31 NFL teams, three head coaches, attend highly anticipated Pro Day

Compiling a list of every notable figure who attends Arizona State’s Pro Day on Friday morning would be a near-impossible task. The Sun Devils had over 15 players participate in the four-hour combine-esc event, and the program features marquee players expected to be drafted in the first three rounds across different position groups. Many players had a lot to gain. 

Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots, Kevin Stefanski of the Atlanta Falcons, and John Harbaugh of the New York Giants were three head coaches who made an appearance at the Verde Dickey Dome to watch the Sun Devils work. 

Nearly all of the players who participated on Friday were a part of ASU’s two-deep in the 2024 Big 12 Championship title team, who have now exhausted their eligibility, a moment engraved in program history that redefined the culture around Sun Devil football.

“This group built this place,” ASU Head Coach Kenny Dillingham said Friday. “They built it to what you guys saw out there today. 31 teams represented, three coaches, multiple GMs, and it’s all testament to what they’ve done and the work they put in.” 

Marquee wide receiver Jordyn Tyson did not participate in Friday’s Pro Day, and he’ll hold an individual Pro Day in April in the days leading up to the NFL Draft for teams to see his skillset in person. Tyson has been projected as a first-round draft pick since the early weeks of the 2025 season. Beyond Tyson, however, are a few notable Sun Devils, including cornerback Keith Abney II and offensive lineman Max Iheanachor, who have both teetered around second and third-round projections. 

“We’re going to have probably four guys drafted in the first four rounds who weren’t in the top 900 in their class,” Dillingham noted. “You can tell a lot of our guys put in a lot of work to hit the numbers that they hit today, and that makes me pretty proud.” 

Iheanchor, who only began playing football around five years ago, has progressed tremendously in his time at college, according to the numerous ASU coaches, all thanks to his diligent work ethic. His ability to learn quickly was tested again on Friday in front of Vrabel, the Patriots’ head coach, who led a drill for the offensive linemen in which he was instructing players after each rep. He spent time at length with Iheanchor and even grabbed his jersey so the two could go over technique face-to-face. 

“It was cool to see him get his hands on him,” Dillingham laughed about Vrabel and Iheanchu’s relationship. “It was fun to watch Max get after a little bit.” 

Dillingham spent a long time talking amongst the scouts and coaches who were in attendance. Unlike a practice, Dillingham cannot control what comes next, or grade and assess the proceedings, which certainly puts him out of his comfort zone when rooting for his former players. 

“You could just feel the connection this team had when they were in the weight room during the jumps, and you could feel the energy,” Dillingham alluded to the early portions of Pro Day. “That’s special, and that’s what makes this group special, and it’s just really fun to watch one last time them coming together and competing, and sad to see from my end, but it’s really, really cool to watch as well.

“Every single time, every sprint, like nervous, come on, come on, come on. I want these guys to be successful. I want them to succeed.”

***

Like Dillingham, Tyson was off to the side watching and cheering on his teammates. Thus far, his draft process has been noteworthy. He repped 225 pounds for 26 reps on the bench press at the NFL combine on Mar 1, one rep shy of a WR record. Since then, he’s aiming to fully recover from any lingering injury issues before his own showcase, so for now, we’re a former AP Third-team All-American is sticking to the course. 

“Just trying to same stuff I’ve been doing,” Tyson noted. “Keep going, keep working, and that’s all you can do.

“These guys, they work for this. I feel like they came out here prepared, and it’s great to see them just perform and try to put it on for the talent so they can officially make their dreams come true.”

Tyson poked fun at the predraft process; he and Abney noted that the interview questions they received from NFL teams were repetitive, but he’s enjoying the conversations while having fun with the process. 

“It’s a lot of similar questions like where he came from, how he grew up, why he went to Arizona, why [I] went to Colorado,” He explained. “So, it got pretty repetitive and I just kind of try to not shoot myself in the foot.”

Tyson has been around multiple spring practices since ASU began its preparations for the 2026 season. The program brought in the most highly anticipated wide receiver class in the transfer portal, hoping to replace the production of their star player, Tyson. Asking one player to fill the shoes of Tyson’s 1,812 yards over two seasons is a tall task, but even he admitted the group looks impressive from top to bottom. 

“I’ve been chopping up, came to practice a couple of times, I think they’re going to be just fine,” Tyson said. “They got [Wide receivers coach Hines Ward] on the side. I don’t think they need me saying anything.”

