Published Mar 13, 2019
Wisconsin draft prospects take next step towards NFL at Pro Day
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John Veldhuis  •  BadgerBlitz
Senior Writer
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@JohnVeldhuis

The Wisconsin Badgers held their Pro Day on Wednesday, giving NFL scouts a chance to watch several former players work out and do position drills ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft at the end of April. 13 outgoing UW players were in attendance for the workout, and BadgerBlitz.com’s notebook from the session is included below.

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-- Eight former Badgers were invited to the NFL combine this year: offensive linemen Beau Benzschawel, David Edwards, and Michael Deiter, linebackers Ryan Connelly, T.J. Edwards, and Andrew Van Ginkel, along with fullback Alec Ingold and safety D’Cota Dixon.

Most of the players who made it to the combine were satisfied with their measurements so there was no need for them to work out again. But a few players were able to supplement their combine numbers with another workout or two. Inside linebacker Ryan Connelly waited until Pro Day to do the bench press, and he managed 17 reps at 225 pounds on Wednesday afternoon - the same number that Andrew Van Ginkel did in his combine workout.

Fellow inside linebacker T.J. Edwards did not do the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis, but he posted an official time of 4.77 seconds at Pro Day. That’s on the slower end of linebackers who did the 40 at the combine—Connelly was a little faster in his attempt at 4.66 seconds last month, and he did not run again on Wednesday. Edwards also had a 32.5-inch vertical jump, which would have been a little closer to the bottom of the linebacker group as well.

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-- Andrew Van Ginkel might have given his draft stock a bit of a boost on Wednesday by running the 40 in 4.56 seconds. That would have been tied for the sixth-best time among linebackers at Indianapolis.

-- Wisconsin’s three top offensive line prospects got plenty of facetime working with some NFL personnel, including New York Giants offensive line coach Hal Hunter, after the measurement part of the day was over. David Edwards, Beau Benzschawel, and Michael Deiter all spent time going through one-on-one drills with Hunter - along with fellow Badger Micah Kapoi and UW-Whitewater’s Nate Trewyn. Deiter said after his workouts were over that he has a visit scheduled with the Giants at their facility before the draft, and Edwards spent some one-on-one time with a Giants representative when he was finished working out as well.

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-- The consensus seems to be that while they will be happy to be drafted wherever they wind up, Wisconsin’s offensive line trio seems to be hoping to be selected on day two of the draft - either in the second or third rounds. As it stands right now Deiter might have the best shot to be a day two selection, followed by Edwards and then Benzschawel. Teams seem to like the versatility he showed in college by playing center, guard, and tackle during his career, but Deiter said that the teams he has talked to view see him playing on the interior at the next level.

-- Safety D’Cota Dixon improved on his 40-yard dash time during Pro Day. Dixon was clocked at 4.62 seconds on Wednesday, a significant step up from the 4.81 time he had in Indianapolis. His other measurements look solid, so improving his 40 time should help assuage any doubts that might have crept in after the combine when teams were evaluating him.

-- Former UW fullback Alec Ingold might have had the best combine of any former Badgers player last month. He was the only fullback there - but his workout numbers definitely turned heads if any team is looking to add a fullback to their roster. As a result Ingold only did on-field workouts and position drills during Pro Day.

-- Former UW running back Taiwan Deal did 24 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds on Wednesday. That number would have been tied for fifth among running backs if he had been invited to the combine last month.

-- It’s been a while since Serge Trezy was with the Badgers (his last year was in 2016) but he can still put up some eye-popping athletic measurements. The former UW defensive back-turned-running back had a 39.5-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-9 broad jump. Trezy also ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.