GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — East Carolina University hosted NFL Scouts during the ECU Pro Day Tuesday morning. A number of former Pirates got the chance to showcase their skills ahead of the NFL draft.
Former Pirate quarterback Holton Ahlers has seen his stock rise from the last several games of the regular season to the Birmingham Bowl and a couple of All-Star game MVP performances. It all led up to Tuesday’s workout in front of scouts.
“My thought was really well, you know, I felt like I threw the ball really good,” Ahlers said. “And, you know, obviously I felt like I ran good. But the big thing for me is just throwing high and talking to teams. And I feel like I could show that I could do some things that, you know, maybe I didn’t show during the season or didn’t get the chance to show.”
Ahlers said that he wanted to show the scouts that he could throw the ball deep and he did just that.
“I feel good about it,” Ahlers said. “I just want to land in a good spot, wherever I am, and make the most of every opportunity, every opportunity to step onto the field.
“I want to make the most of it and show what I can do. And I feel like I’ve done that at this point. Job’s not done. You know, you build up to this pro day thing is a huge deal.”
Several other former ECU football players got the chance to showcase their skills, too. For many of them, it would be their final chance to shine before the April draft and then the signing frenzy that comes afterward.
Former ECU running back Keaton Mitchell did just that in the ‘L’ drill. Mitchell did not run the 40-yard dash, sticking with his 4.37 from the combine.
“You know, that’s a dream come true. Just going through the process, just enjoying the moment, trying to have fun with the guys one last time and hopefully we all on the next level together and be able to play with each other. So nice experience,” Mitchell said.
Wide receiver Isaiah Winstead did run and he felt good about his 40-yard time, which was in the 4.5 range.
“Very comfortable, you know, and I like we talked our quarterback you know, we broke records together and all that stuff,” Winstead said. “So, you know, I was very comfortable with how I came here early. We have run through a script a couple of times before the pro day. So we were very comfortable out there.”
Big man Noah Henderson had a chance to show off his footwork.
“I feel like I did pretty good, you know, work hard, man, a long way,” Henderson said. “I was just ready to get out here, honestly, just a blessing and eye opener, you know? Not many people get to get the experiences I’ve had, you know, just taking it all in and, you know, working as hard as I can,” said Henderson.
All in all, these Pirates felt pretty good about their Pro Day.
“I think I did pretty well,” said C.J. Johnson. “I mean, me and my boys we trained pretty hard for the last three months for this opportunity. So I think we came out and did a great job.”
