By Haddy Barghouti – Spear Reporter | Senior Kicker Kyler Halvorsen gets ready to attempt a field goal during SJSU’s pro day. (Photo by Haddy Barghouti – The Spear)
With the NFL Draft approaching, SJSU football hosted its Pro Day on Wednesday allowing seniors to showcase their skills in hopes of reaching the next level.
The Spartans welcomed 25 teams, including the Super Bowl runner-up Kansas City Chiefs, and Superbowl winners, the Philadelphia Eagles, who had scouts to observe players.
Spartans triple crown winner and senior wide receiver Nick Nash gained significant interest after leading the league with 16 touchdowns last year and recording 104 catches. However, the main question now is where and when he will be drafted.
“It’s politics, it’s how it works,” Nash said. “I’m not really worried about the outside noise. I’m just trying to focus on getting better myself and showing I belong at the next level.”
Nash also participated in the NFL scouting combine before the scouts came to San Jose to get another look at Nash and the prospects.
He had an excellent performance, capping it off by converting on a deep ball throw from redshirt senior quarterback Walker Eget.
“I always love to get out and run routes, showcase what I can do on the field,” Nash said.
Nash, alongside his wide receiver teammate and senior Justin Lockhart, both participated in the Spartan’s route running drills.
Lockhart showed his speed by running a time of 4.39 in the 40-yard dash.
The Spartans also showcased their defensive players, including senior safety Robert Rahimi, who recorded a 29.5-inch vertical jump.
“I felt like I did pretty well in the DB drills being able to go up and high point the ball and catch the ball,” Rahimi said.
Rahimi also recorded a score of 9’10 broad jump, which was the third-highest score on the team.
“It was a little bit harder because I wasn’t able to train for this,” Rahimi said. “I was expecting to come back to college, but everybody got there years back.”
In addition to missing training, Rahimi worked with an empty stomach as he was fasting for Ramadan throughout the day.
The Spartans will enter next season replacing the 10 players who participated in their pro day, and those players will now hope to move on to the NFL draft season.
“I think it will be the speed, just playing against grown strong men,” Nash said. “I think that will be the biggest difference.”
