Some takeaways from Pro Day | Tues. 8:50 p.m.

[Hank South]

-- Compared to the last two years of Texas pro days that have resulted in program records at the NFL Draft, this year's event didn't have as much fanfare with the Longhorns not currently expected to produce a first round pick. With that being said, all 32 NFL teams, including Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, were in attendance. 

-- Next year's pro day could be an all-timer on the Forty Acres when you sit down and look at it. Arch Manning, Trevor Goosby, Colin Simmons, Jelani McDonald, Cam Coleman, and Hero Kanu will likely draw the most buzz -- all of which could be first-round picks. Then you have others that could play their way into high draft consideration like Ty'Anthony Smith, Raheem Biles, Bo Mascoe, Melvin Siani, Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley, Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown ... shall I continue? I would expect we see a multitude of NFL head coaches and GMs on the sidelines of next year's pro day. 

-- The biggest question mark entering today was how Ethan Burke would perform after getting snubbed by the NFL Combine. I don't think he did anything that hurt his stock. His demeanor and personality is one that should appeal to NFL clubs, too. He's calm and collected off the field but flips a switch in between the lines. 

"The combine's not the end of the world," Burke told reporters this afternoon. "I have today. Go out and prove myself. Continue to work hard and get some more time." 

Burke told me he clocked in the 4.9s on the 40, and I saw 15 bench reps and a 29'' vertical from his testing. He also requested non-fried Chick-Fil-A from the catering team so he's working on the figure. 

-- I thought Michael Taaffe boosted his stock. He's a much better athlete than people have given him credit for. He clocked a 4.5 at the Combine (he says hand times were 4.46), so you weren't going to catch him running the 40 at Pro Day. But he did have a 34.5'' vertical and 10-2 broad jump. Props to him for catching passes for Matthew Caldwell today as well. He didn't have to do that but wanted to help his teammate. He also laid out for a deep post, which I'm not sure I would advise him doing one month out from the draft, ha. 

-- Travis Shaw looks like he slimmed down a good bit from the season. He and Cole Brevard were big men moving on the 40-yard dash. I couldn't catch their times off to the sideline but they both looked in good shape. 

-- Matthew Caldwell is impressive. He's a great athlete (34'' vertical, 10-8 broad jump, ran a 4.62 in the 40) and he can rocket some passes. He probably had some throws he wished he could have gotten back, but he also had a walk-on WR, a safety, and Jack Endries all cycling through routes. Think there was so physical exhaustion setting in towards the end of the session. I talked to his dad on the sideline who says the Texans are very interested in Caldwell in possibly in UDFA situation. Sark brought up Matt Cassel today when talking about Caldwell. He's going to get a shot. May not make a roster, but has the physical makeup and arm talent to at least make it interesting if given a chance. My thought: if Graham Mertz can get drafted -- ahead of Quinn Ewers no less -- I think there's a spot for Caldwell in some capacity in the pros. I'll have more on Caldwell tomorrow. 

-- Jack Endries only helped himself today imo. It's not a super strong TE year in the draft and he's going to benefit from it. The biggest thing he has to show teams is his blocking ability, which he's been focusing on in the offseason. He's been working out with Carsen Ryan and Chase Roberts from BYU, Germie Bernard from Alabama, and De'Zhaun Stribling from Ole Miss in preparation for the draft. Endries is also close friends with potential No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza from their time together at Cal. 

"He doesn't need any tips," Endries said of talking to Mendoza about the draft process. "He's like the social media child at this point. He's on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram all this stuff. I've kind of just seen him be this way for four years before. I know that this how he acts. He has almost a formula when he's talking. Shoutout to players, shoutout to coaches, shoutout to the other team ... I think it's something to add to my own game plan. Do what he does pretty much. He gets all the media attention." 

-- I could see Malik Muhammad being a guy that goes earlier than expected. Teams know what he is as a player, but needed confirmation on the testing and physical attributes. He's now given them that -- 4.42 40, 39'' vertical, 10'10'' broad jump. 

-- Seems like there's a lot of interest from the Cowboys in Anthony Hill Jr.

-- I felt like we spotted just about every player from the 2026 Texas team in attendance to show support. That's a good sign of strong program culture. 

-- Next up names we heard from the pro day participants included Brad Spence, Kobe Black, Graceson Littleton, and Nick Townsend (a future first-rounder per Jack Endries). 

Probably more I'm missing but I'll have more content tomorrow on today's festivities. 

 

[DLev]

Hank, you say Burke didn't do anything to hurt his stock, but those testing numbers seem really poor.  What am I missing?

[Hank South]

4 minutes ago, DLev said:

Hank, you say Burke didn't do anything to hurt his stock, but those testing numbers seem really poor.  What am I missing?

I'm not sure bench is as big of a deal with him. He's got long arms. 40 time puts him just outside of typical range and that wasn't an official time or anything. Hard to hear in there because they're all taking their own times. I think he'll interview with teams well and the tape speaks for itself.