Jackson State's pro day turns into disappointment

Temperatures read 28 degrees.

Lined along the back fences of the Madison Healthplex Performance Center's outdoor turf field were roughly 20 NFL hopefuls dressed in shorts, shirts and shoes — some in just shorts and shoes — about to run their 40-yard dashes.

It was the first event of Jackson State's pro day on Thursday.

It turned out to be the last.

About 13 scouts (at least two from the Canadian Football League) commenced in a separate room for a brief meeting following the 40.

When they came out, one called all the players to gather around him.

The news was disappointing.

"They were cutting people after the 40, so I guess if your time wasn't perfect, they were cutting you," former JSU wide receiver Tobias Singleton said.

"I was looking forward to doing everything. I thought it was going to be a regular pro day."

Only one player made the cut with a 4.5 time: West Alabama and former Purvis wide receiver Stephanio McNair.

The players retreated from the huddle with confusion struck across their faces as they put on their warm-ups.

It was a harsh reminder of the cutthroat nature of the pro league.

"It's a business," said Singleton, who clocked an unofficial best 4.6 and had several of his family members attend. "You can't go into every situation looking for something to be good. It's an eye-opener. Now I know what I have to do."

The event started more than an hour after its scheduled 2:30 p.m. time.

With JSU making up a majority of the participants, its pro day also consisted of players from neighboring schools, such as Mississippi Valley State, Belhaven and Murray State whose best possible chances of making an NFL would be as undrafted free agents.

They all had to impress the scouts, most who just came from Ole Miss' pro day.

It seemed like a tough act to follow. But former JSU linebacker Ariane McCree still thought a 40 didn't tell the whole story.

"Yeah, I pretty much knew they would've cut if you didn't run a good enough time and you didn't finish all the drills at a good enough time," said McCree, whose unofficial best was 4.84. "But just one drill, maybe I could've understood they'd give us two or three more drills. But one drill, it's just — there are a lot of guys out there who can run fast but they can't jump. … You can't just eliminate one guy who doesn't do one thing right."

Said Singleton: "Really disappointing. I don't have any words for it. But I can't hold my head down. There are a couple of (other) tryouts."

Contact Ros Dumlao at rdumlao@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @rosdumlao on Twitter.