Three takeaways from South Carolina football NFL Draft Pro Day from Cam Smith to Josh Vann

COLUMBIA — On Monday, 13 former South Carolina football players participated in the Gamecocks' NFL Draft Pro Day hosted at the team's indoor practice facility in Columbia.

Representatives of all 32 NFL franchises were present to observe Pro Day. Five former Gamecocks — DBs Cam Smith Darius Rush, DT Zacch Pickens, OL Jovaughn Gwyn and WR Jalen Brooks — were also invited to participate in the NFL Combine from Feb. 28-March 4, and all worked out again Monday.

Brooks saw significant improvement in his 40-yard dash time from the Combine, running a 4.53 after clocking a 4.69 in Indianapolis. Center Eric Douglas led the eight players who bench pressed with 22 reps, though that would have ranked near the bottom among linemen who tested at the Combine.

Here are the key takeaways from South Carolina's Pro Day.

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Josh Vann feeling good after injury

Wide receiver Josh Vann was a standout for South Carolina in 2021, but he had an underwhelming performance after opting to remain in Columbia for 2022. He suffered a knee injury in the regular-season finale against Clemson that ultimately required surgery, and he missed the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame.

"I couldn't do anything for like two and a half weeks. Seeing everybody, all those guys, out there competing and working while I just had to sit around, that messed me up mentally," Vann said. "I had to wear a knee brace for the first time in my life, which was ugly ... but I trusted the process and I'm here today."

On Monday, Vann didn't appear to have missed a beat during his recovery. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash of the nine players who tested coming in at 4.43 seconds. He also posted the group's longest broad jump of 10.5 feet and the highest vertical at 36 inches. All of those would have ranked in the middle among WRs who tested in Indianapolis.

"I'm just happy to be walking again ... let alone to come out and run," Vann said. "I'm tough, man. With all the talk about me not being mentally focused throughout the football season ... With all that being said, I come out here and just go to work. I've also got to be physically tough, and I feel like I was able to show that today."

Darius Rush's stock continues to rise

Defensive back Darius Rush exited the 2022 season as a potential late-round draft pick but has been on a steady rise since the Reese's Senior Bowl on Feb. 4. At the NFL Combine, Rush ran the fifth-best 40-yard dash time among corners at 4.36 seconds and is now widely projected to go in the third or fourth round.

"It started at the Reese's Bowl going out there and just competing ... The question was my long speed and how fast I was, so I went out to the Combine and ran a speed everybody was pleased with," Rush said with a smile. "It's just been amazing. It's still so surreal."

At South Carolina's Pro Day, Rush did not go through testing again but participated in position drills alongside fellow DBs Cam Smith and Devonni Reed. Rush and Smith spent the previous week training together in Charlotte, and Rush said their competitiveness helped elevate his draft preparation.

"When we were here, we competed against each other. The kind of competitor he is, and so am I, when we're training we try to compete 100% every time," Rush said. " We come out here and push each other, coach each other. We're hard on each other but we love each other."

Cam Smith aims to bulk up

Defensive back Cam Smith measured 6-foot-1, 180 pounds at the NFL Combine two weeks ago, and he was up just slightly to 183 at the Gamecocks' Pro Day. Smith is widely projected as a first-round prospect, and though he is listed as a cornerback, he spent most of his time at South Carolina playing nickelback. He said several NFL teams expressed interest in seeing him play inside in the pros, but his biggest hindrance there is size.

"A lot of people value that inside position, but I need to get bigger because most of the time you're more of a linebacker, not really a nickel," Smith said. "I'm eating healthy options, but really a load of it. I do some shakes — I get two shakes a day that are like 1,300 calories so each day I'm getting like a pound off of that."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Takeaways from NFL Draft Pro Day for South Carolina football prospects