It was kind of hit or miss at the Iowa pro day with solid performances and some not so solid. Hard to imagine, for example, that All-America DT Daviyon Nixon did himself any harm today. The Hawkeyes best prospect for the upcoming draft measured in at 6-3, 313 and ran a sub-5-flat 40 with a very quick 10-yard split in the 1.70 second range which would have been in the top 5 among defensive limemen at the 2020 combine. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette also helped himself on the field, although he also had some explaining to do in off-field interviews about a DUI this fall. There were no issues on the field for ISM other than the fact that he is a little slight at 6-0.5 and 181 pounds. On the field, though, he impressed with a 40-clocking of 4.43, a 37-inch vertical and agility drill times that would have been among the leaders at last year’s combine. Fellow WR Brandon Smith (6-1.5, 218) also started the day well when he measured in at a robust 6-1.5, 218 and had a 39.5-inch vertical, but then was only able to run in the 4.65-4.70 range. At the same time, both DE Chauncey Golston and OT Alaric Jackson looked the part, but neither tested all that well. Golston, who was at the senior Bowl this past January, measured in with prototype length at 6-4.5, 270 and with almost 35-inch arms and huge (10.5-inch) hands; he also had a solid enough 36-inch vertical, but his 40 times were in the mid-4.8 range and his shuttle times were slow for a DE. Meanwhile, if there was one Hawkeye that maybe caught pro scouts eye as a player they weren’t expecting a whole lot from it was LB Nick Niemann. The 6-2, 235-pound was a solid enough player posting 77 tackles in 2020, but he made no impact plays. Today, though, he ran the 40 in a reported 4.45 seconds and had really good times in both the short shuttle (4.15) and 3-cone (6.80) drills.
