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Isaiah McGuire, DJ Coleman and Martez Manuel headline Mizzou Pro Day

Missouri was one of 11 college football programs to hold a Pro Day on Friday, but that didn’t stop scouts and representatives of 26 NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers, to see some of the Tigers’ best draft-eligible players.

There were eight players who participated in the event, but it was headlined by defensive ends Isaiah McGuire, DJ Coleman and safety Martez Manuel, who all had unique, but very productive days.

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Isaiah McGuire

McGuire entered the day with the most experience in this type of setting after recently going to the NFL Combine and participating in the Senior Bowl. The 6-foot-4 and 268-pounder declined to do some of the drills he ran at the combine, most notably the 40-yard dash, so his day was a little lighter than some of his Pro Day mates.

Overall, McGuire has enjoyed the process of getting ready for the NFL Draft since he played his last game for the Tigers, but he’s ready to get back to the real game and leave behind what fellow Pro Day mate wide receiver Barrett Banister referred to as the “underwear Olympics.”

“Honestly, some days went by slow and some days went by fast,” McGuire said. "Being in the Senior Bowl competing against others and then being in the combine and competing against others once again, but also cheering people on at both events and this (Pro Day) is more of the same thing. Just staying in shape, keeping up with my health and nutrition and things of that sort and everything is coming together.

“I’m ready to get back to the actual football part. Like I said it’s all a part of the process so enjoy it. But we’re here to play football, so that’s what I’m excited for.”

Considering how McGuire played last season, it’s obvious as to why he wants to get back to the gridiron and why he believes he deserves to be one of 259 draft picks come late April.

Last season, McGuire led the team in tackles for loss with 13 and sacks with 7.5 to go along with his 39 tackles and two forced fumbles.

“You can look at my career and look at the film honestly,” McGuire said. Just continuing to improve each and every year and even earning All-SEC honors last year when no one expected me to."

McGuire’s main thing he wanted to prove on Friday was to show his fluidity and apparently, that’s something he said he feels he accomplished.

“Honestly, just being fluid more so in my hips and my movements and I feel like I did a pretty good job of that,” McGuire said. “After today they said I did a really good job and looked fluid in my drills. (They also said) just being physical and my motor and having a knack to play. Things I was told to work on are my pass rush and hand usage, but those things can improve and they have every year, so that’s the plus side of it.”

This year’s draft will be held a couple of hours away from Columbia in Kansas City, but McGuire, a Tulsa, Oklahoma native, plans to spend that weekend enjoying the draft with his family.

Isaiah McGuire's NFL Combine numbers
40-Yard Dash  10-yard split Vertical Jump Broad Jump 3 Cone Drill

4.76

1.72

36.5

10' 2"

7.39

DJ Coleman

Coleman turned out to be the Tigers second best pass rusher behind McGuire last season in his first season over from Jacksonville State which was evident in the second half of the season when he flashed his potential of what type of force he could be at the next level.

From week eight versus Vanderbilt through week 12 versus New Mexico State Coleman recorded at least 0.5 sacks and one tackle for loss in each game.

Since the end of the season, Coleman said he's spoken to about 20 or so scouts and they've told him they like his size and upside.

On Friday, the 6-foot-5 and 263-pounder wanted to show scouts he had decent speed to go along with his size.

"I would say for me to be this big I wanted to show I had average speed," Coleman said. "Today, I proved my point that I had decent speed. It ain't all that, but it's okay. They said (he ran a 40-yard dash) around the mid-4.7s."

Coleman admitted to it not being his best day and that he could've done some things better, but he did have one of the highlights of the entire day for any participant when he had 27 reps on the bench press.

"I feel like I could've done a little better with the jumps, but other than that I feel like it was a good effort," Coleman said.

During Coleman's time at Jacksonville State, he was a two-time FCS All-American and amassed 180 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks in 46 games. When he came to Columbia he had a few goals that he wanted to accomplish and he felt he's done that and proven it to scouts.

"For the most part, yes (accomplishing what he set out to accomplish)," Coleman said. "I had came from Jacksonville State just with the mindset of dominating the SEC. They said it was the best football conference and I felt with the amount of reps that I had 一 I did that.

"Coming from Jacksonville State and the guys still talking to me and watching the games and seeing me do what I said I was going to do when I left 一 just to prove a point that just because you play in the FCS doesn't mean you can't play on a Power 5 team."

Coleman played in 12 games and started three of them and recorded 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

In the end, this event and his collegiate career are all a part of a bigger picture for the Atlanta native. A step forward in changing the narrative about what he can do and who he is.

"About 10 years ago I set my mind straight that I could play football and that I could go to another platform with me playing football, and change the statistics of what people were telling me," Coleman said. "Also, to help my family."

Martez Manuel 

Manuel had the most interesting Pro Day of the bunch but not for the best reason. It started out well enough when he recorded a 34.5 vertical jump and a 10' 1" broad jump. Then, during his first 40-yard dash attempt he felt something in his left quad, but he finished the sprint. However, when it was time for his second attempt Manuel stopped midway through the sprint and walked off toward the sideline.

"I feel like I was having a great day 一 did everything right all week," Manuel said. "I took care of my body and then in the last 10 meters of my 40 I just felt a pop in my left quad and I just kind of jogged the last 10. One of the scouts told me that I had a 4.52 on his clock and I know that I ran a 4.45 like two weeks ago, so I know if I didn't pull up that I would've had that 4.4 low."

That didn't stop Manuel from competing in some position drills to finish the day where he showed his ball skills and his ability to change directions, turn his hips and explode out of his breaks.

"I feel like I fought through adversity," Manuel said. "I could've sat down and called it a day, but I felt I had a lot left to show and I felt in my position work it would be a nice controlled environment 一 I've worked out in this indoor 1,000 times and I felt no other situation would be better for me to get out there and show teams I'm a warrior and that I'm going to compete no matter what.

"I had a lot of scouts come up to me and tell me that I looked really impressive and I had a great day, but I know deep down inside I had left a lot that could've been out on tape, so it's alright though. I'm proud of it."

Unlike McGuire and Coleman, Manuel's pre-draft audition may continue due to the injury, as he wants another chance to show NFL teams what he can do.

"I know at this point, I've talked with my agent about maybe when I'm healthy doing a private workout," Manuel said. "I know I'm headed to the Chiefs' local day on the (April) sixth, so we're going to see where we're at then."

Manuel was a team captain for the last two years and in 2022 he recorded 49 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble and a pass deflection.

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