This previous season, Southeastern’s football team dominated and came out on top as the 2013 Southland Champions. With football season around the corner, the Lions have been prepping for another championship winning season. Last Thursday afternoon, all Lion football team members were present as Pro Day took place.
Pro Day allows for NFL (National Football League) scouts to see the talents of selected players from college programs. Scouts then determine if the chosen players have the desired talents to bring to the various teams of the professional league. The chosen athletes go through a few combine drills, such as the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill and shuttle run. After the drills, the evaluators, scouts and coaches take a real close look at their prospective players to get a good idea of who they see potential in.  
Numerous athletes participated in the drills and many from the Lions football team came out to support their current and former teammates. Some scouts that were present were from the Atlanta Falcons, the Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints and others.
After the drills on the field, the players rested as the scouts came together and had a small meeting. During this time, they discussed the strengths and weaknesses amongst the players along with the help of Southeastern trainers and coaches.
Assistant football coach and recruiting coordinator Brandon Lacy was also among the crowd of spectators during Pro Day. Lacy commented on the types of tasks and things the scouts look for when choosing prospect players for their team.
“The first thing they look at is their video during the season and then they come out here and judge them on their skills such as how fast they run, how well they change direction and can they catch the ball,” said Lacy. “They also do this thing called a Wonderlic, which is a general IQ test just to see what their basic common knowledge is on life, not just football. With a combination of that they evaluate the talent and if it’s somebody they think can help football or make the team, they’ll invite them to the camp.”
Lion potential is steadily increasing, which means other scouts from all over will be looking to sign players to their team. After a hard-earned championship season, the Lions are continuously practicing and keeping their minds clear for another great season.
Former Lion linebacker, defensive line captain and 2013 graduate, Cqulin Hubert, was among the athletes that came out on Thursday afternoon. Hubert commented on his overall thoughts on Pro Day and enjoyed seeing some of his former teammates, including former Lion cornerback and Atlanta Falcons rookie Robert Alford.
“I came out to enjoy myself and it was fun.” Hubert said. “You just had to show the scouts that you can do hard work when you’re a blue-collar player. I was happy to see all my old team members come out and support, seeing Robert Alford come out and support us was a real great thing.”
Lacy also commented on his overall opinion on Pro Day saying everything went smoothly.
“It went well and I think all of our guys ran well and everybody looked really well in terms of drills and tasks like that,” said Lacy. “The biggest thing now is that they will be evaluated on the good, the bad, the criticisms and the appraisals on what they did. Hopefully, they’ll go back to some more private interviews and workouts on a recruiting trip with different organizations in order to hopefully get on the board and do some talk around football.”
Overall, Pro Day will be remembered by Lion football team members when it is their time to show up and showcase what they have to bring to the table for the scouts.