13 Dukes Show Off For NFL Scouts

HARRISONBURG — When Ishmael Hyman tiptoed into his three-point stance and looked up, he didn’t want to panic.

Ahead 10 yards to his right were two scouts from the Oakland Raiders, ready to scour how quickly the former James Madison wide receiver could reach his top speed. Scattered beyond the finish line 40 yards away stood more stopwatch-holding talent evaluators from 22 other NFL teams and one Canadian Football League club.

“I couldn’t really sleep last night because I’d been waiting for this moment my whole entire life,” Hyman said. “Even times in the past when I shouldn’t have been thinking about this, I was thinking about it.”

He took off, escaping the pressurized setting quicker than maybe even he thought he could, and on the other end as Hyman passed those clipboard-clenching, note-taking scouts all they could do was smirk.

“You can’t overthink it, so I treated it like I was just training at the facility in Florida,” Hyman said. “Getting in my stance, breathing, taking a deep breath and then holding it because I didn’t want to rush out, so I was doing everything I was taught to do. Then I got out and just ran. It was simple.”

The fleet-footed receiver ran his best 40-yard dash at the Dukes’ pro day on Friday in 4.39 seconds, according to a source.

And that’s what the event was all about — a setting for 13 former JMU players to showcase their strength, speed and football skills to draw the attention of at least one of the scouts. By the end of the event, Hyman was spotted chatting with one from the New York Giants.

“I was happy to be here and happy I did all right to impress [scouts] enough to come over and talk to me,” Hyman said. “And all it takes is one.”

Linebacker Kyre Hawkins, who trained and prepped for pro day with Hyman at NFL receiver Brandon Marshall’s gym, FitSpeed in Florida, took advantage when scouts asked him to take additional reps as a safety alongside Jordan Brown and Raven Greene.

Brown and Greene both earned All-American honors at the position in their careers.

“My main goal was to go out there and show them that I’m diverse and I can play more than one position,” Hawkins said. “Maybe in the secondary if that’s what they ask of me, so I went out there and did linebacker drills and defensive back drills to try to show them I was fluid at both.”

Hawkins said he would’ve given himself a grade of an “A or A-” for his performance if he had to.

Of the 13 Dukes that participated, defensive end Andrew Ankrah, quarterback Bryan Schor and offensive lineman Aaron Stinnie had the most to gain.

Schor threw to Hyman, wide receiver Terrence Alls, running back Taylor Woods and tight end Jonathan Kloosterman during field drills. It was Schor’s first time throwing in front of scouts since the Dukes’ loss in the championship game to North Dakota State.

Kloosterman said, “I think we looked pretty crisp out there running routes,” and Schor’s series of throws was highlighted with a deep ball to Alls, who made a diving catch deep down the left sideline headed toward the end zone nearest to the Athletic Performance Center at Bridgeforth Stadium.

Stinnie, who was seen speaking with an Arizona Cardinals scout after his workout, said he’s open to playing guard or tackle and on any side of the offensive line at the next level.

He was an All-American left tackle in each of the past two seasons at JMU.

“I think everyone was pleased with the way I did things,” Stinnie said. “A lot of scouts told me they liked the way that I worked out, so that was good to hear, and they also said that they liked my film, so that’s another good thing to hear there.”

NOTE: The 23 NFL teams to attend JMU’s pro day were: Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, New England, New York Jets, New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Washington. The CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers also made the trip to Harrisonburg.