Former WSU standouts Zevi Eckhaus, Josh Meredith and others take part in Pro Day
PULLMAN – Josh Meredith admits it freely. He was nervous.
Headed into Monday’s Washington State Pro Day, Meredith knew he would only have a few reps to make it all worth it, to capitalize on his participation in a 13-week program in his hometown of San Diego.
Not long after the Cougars’ season ended, Meredith headed to southern California to get ready for Monday’s event. He worked out almost daily, practicing all the kinds of drills he would be asked to perform for pro day.
So a few months later, after completing pro day alongside 18 of his Cougar teammates, how did he feel things went?
“I thought it was good,” Meredith said. “We knew it just came down to a couple reps. And I took every rep one at a time, do what I had to do, and I felt good about it.”
Meredith was one of nearly three dozen Cougars out of eligibility who participated in Monday’s pro day, which is a chance for NFL draft hopefuls to perform in front of NFL scouts and impress them ahead of the draft April 23-26. All of the WSU participants were seniors, including one from 2024, edge rusher Syrus Webster.
The full list of WSU players who took part: Meredith, quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, cornerback Jamorri Colson, center Brock Dieu, safety Matt Durrance, tight end Ademola Faleye, defensive tackle Soni Finau, Caleb Francl (who played a hybrid linebacker role at WSU but took part on Monday as a safety), offensive lineman Christian Hilborn, cornerback Colby Humphrey, running back Angel Johnson, linebacker Parker McKenna, wideout Leon Neal Jr., edge rusher/linebacker Buddha Peleti, long snapper Colton Peoples, edge rusher Raam Stevenson, offensive lineman AJ Vaipulu and Webster.
Star safety Tucker Large was present, but because he’s still rehabbing from an injury he sustained in the Potato Bowl, he didn’t do any drills. It’s likely he stands the best chance of hearing his name called in the draft of any Cougars who showed up on Monday.
Additionally, three Eastern Washington alumni showed off their skills: wide receiver Nolan Ulm, cornerback DaJean Wells and punter Landon Ogles.
Scouts from six NFL teams were noticed at the Taylor Sports Complex, the site of pro day: Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders and Arizona Cardinals. Representatives from two Canadian Football League teams also made the trip .
That represented something of a change of pace from recent years, when representatives from 29 NFL teams usually made appearances at WSU’s pro day.
The lesser number of NFL representatives is likely due to the lack of surefire draft picks on last season’s Cougar roster compared to previous teams.
Washington State has had at least one player selected in every NFL draft in the last four years, including one last spring in wide receiver Kyle Williams.
All players started the day at the Cougar Football Complex, where they did physical tests like the bench press and vertical leap. Then they migrated over to the indoor facility, where they had more space to compete in position-specific drills: Defenders darted around and came back to make a catch, while receivers drills made long catches, which also served as a chance for Eckhaus to show off his arm.
“I thought it went well,” Eckhaus said afterward. “I was proud of my efforts, the guys’ efforts. I thought everybody looked sharp today. They were flying around, moving. Energy was good. Had a good time. If you told me yesterday, this is how things were gonna go, I’d be pretty happy, and that’s how I went. Pretty satisfied with it, for sure.”
Dieu added: “It’s always nice to come back and have the guys come in town. It’s kind of a surreal moment, from my freshman year, watching Abe (Lucas) and Liam (Ryan) come and do this, and have them be back in town, and to have 20 guys show up and just be around those guys again and compete and run. It’s nice to be here.”