SDSU Pro Day: Isaiah Stalbird steals the show in front of NFL scouts

Mar. 27—BROOKINGS — Pro Day returned to the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on Wednesday, two days late thanks to the spring snowstorm that dumped on Brookings over the weekend.

That meant a few of the 31 NFL teams that intended to send scouts to the event were unable to attend.

Those unfortunate few missed a pretty good showing.

Ten Jackrabbits participated, led by the trio of top prospects who were invited to the NFL Combine earlier this month — offensive linemen Mason McCormick and Garret Greenfield and running back Isaiah Davis. But those three largely sat on their numbers from the Combine, only participating in a select few drills.

For the other seven, though, this was their chance to show NFL scouts what they can do. Receivers Jaxon and Jadon Janke, tight end Zach Heins, offensive tackle John O'Brian, linebacker Jason Freeman, cornerback DyShawn Gales and linebacker/safety Isaiah Stalbird were the non-combine invitees to compete at Pro Day. All seven are already on the NFL radar, Wednesday was about proving they belong in the league, and nobody had a better day than Stalbird.

The hybrid D-back measured at 6-feet and 221 pounds, and then killed it in his testing.

Stalbird, who began his career as a special teams weapon for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before ending it as a national champion nickelback for the Jacks, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, hit 37.5 inches in the vertical jump, 10-7 in the broad jump and did 18 reps of 225 pounds on the bench while timing 4.18 seconds in the shuttle and 7.21 seconds in the 3-cone drill.

Scouts were visibly impressed. Teammates were not surprised.

"Just watching the guys at the Combine and seeing all their numbers I wanted to be one of the top 1-3 guys even if I wasn't at the Combine," Stalbird said. "That would still help you out with all the scouts we had here today. And then there's the film, too. We can all come out here and run amazing numbers but if they click on the film and you're not a dog it's gonna be kind of 50/50 for you. You want to be able to have both."

Stalbird had 80 tackles, three sacks and five pass breakups last year for SDSU, showing the physicality to play strongside linebacker in the Jacks' base 4-3 defense, as well as the speed and coverage skills to drop back into a defensive back role in passing situations.

On the one hand, that could get him labeled as a 'tweener', with teams unsure of how they'd use him. But Stalbird's performance on Wednesday sure seems to indicate he has the versatility to play linebacker or safety, and there's little doubt he can help an NFL team on special teams the same way he did at Nebraska.

"Whatever they want me to be — I just want to play football at the end of the day," Stalbird said. "Whatever I got to do to get that opportunity I'm gonna do it. Being able to play multiple positions and understand them as well, I think that'll be a big factor and I honestly feel comfortable playing both. This opportunity has the chance to change my life and change my family's life. It would be a blessing."

McCormick, who has moved up as high as the 2nd round on some draft boards, put up 32 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, besting the previous SDSU Pro Day record of 31 held by Caleb Sanders and current Arizona Cardinal (and USF alum) Dennis Gardeck.

Davis only ran the shuttle on Wednesday, clocking it at 4.25 seconds. He ran a 4.57 40-time at the Combine and is projected as a 4th or 5th round pick.

The Janke twins took their shirts off to run the 40 and showcased impossibly chiseled physiques. Jadon (6-2, 214) ran a 4.51 40 and leapt 33 vertical inches, while Jaxon (6-2, 212) ran a 4.55 and jumped 38 inches in the vertical.

Heins measured at 6-6 and 259 pounds and ran a 4.9 40. He looked smooth in drills and catching passes (which were thrown by SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski).

"I felt like I did well," said Heins, a Washington grad who caught 27 passes for 410 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior. "Felt like I was moving well, thought I was fluid, and that's something teams want to see. As successful as we've been (the NFL) still views it as a talent gap (between FCS and FBS) and I think we all wanted to come out here and prove there isn't that big of a gap, if any."

Gales ran a 4.51 40 and leapt 34 inches and Freeman, a 5-8, 218-pound tackling machine, ran a 4.71 40 and did 27 reps on the bench.

Not everyone is going to get drafted, of course, but none of the 10 competitors for SDSU had what anyone would consider a bad day.

While McCormick, Greenfield and Davis are all likely to hear their name called on draft weekend (April 25-27), there's a chance after Wednesday that they won't be the only three, and even if they are, the other seven Jackrabbits all showed themselves worthy of at least getting an invite to an NFL camp.

It's a far cry from the Pro Day SDSU hosted for running back Zach Zenner nearly a decade ago, where four NFL teams sent scouts and a Jackrabbit getting drafted seemed far-fetched. The program has come a long way since then, and SDSU Pro Day has evolved into a significant annual event.

"I know for me it took a lot of stress away having all my teammates out here, my family, friends, all these people supporting me, and that made it fun," Heins said. "Yeah, it's stressful with all these scouts out here but once you get on the field and start to play football it's fun."

Added Stalbird: "It was super fun to come out and be back here with my boys one more time. At the end of the day all you can ask for is an opportunity, and we're all blessed to get this opportunity."