Wednesday was a year in the making for Hasise Dubois, a 2020 UVA alum who didn’t get a shot at a Pro Day last spring because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s been a battle,” said Dubois, who had 75 catches on 102 targets for 1,062 yards and six TDs on 515 pass snaps for the ‘Hoos in 2019, then went undrafted and without an opportunity to prove his worth in an NFL camp.
Pro Day is usually about the recent football alums getting a look from NFL types, but Dubois was among a mix of Class of 2021 and past years’ guys at this year’s Pro Day, held on Grounds on Wednesday.
It’s the ultimate job interview – you get poked, prodded, tested in all manner of physical activities, so that the scouts and front-office folks can see up close how fast and strong you are.
There’s also the opportunity to talk one-on-one like in the job interviews that we’ve all been through – going over offense and defense concepts and approaches to life in general.
Nerve-wracking? You bet.
“I think one of the sentiments we were all sharing last night was getting the jitters when we’re sleeping,” said wideout Terrell Jana, a projected Day 3 pick in the 2021 draft class. “You know, I don’t know how much sleep I got last night, but it wasn’t a lot, man. Just super excited for the opportunity. I mean, we’ve you know, some guys here have waited a whole year, some guys put a couple months of preparation., and this has been the main thing on it.
“I’m just thankful to get the opportunity to come out here to compete to show what I have, man. And I’m thankful for the team around me that got me prepared for this day,” Jana said.
Oh, yes. As with SATs, GREs, LSATs, you can study for the test. If you don’t hire a coach to help you shave hundredths of a second off your 40 and shuttle times and pump out a few extra reps of 225 on the bench, you might as well not be here.
Which is what is making things so hard for linebacker Charles Snowden, whose senior season was cut short in November when he broke his ankle in the win over Abilene Christian.
Wednesday was more for Snowden about just showing that he’s progressing through his rehab.
“The rehab is going really well,” Snowden told reporters on a Zoom call. “I had a meeting with my surgeon yesterday. And he said, like, if for where I am today, where he would want me from zero to 100, like I’m 100 percent ahead of schedule for where he’d want me today. So, things are healing up really well. I’m able to run and cut and jump and good stuff like that. That’s been really good.
“The biggest thing kind of scouts and personnel told me is really focused on kind of getting back healthy, making sure that we’ll go so that around training camp and football time starts that I’m ready to go,” Snowden said.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
