While Will Hicks doesn’t see one player — like Justin Pugh or Chandler Jones — headlining the Syracuse players hoping to be drafted into the NFL at the end of April, he does think it’s a well-rounded group.

There are the players that Hicks — SU’s assistant athletics director for athletic performance — expects will have their names called during the draft, like offensive lineman Sean Hickey and junior safety Durell Eskridge, who declared a year early. But there’s also less-heralded players like Adrian Flemming, Jarrod West and Micah Robinson, among others, who Hicks sees possessing desirable assets.

“This is an unusual type of senior class where every kid has some type of redeeming quality that makes a team have to look at them,” Hicks said. “Don’t have the bonafide first-rounder, but every kid has something.”

With 18 players expected to participate in the program’s Pro Day at Manley Field House on Tuesday afternoon, Hicks discussed the group last week. Hicks helps players prepare for Pro Day, where they’ll bench press, run the 40-yard dash and perform other drills in front of scouts from, as Hicks estimated, 22 or 23 NFL teams.

While Hickey and Eskridge are the presumed top two Syracuse players, Hicks mentioned linebackers Dyshawn Davis and Cameron Lynch, and running back Prince-Tyson Gulley as other players in the draft mix. He added that cornerback Brandon Reddish is somewhere in there as well.

Here’s what Hicks had to say about a handful of Syracuse prospects. The event is not open to the public or media but there will be interviews following it.

Sean Hickey, offensive lineman

Hicks: “Sean’s had individual workouts with some teams and played both guards, played both tackles and even a couple teams have asked him to snap for them. Sean’s a kid that works at it and studies it and will practice it, he has a chance to master whatever he does and they want to teach him. He’s one of the kids that controls what he can control… He maybe could sneak in higher than people think or just go right where people think. He’s done his part.”

Durell Eskridge, safety

2014 stats: 68 total tackles, one interception

Hicks: “He looks the same, his times were the same at the combine as he’s always done here. He is who he is, he’s long and his best football is in front of him… Most people see the positives in him because of his length, and size and ball skills, and at the combine they said they liked his ball skills, and I know a lot of people think he can play the ball in the air and makes good plays on the ball. His biggest thing is what could be.”

Brandon Reddish, cornerback

2014 stats: 43 total tackles, three interceptions, four tackles for loss

Hicks: “If he will test well, he will have a very good opportunity. He’s never been a very good tester, he’s a very good football player. I still think he’s going to get an opportunity regardless of how he tests because the film is the film. Pro Day is only an exclamation point, most of the decisions have been made on the tape.”

Jarrod West, wide receiver

2014 stats: 49 catches, 700 yards, 14.3 yards per catch, 0 touchdowns

Hicks: “Jarrod West right now is starting to put up some really, really big numbers. He’s huge right now. He’s always ran a decent time but now he’s starting to run a little more fluidly… I think he may have a Pro Day that may have him sneak (into the draft) late, because he had a productive year… I think he’s going to run better than he’s ever ran, he’s very explosive.”

Prince-Tyson Gulley, running back

2014 stats: 614 yards, one touchdown, 4.8 yards per carry

Hicks: “People like the fact that he’s so good in the passing game, he can catch the ball coming out of the backfield. According to one of the scouts I talked to during the year, he’s small but not little.”

Hicks’ final words on the 18-player group:

“They’ve all improved, just some kids have jumped out. Everything is going to come down to the numbers and how do you compare… Some things — if you haven’t done them on tape — it’s going to come down to the numbers.”

Published on April 6, 2015 at 11:52 pm

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