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Abney came into the Pro Day after a phenomenal 2025 campaign in which he jumped up draft rankings, scouts, and opposing coaches noted his elite fundamental tools on the outside, and it showed through an impressive Pro Day display. 

“I feel like I came out here, had a great showing,” Abney claimed. “Got to be out here with the guys one last time. It was awesome. I’m glad I impressed some scouts, and like everybody, had a great day overall.”  

“I feel like pressure is a privilege, honestly, but I feel like just trusting my agent, he put out a good game plan for me, and me signing with him, I got to trust him in this process, and I feel like everything went well.”

Abney’s NFL draft projections have fluctuated based on the outlet and time of year. ESPN ranked him as high as the middle of the second round, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he heard his name called in round 3 either. Abney’s pitch to franchises has been simple: a player who’s going to give his all each day. 

“Come get a dog,” He said. “You’re going to get somebody that’s going to put their all into it. You’re going to get somebody that’s going to bring good energy every day and compete.”

Despite playing just three years in college football, Abney’s rapid growth and physical and mental development allowed him to make that jump to the next level very quickly. 

A Barrett Honors College student at ASU, Abney, told me he’s still going to be finishing his degree online, a request made by his mother, Tammi, and because he’s forgoing his senior year, this final moment on the Sun Devil turf serves as a true send-off for the corner. 

“I didn’t get to walk because I didn’t know what I was doing yet,” He noted. “So, this was kind of my senior night right here.”

The success of Abney and others in that quarterback room might not play out the same without the aid of Assistant Head Coach Brian Carrington. Since arriving in 2022, Carrington has fostered a pipeline of high school recruits from Texas to Tempe. Abney, a Duncanville native, is a premier example of the pathway working to perfection. Now, Abney is moving on from ASU, and Carrington has moved up in the coaching staff, making 2026 a marquee year for the pair. 

“Coach Carrington, that’s somebody who’s a we call ourselves overachievers,” Abney noted. “He’s going to overachieve. He’s an achiever.”

Another member of the Texas to Tempe pipeline is Xavion Alford, the safety, who faced a difficult hand during his six-year tenure in college football. His journey started as an exciting, highly touted recruit who stayed in his home state playing at Texas. He then transferred to USC the next year, where he’d break out as a sophomore, making 27 solo tackles and catching three interceptions. 

That’s when injuries would derail his junior year in 2022. After not featuring in a single contest, Alford transferred to ASU ahead of the 2023 season. Since it was his second time transferring as an undergraduate, Alford was forced to sit out in 2023. After not playing for two years, Alford won First-team All-Big 12 Honors and was a catalyst for the team’s success. 

“I really felt like after 2024 I was ready for the next level,” Alford said Friday. “But coming back to this place, the guys we had on our team just assembling that same team that we had, just wanted to come back and be with those guys one more year.” 

Alford chose to come back in 2025 despite reaching the pinnacle of his draft hype, although the plan was to exceed the success of 2024, a back injury once again derailed Alford’s entire campaign, he featured in just the first two weeks of the year, but that set back didn’t stop him from preparing for Pro Day like he’d played every snap of the season. 

“If y’all know me, then y’all know that was really what today was,” Alford said in regards to his mindset of proving to NFL scouts his talent hasn’t wavered due to injury. “Just showing that no matter what, no matter adversity, I’m always up for the challenge.

“I didn’t just want to step up; I wanted to exceed, and I feel like I did that. I feel like I had a really good day. Showed everything I needed to. So, it was a good day.”

***

Training regimens became interesting for some other players on the defensive side of the ball as well. Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott got engaged during his predraft process and was able to spend time with his teammates consistently while training together in the valley. 

“I  was training with [Abney] Jacob [Rich Kongaika], [Alford],” Elliott rattled off. “So, the culture was still around, but it was great to definitely see the familiar faces, relationships I built these past two years, something I’ll never forget.”

While Elliott was training for Pro Day in the city he’s called home for two years, defensive lineman Justin Wodtly tried a different tactic. The Ohio native went up north to Colorado, training at a higher altitude, as the cool, brisk air made for an improved conditioning environment. When speaking after Pro Day, Wodlty thought the method worked to perfection, and he left the day feeling pleased by his performance, a positive sentiment that all of the players expressed. 

“I attacked training very, very hard since January,” Wodtly noted. “I was up in Colorado at altitude. So coming down here, man, getting the air back in your lungs, man, it felt good. So I feel like overall I had a pretty solid day for sure.”