The 16 former Georgia Tech football players who will take part in the school’s pro day workout Tuesday morning will bring the usual sets of dreams and hopes to keep their football careers alive. At least two should have particular attention of NFL scouts in attendance at the on-campus session.
Former defensive end Anree Saint-Amour is the most likely ex-Yellow Jacket to be selected in the NFL draft beginning April 25, possibly as a late-round pick. He augmented his candidacy this past Saturday by putting down a 40-yard dash time of 4.60 seconds at an NFL regional combine in Kansas City, Mo., an excellent time for his position.
That follows a senior season when he displayed his explosiveness and motor playing defensive end in former defensive coordinator Nate Woody’s 3-4 defense. In a new scheme, Saint-Amour had four sacks, 12 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
His 40 time would have tied for sixth among defensive linemen and edge rushers at the NFL draft combine in Indianapolis earlier this month.
“It felt great when I learned about my numbers and everything,” Saint-Amour told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “All that hard work paid off.”
Saint-Amour could be considered as both an end in the 4-3 defense or a rush linebacker in a 3-4. He has been tutored by former Falcons star Chuck Smith, who is now a trainer for players from high school through the pros.
“He knows a lot about the game, knows a lot about the position, knows a lot about the (draft) process, so it’s really nice having him in your corner,” Saint-Amour said.
Saint-Amour said his goal at the pro day is to show scouts his agility, work ethic and ability to play in space. He also has added muscle and is now around 255 pounds after playing last season around 240.
“Not taking six classes really helps with the weight gain,” said Saint-Amour, who had exactly that course load this past semester in order to graduate in December.
Another participant of note is former quarterback TaQuon Marshall, who has made the transition to wide receiver. Marshall’s agent said that almost 20 scouts have informed him that they’ll have their eyes on him Tuesday.
“He’s just ready to perform at the next level,” said Marshall’s agent, Leo Jackson.
Marshall is trying to take the same quarterback-to-receiver route that Tech great Justin Thomas has attempted. Thomas spent parts of the 2017 season on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and is now playing with the Atlanta Legends in the AAF. Perhaps the most successful recent example of the switch is New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who was a quarterback at Kent State.
Marshall has received position training from Charles Collins, perhaps best noted for coaching NFL greats Chad Johnson and Steve Smith in junior college.
“We just thought, ‘Hey, this is a guy that definitely made plays at Tech,’” Jackson said. “We can see him in open space making some linebackers miss in the slot, making some nickel (backs) miss.”
Jackson is hopeful that Marshall can run a 40-yard dash time in the low 4.5-second range, possibly faster.
The other 14 participants in the pro day are: linebacker Victor Alexander, defensive lineman Desmond Branch, offensive lineman Will Bryan, defensive lineman Kyle Cerge-Henderson, running back J.J. Green, safety Jalen Johnson, running back Clinton Lynch, defensive lineman Antonio Mallard, offensive lineman Andrew Marshall, kicker Justin Moore, safety Malik Rivera, long snapper Zach Roberts, running back Qua Searcy, wide receiver Brad Stewart.
The pro day is closed to the public.
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