Ohio hosted its annual Pro Day Tuesday, allowing its graduating athletes to showcase their skills in front of professional football scouts. Coming off one of its best seasons in program history, Ohio had plenty of talent to display.
“For the kids, it's just the opportunity to come and show what they can do and put up some good times,” Ohio coach De’Angelo Smith said. “Hopefully, somebody catches their eye; all you need is one team to like you.”
Smith, the defensive backs coach and director of player development, was in charge of the event. As a former NFL draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati, Smith has an in-depth understanding of what it takes to get drafted.
“I'll show them my numbers just to say, ‘Hey, look, you better be my number,’ just to have some fun with them,” Smith said. “Overall, I think just in general the experience that I tell them, just from going to the combine and getting drafted to the Cowboys playing with the Browns, those are great opportunities that I had.”
Of Ohio’s 2024-25 roster, 10 athletes participated before a wealth of scouts spanning from the NFL to the CFL. Those who impressed were defensive back Roman Parodie, offensive linemen Parker Titsworth and Christophe Atkinson, wide receiver Coleman Owen and running back Anthony Tyus.
Parodie, who recorded 13 starts at the defensive back position in 2024, started his day with impressive stats in the weight room. Standing just six-foot-two and 204 pounds, Parodie recorded 20 reps on the bench press, which would have been the second-best mark at the NFL Combine among defensive backs.
“I definitely performed to the standard I feel like I could reach,” Parodie said. “I think I could have ran a little faster in the 40, but I'm not mad about the 4.4. I think I left it all out there.”
Parodie was also impressive in the 40-yard dash, recording an unofficial time of 4.44. MAC defensive backs have found success in the NFL before, with Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell being a finalist for the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Long-term interior leaders Titsworth and Atkinson showed impressive performances and infectious energy on the offensive line. Titsworth, who started his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship his junior year, has worked six years with Ohio for the opportunity to perform in front of scouts.
“You train for three months straight, all for it to lead up to one day,” Titsworth said. “This is a dream, a goal come true. I thought I made the most of my opportunities … I thought I put my game out there.”
As an undersized center, Titsworth has what many scouts perceive as natural disadvantages. However, he has learned to leverage those to his advantage throughout his collegiate career. Titsworth recorded 23 reps on the bench and a 25.5-inch vertical jump.
“(Scouts) want someone who’s six-foot-three and up at the offensive line position, but how I view it is I have natural leverage,” Titsworth said. “The D-line’s not going to want to play that low for 60 plays.”
Atkinson put forth some of the best marks of the entire event, most notably with a 29 on bench press, which would have ranked fourth overall at the NFL combine. In a four-year career with Ohio, Atkinson recorded a total of 48 games played while inserting himself as a vocal leader on the offensive line.
“Still getting 29 (reps) on the bench press after straining my peck in the offseason is pretty good,” Atkinson said. “I was also able to complete the workout after straining my hamstring a little bit. So some of the scouts are like, 'Hey, that shows grit, that shows toughness.'”
Ohio’s most anticipated performer was Owen, who broke the single-season receiving yards record in his sole year in Athens with 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns. Owen showed out at the Pro Day with a 36-inch vertical leap, a 10-foot broad jump and an unofficial 4.43 40-yard dash.
“Big thanks to (Ohio director of strength and conditioning Tyler Shumate), Roman Parodie, Carson Heidecker, Blake Leake,” Owen said. “Those guys have been the guys I’ve been training with for a while, and I’m really thankful that we got a lot of time together. I thought we put on a good show.”
As a smaller wide receiver lacking incendiary speed, Owen won’t be brought onto an NFL roster as a number one, dominant wide receiver. Instead, Owen found a niche on special teams as a punt returner, recording 132 yards and a touchdown on 17 returns.
“I know that’s what’s going to get me to stick on a roster: catching punts and catching kicks, and returning, being a gunner on punts,” Owen said. “That’s something I really look forward to doing, and it’s one of my favorite parts of playing the game.”
Another highly anticipated athlete at Pro Day was six-foot-one, 226-pound running back Anthony Tyus. In one season with Ohio, Tyus cemented himself in the record books with over 1,000 rushing yards. Tyus recorded a 19 on the bench press and an unofficial 4.55 40-yard dash at the combine.
Another standout for the Bobcats was Marcel Walker-Burgess, who excelled on the defensive line in his first and only season on Frank Solich Field. Walker-Burgess, a six-foot-two and 252-pound linebacker who played on the defensive line, netted eight tackles for loss, six sacks and an interception in 2024.
Also on the defensive side at Pro Day was linebacker Blake Leake, who recorded 91 tackles with three games of double-digit takedowns in 2024. At the event, Leake put up 20 reps on the bench, a 33.5-inch vertical, a 10-foot-2 broad jump and an unofficial 4.55 40-yard dash.
Dustin Johnson represented Ohio as a former safety after transferring this past off-season. As a safety, Johnson was a regular starter and impressed at pro day with 14 reps on the bench and a 10-foot-2 broad jump.
The NFL draft will take place from Thursday, April 24, to Saturday, April 26. If players from Ohio aren’t drafted, they will still have a chance to sign with teams in the post-draft process or elect to play in the Canadian Football League or various European football leagues.
