Ohio State Pro Day Results: Jaxon Smith-Njigba Runs a 4.48-Second 40-Yard Dash

By Dan Hope on March 22, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
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The results are in from Ohio State’s 2023 pro day.

Fourteen 2023 NFL draft prospects from Ohio State were back at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Wednesday to put their skills on display for NFL scouts. While some of them only did position drills and two of them (Dawand Jones and Ronnie Hickman) did not work out at all, all of them at least went through the weigh-in process before the drills began.

The full results for every participant in Ohio State’s pro day – also including former Brown University running back Allen Smith and Kellyn Gerenstein, a quarterback from Ohio State’s club football team who worked out as a defensive back – are below, as compiled by NFL scouts and provided to media members by Ohio State.

Pro day results

Notably, Jaxon Smith-Njigba ran the 40-yard dash in a time of 4.48 seconds, which should answer questions about whether he is fast enough to be an elite wide receiver in the NFL. Smith-Njigba arrived at pro day with a goal of running the 40 in 4.47 seconds, so he just narrowly missed hitting his desired mark.

“I definitely felt like I could have ran better,” Smith-Njigba said. “But I told myself I was gonna run one, ran one, and I'm pleased with what I did. I'm happy I get the walk off the field healthy.”

The fastest 40-yard dash among all participants at Wednesday’s pro day was run by safety Tanner McCalister, who was clocked at 4.44 seconds in the 40. McCalister also posted the best marks among all pro day participants in the 3-cone drill (6.9 seconds) and put up impressive numbers in the 20-yard shuttle (4.15 seconds), vertical jump (37 inches), broad jump (10-foot-3) and the bench press (22 reps).

“I didn't get invited to the combine, so I knew I had to come out here and do everything,” McCalister said. “I knew I had to tick some boxes as far as my athleticism, and I feel like I did that today.”

Cam Brown, who had said at the NFL Scouting Combine that he hoped to run a 4.2-second 40-yard dash, was timed at 4.53 seconds on Wednesday. Brown was still pleased with his pro day performance, though, despite falling short of his goal in the 40.

“I feel today went great, actually,” Brown said. “Doing the drills, I felt like I did everything right. Probably could have caught a couple more (balls), but other than that, everything, drills, footwork, everything looked great.”

Smith posted the best marks among all pro day participants in the 20-yard shuttle (4.05 seconds), vertical jump (38.5 inches) and broad jump (10-foot-6). Defensive tackle Taron Vincent put up the top number among pro day participants in the bench press with 26 reps of 225 pounds.

Beyond the measurable drills, nearly all of the pro day participants went through workout sessions at their respective positions. C.J. Stroud capped off the day with a throwing session in which he threw the ball to fellow NFL draft prospects Smith-Njigba and Mitch Rossi as well as current Ohio State pass-catchers Marvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Johnson, Jayden Ballard and Cade Stover.

Paris Johnson Jr. and Luke Wypler both participated only in offensive drills at pro day after previously working out at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Vincent, Zach Harrison, Jerron Cage and Palaie Gaotoete all went through defensive line drills.

Gaotoete also participated in defensive back drills along with Brown, McCalister and Gerenstein.

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