MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Some of the annual benchmarks of the lengthy NFL Draft process look much different as the pandemic persists. The combine in Indianapolis was not held in its traditional form. It remains to be seen if selected players will gather at the draft in Cleveland next month. Pro Days, like the one WVU hosted Thursday, remain the prime opportunity for players to hit the field in front of NFL scouting personnel. Darius Stills and five of his teammates did so Thursday.
“I have been preparing for this my whole life,” Stills said. “The day was here and it came really quick. I feel like I did really well and my numbers were great. A lot of scouts said my position work was great. Now I just have to keep on working in terms of getting ready for the draft and and be ready for after.”
Stills was draft eligible after the 2019 season but he believes the decision to return as a senior has been worthwhile.
“Knowing that this extra year of college under my belt helped me realize a lot in terms of leadership and being the best football player I can be mentally to take that step into the NFL. It definitely benefitted me more than I ever thought it would. I am glad I stayed.”
Shortly after competing in the Liberty Bowl, Stills headed to Florida to train for pre-draft workouts with a focus on cutting weight before getting built back up for the next level.
“I lost 12 pounds to around 278. I spoke to a lot of teams and they want me to gain the weight back, which I am going to. But really, these last two months of training for the ‘Underwear Olympics’ so they say, now I have to gain the weight back and get to a good weight more these teams.”
Pro Day drill numbers and game film are concrete metrics to be analyzed. The mental aspects of the game are more abstract.
“We take a lot of psychological tests in the process for the draft, just to see our reaction times. It has helped us a lot to get a better idea of how serious the NFL really is,” Stills said.
“It is more personal stuff, to see what kind of person we are and what type of player we are.”
Stills says he has spoken with about a dozen NFL teams. Conversations with an AFC North squad have been frequent.
“I have talked to the Bengals the most. They call me every other day, basically. They like me a lot and they showed me some love in there (at Pro Day) also. At the end of the day, I don’t know where I am going to go to when my name is called in the draft. So I am just going to stay humble and keep working.”
