Over the last 25 years, Ethan Aguayo, Keith Smith and Lyle West were three San Jose State University football players that wore #31 with different Pro Day outcomes.
West played in the NFL for the New York Giants; Smith is re-signing with the Atlanta Falcons as a 2020 free agent fullback; and Aguayo, finished his Spartan career in 2019 as a second-team All-Mountain West honoree.
For Aguayo, after training near his home in Southern California since the end of the 2019 football season, state, local and campus directives resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic canceled San Jose State University's 2020 Pro Football Timing Day on Wednesday, March 18. Gary Uribe, the Spartans' head athletic performance coach, planned for Aguayo and 10 more seniors from the 2019 team to participate.
PRO DAY EXPLAINED AND ITS GROWING POPULARITY
Pro Day's popularity in the public eye over the last 25 years mirrors the attention paid to the NFL Combine, essentially a 350-person audition for a pro career, held in Indianapolis, Ind.
Formerly, a group of scouts would weigh, measure and test players with minimal fanfare. Now, a more normal Pro Day has family, friends, former teammates, player representatives otherwise known as agents, media attention, and even head coaches watching, cheering and evaluating every move. Former NFL head coaches John Fox, Rex Ryan and Chip Kelly were seen at a San Jose State Pro Day in the last 10 years.
The events include measuring for height and weight and hand size, testing in the vertical leap, standing long jump and number of 225-pound bench press repetitions, and timing in the 40-yard dash and in two different length shuttle runs. In some cases, seniors or those declaring for an upcoming NFL Draft may skip a test or measurement, but also may participate in position drills following the last shuttle run.
PRO DAY AT SAN JOSE STATE
San Jose State has a solid reputation with the scouts for hosting productive Pro Days according to Uribe. Last year, most scouts focused on tight end Josh Oliver, the Jacksonville Jaguars' third round draft pick. In 2018, all eight Spartan seniors signed a professional contract either with a NFL or CFL team. Defensive backs Andre Chachere and Jermaine Kelly, linebacker Frank Ginda, and lineman Jeremiah Kolone, 2018 SJSU Pro Day participants, were on a pro team roster heading into the start of the calendar year.
It also helps that San Jose State, Cal, and Stanford usually host a Pro Day on successive weekdays making it convenient for the team scouts and representatives to cover three schools in three days in a 50-mile radius.
#31 LINEBACKERS - SJSU GAME FILM IS THE KEY
Getting back to Aguayo, the 2019 second-team All-Mountain West honoree will be relying on his San Jose State play on film as the Spartans' leading tackler the last two seasons as his ticket to a pro career.
That also turned out to be the case for #31 Keith Smith, who recently agreed to a contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons. Smith was an "iron man" and four-time all-conference linebacker during the 2010 through 2013 seasons. He had two streaks of playing more than 600 consecutive snaps for the San Jose State defense, even though he now is a NFL fullback.
Smith, credited with 475 tackles as a Spartan, had better days in his football lifetime than Pro Day in 2014. While several of his marks compared favorably to players of his skill and ability levels, his 40-yard sprint times under nearly perfect conditions on a bright, sunny March 19 day were puzzling.
"Keith's four years of film is what he had going for him," according to Uribe. Smith would sign as a Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agent linebacker in 2014 and play on special teams before moving to a fullback role in 2016 with the Cowboys.
WEST SPEEDS UP FOR COMBINE, GETS DRAFTED & PLAYS IN SUPER BOWL
One San Jose State #31 who clearly benefited from a terrific Pro Day was two-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference safety Lyle West. Like Smith and Aguayo, he led the Spartans in tackles his junior and senior seasons of 1997 and 1998, respectively.
Known best for his game instincts, West's speed was a distant second attribute as a pro prospect and he knew it. In the weeks between the end of the 1998 season and Pro Day in 1999, West now working in real estate in Roseville, Calif., turned his mid-4.60 40-yard dash times to faster than 4.50 on his Pro Day.
The result of West's Pro Day was being drafted in the sixth round by the New York Giants as the 189th overall pick. He would play four seasons in the NFL and was on the Giants team that lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV.
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Former offensive tackle Wes Schweitzer, a three-season Spartan starter in the 2013 through 2015 seasons, and 2016 Atlanta Falcons sixth-round draft pick, recently agreed to a three-year contract with the Washington Redskins. Schweitzer, who started 36 games between 2017 and 2019, and Smith were teammates with the Falcons last season.
According to Uribe, Schweitzer, like West, had a "…really good Pro Day for an offensive lineman and increased his value in the eyes of the scouts."