NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former Commodores attempted to put their best feet forward Tuesday during Vanderbilt football’s annual pro day inside the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center.
Former Vandy student-athletes began arriving to the facility at 1 p.m. and went through a series of drills and measurements for three hours in front of professional scouts. Representatives from NFL teams Tennessee, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Washington, San Francisco, Kansas City, Houston, Las Vegas, Green Bay, Seattle and Buffalo, among others, were present.
The main draw of the day was former Vanderbilt linebacker Anfernee Orji, a 2023 NFL Combine participant expected to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft starting April 27 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Today I’m just trying to show that I’m one of the best linebackers in this draft,” Orji said Tuesday. “I’m just trying to show I can move well, I can take coaching well—just trying to be who I am on the field.”
Orji was one of 11 former Commodores to workout Tuesday. The Rockwell, Texas, native led the SEC in 2022 with nine tackles per game and led the Commodores in tackles three seasons in a row.
A 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker, Orji accumulated 271 stops during his four years in Nashville. He also played in the East West Shrine Bowl in February.
“I feel like I had a goal this (past) season to show who I was as a player,” Orji said. “You look at my film, every year I’ve been at linebacker, I’ve always improved. It just shows I’m a learner and I’m willing to do what it takes to be the best player I can be and help the team win.”
Tight ends Ben Bresnahan and Gavin Schoenwald, kicker Joseph Bulovas, defensive backs Maxwell Worship and Jeremy Lucien and offensive lineman Jacob Brammer were some of the other notables in attendance Tuesday. Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea was also present to take in the action.
Schoenwald, Bresnahan and former Vandy wide receivers James Bostic and Amir Abdur-Rahman ran routes and caught passes from former Vanderbilt quarterback Mo Hasan. Orji and former Vanderbilt defensive linemen Michael Owusu and Myles Cecil also went through a number of individual drills to test their skills.
The day also served as a bit of a reunion for the Commodores who have all somewhat already gone their separate ways. Now their hopes are to all be reunited some day soon on a professional football field.
“I love these guys. And me and Max Worship were actually talking abut how crazy this is, just the journeys that we’ve been on,” Schoenwald said. “Between chancellors and head coaches and coordinators, it’s been a lot of change. I’m proud of Max and I’m proud of the guys that have been through it because it hasn’t always been easy.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
