What to watch for from King, Rambo and more at Miami’s pro day ahead of the NFL Draft
Wednesday will be a Coral Gables swan song for several record-setting Miami Hurricanes and another important step for several others to prove injuries are behind them.
Miami will host its annual pro day inside the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and as many as 11 former Hurricanes could participate in the workouts ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Wide receivers Charleston Rambo and Mike Harley are trying to prove their measurable traits can match up with their on-field production. Quarterback D’Eriq King and safety Bubba Bolden are trying to prove they’re all the way recovered from the season-ending injuries they sustained last year.
At 12:45 p.m., those four — and more — will try to answer some of the biggest questions evaluators have left before the NFL Draft next month.
1. How fast will Rambo run?
After setting the Hurricanes’ single-season records with 79 catches and 1,172 yards, Rambo solidified himself as an NFL prospect, but the NFL Scouting Combine didn’t go well for him.
Rambo measured in at 6-foot-1 and 177 pounds, which is more than respectable for a receiver of his style. The problem was his 40-yard dash time: 4.57 seconds isn’t good enough, especially when eight wide receivers ran the 40 dash in less than 4.40 seconds. Rambo probably needs to improve his time Wednesday if he wants to jump up to Day 2 of the Draft.
2. Has Bolden’s coverage ability improved?
Bolden’s promising 2020 season didn’t quite carry over into 2021. He led Miami with 71 tackles in 2020, showing off true sideline-to-sideline ability, while adding one sack, 6 1/2 tackles for loss, an interception and four forced fumbles.
The safety’s final year with the Hurricanes, however, lasted just seven games before a shoulder injury ended his season and his performance, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades, was worse than the year before.
He did pretty well at the NFL Combine, though, and ran a 4.47 in the 40. The more important workouts for him, however, might be the shuttle run and the three-cone drill. At 6-2 and 209 pounds, Bolden has the frame to be a great coverage safety, he just still needs to prove he has the lateral quickness and hip flexibility to complete the package. If he can, Bolden could move into Day 2.
3. What workouts will King do?
Before his redshirt senior season ended prematurely with a shoulder injury, King was putting together one of the great careers in Miami history by accounting for 3,224 yards and 27 touchdowns in the shortened 2020 season, then deciding to come back for one final year.
He’s one of the most fascinating prospects in the Draft. At 5-9 and 196 pounds, can he be a quarterback? With a little bit of college experience at wideout and a chance to clock a good 40 time, can he convert to wide receiver?
On Wednesday, he’ll get a chance to try to prove both these things. When he went to the Combine last month, King was still recovering from his injury and didn’t participate in any of the testing drills. This will be his chance to prove he’s as fast in workouts as he appears to be on the field.
In all likelihood, no one is picking King just to be a quarterback. He needs to run well for someone to decide he’s worth a pick as a receiver with interesting gadget ability.
4. How will Harley test?
Harley didn’t get invited to the Combine, so this is the wide receiver’s best chance to perform in front of scouts.
It’ll be an important chance for Harley, who set program records 182 career receptions and 13 in a single game last year. Harley measured in at 5-10 and 183 pounds at the Hula Bowl in January, which means he’ll need to run well Wednesday.
5. Will someone else surprise?
Defensive lineman Jon Ford joined King, Rambo and Bolden as the only other Hurricane at the Combine in February, so he’s clearly on scouts’ radars and has undeniably impressive size.
The rest of the potential participants Wednesday are running back Cam’Ron Harris, safety Amari Carter, offensive linemen Navaughn Donaldson and Jarrid Williams, and defensive linemen Deandre Johnson and Zach McCloud.
From this group, the most interesting prospects might be the offensive linemen because physical traits are so important, and Donaldson and Williams both have them.
Donaldson, who was a top-100 overall recruit in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2017, is a 6-6 interior lineman, whose biggest struggles have been maintaining weight and staying healthy. If he weighs in well and can show off some mobility, he could intrigue teams with his untapped potential.
Williams comes from the opposite end of the spectrum — he wasn’t even a top-1,000 recruit in his class — yet he has solid size at 6-6, too. He was also Miami’s most reliable lineman the last two years, so he just needs to test well to draw some attention.
