A handful of former Badgers will be going through the next important step in their pre-draft process inside the McClain Center on Thursday afternoon. Nick Herbig, Joe Tippmann and Keeanu Benton, among others, will be going through on-field drills and testing and trying to impress NFL scouts.

Here is the full list of participants:

OL Tyler Beach, DL Keeanu Benton, CB Justin Clark, CB Cedrick Dort Jr., LB Nick Herbig, CB Jay Shaw, OL Joe Tippmann, S John Torchio and P Andy Vujnovich.

Wisconsin is expected to have all 32 teams represented at the Pro Day.

Outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who declared for the NFL Draft after three years in Madison, has the most to gain from the Pro Day. Despite being an extremely productive player through his three years, his physical profile and limited number of snaps in coverage makes him tough to gauge.

The Hawaii native got better each in each of his years at Wisconsin and finished his career totaling 137 tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 21 sacks. In his most prolific season in 2022, Herbig led Wisconsin with 11 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.

Herbig presents an interesting case study for NFL teams and the draft in general as an undersized edge rusher. He has the tools and motor to be a valuable pass rusher but might be limited in his role. Of the 532 snaps he played on defense this past season, just 95 came in coverage. To his credit, he moved well in those snaps and allowed just 22 yards on 13 targets that came his way.

NFL Combine results:

Height, Weight: 6-2, 240

40-yard dash: 4.65

10-yard split: 1.59

Vertical Jump: N/A

Broad Jump: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

Bench Reps: 25 reps

After going through drills at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, Keeanu Benton will get his third crack at impressing NFL personnel. The Janesville (Wis.) native did himself a favor right away with a strong week in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl. Through the three days of practice, he had impressive reps throughout. The Draft Network has him ranked as the 95th best prospect and the seventh best interior defensive lineman.

Picking up the sport of football for the first time in the eighth grade, Benton has been a fast riser and emerged onto the scene right away as a freshman at Wisconsin. Across his career, he played in 45 games and tallied 19 tackles for loss nine sacks. Pro Football Focus has him listed for 28 pressures and 27 run stops as well.

NFL Combine results:

Height, Weight: 6-4, 309

40-yard dash: 5.08

10-yard split: 1.79

Vertical Jump: 29.5"

Broad Jump: 9'3"

3-cone drill: 7.34

20-yard shuttle: 4.65

Bench Reps: 25 reps

Of the draft hopefuls in this cycle for Wisconsin, Tippmann recently cleared Benton as the biggest riser in the pre-draft process. Having started 23 games in two seasons as the starting center for the Badgers, his tape has caught the eye of draft experts and made him one of the top interior lineman in the draft, even though he's on taller side for a center.

Tippmann was tabbed the best grade (78.7), allowing just five pressures over 359 pass blocking snaps. As a run blocker, he was given a grade of 78.3 by Pro Football Focus. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network had Tippmann going to the New York Giants with the 25th overall pick in his latest mock draft that came out this week and ranks the Indiana native as the top interior offensive lineman.

NFL Combine results:

Height/Weight: 6-6, 313

40-yard dash: N/A

10-yard split: N/A

Vertical Jump: N/A

Broad Jump: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

Bench Reps: 25 reps

These former Badgers will be getting their first chance to impress scouts. None of the players in the group are projected to be drafted. Torchio is hoping his tape as a ball hawking safety can earn him a late round draft pick and allow him to impress from there. In a reserve role in 2021, he totaled three interceptions and followed that up with five picks in a starting role this past season.

Shaw, Clark, Dort and Beach are all hoping to catch the eye of a team. The four have multiple years of playing time at the college level, whether at Wisconsin or elsewhere. None of the four is expected to be drafted. Vujnovich should be able to impress with his numbers through testing, which might be enough for a team to take a flyer on him as an undrafted free agent.

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