, 10 INCHES |
| TYQUAN LEWIS | DE | 10 FEET, 7 INCHES |
| TREVON SAUNDERS (URBANA) | WR | 9 FEET, 9 INCHES |
| NICK SEME | FB | 9 FEET, 7 INCHES |
| JALYN HOLMES | DE | 9 FEET, 4 INCHES |
| ERICK SMITH | S | 9 FEET, 4 INCHES |
| TREVON FORTE | CB | 9 FEET, 3 INCHES |
| HUNTER JOSEPH (OTTERBEIN) | WR | 9 FEET, 3 INCHES |
While some of the Buckeyes who participated in the NFL Scouting Combine – including Denzel Ward, who tied for the fastest 40-yard dash and had the longest broad jump in Indianapolis – chose to stand on their numbers from the combine, all 17 Buckeyes who participated in the pro day went through position-specific drills alongside other players at their position group.
Goins and Ward joined Damon Webb, Erick Smith and Trevon Forte in defensive back drills, which ended up turning into two sessions: one in the middle of the field in front of the entire group of scouts, and another off to the side that was led by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia.
Lewis and Sprinkle joined Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Michael Hill in defensive line drills, which also consisted of both a main session and a side session led by Belichick and Patricia.
Jerome Baker, Chris Worley and Zach Turnure all participated in linebacker drills.
Former Buckeye quarterback J.T. Barrett went through a full passing session in which he threw passes to former Buckeye teammate Marcus Baugh, Otterbein wide receiver Hunter Joseph, Urbana wide receiver Trevon Saunders and former NFL wide receiver Brian Hartline, who is now a quality control coach for Ohio State.
Former Ohio State left tackle Jamarco Jones and defensive end Nick Seme – who worked out as a fullback – also did individual positional work. Former Ohio State center Billy Price was unable to join Jones in offensive line drills because he is currently recovering from a pectoral injury suffered while bench pressing at the combine.
A total of 142 evaluators representing all 32 NFL teams, including five NFL head coaches – Belichick, Patricia, Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals), Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings) – were on hand to scout the Buckeyes on Thursday.
