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UGA Pro Day: Five things on Mykel Williams, Dan Jackson, Malaki Starks and more
- Story byAthens Banner-Herald
- UGA Pro Day: Five things on Mykel Williams, Dan Jackson, Malaki Starks and more
Mykel Williams looked up to an upper deck in Georgia football 's indoor practice facility on Wednesday and had flashbacks to when he was a freshman watching down below as Nolan Smith put his skills on display for NFL scouts.
This time, the edge rusher was among 18 players representing the program this year at UGA Pro Day — from projected first-rounders like Williams and linebacker Jalon Walker to those trying to just get drafted.
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The Bulldogs have had 10 players selected in the first round the last three years including Jordan Davis , Jalen Carter and Smith from the Super Bowl champions.
"Look at the Eagles ," defensive lineman Warren Brinson said. "How you beat Patrick Mahomes is get some Georgia players."
Here are five things from UGA Pro Day:
Mykel Williams runs 40, private workout with Jalon Walker coming
Williams attended the NFL combine, but skipped the on-field workout.
So he ran the 40-yard dash on Wednesday, coming in at an unofficial hand-timed 4.74-seconds 40.
"I wanted to prove to myself that I'm capable of running a fast time," he said.
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Williams and inside linebacker Jalon Walker are planning a private workout on April 17 in Athens.
That's one week before the NFL Draft.
Williams is No. 8 and Walker is No. 15 in a mock draft from ESPN's Jordan Reid.
Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network has Walker at No. 8 overall and Williams at No. 20.
Williams had dinner Tuesday night with coach Mike Tomlin and others from the Steelers , who have the No. 21 pick.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Williams was slowed last season by an ankle injury that limited him to six starts. He had 21 tackles and 5 sacks.
"Mykel battled through that all year, and it was really tough on him because he had one of the best fall camps that I've ever seen," coach Kirby Smart said. "The good news is all the scouts saw that too, and I think that will pop up where he gets drafted at because for a guy that's going to get drafted really high, he wasn't 100 percent all year. But they respect the fact that he pushed through and competed."
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Walker, who can play on the edge and in the box, said he's waiting to perform in the private workout while a right quad injury mends.
What does he want to show then?
"To show that I can move pretty well," said Walker, the Butkus Award winner who had 60 tackles including 6 ½ sacks. "You can see that pretty evidently on film, of course. To show that I have pretty special twitch."
Dan Jackson runs 40 after his combine snub
Dan Jackson watched the safeties on TV go through their workouts at the combine in Indianapolis .
The Bulldogs had 14 players represented at the combine, but the safety was viewed by many as a snub because he wasn't among the more than 300 invited.
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"Definitely always had a chip on my shoulder," the former walk-on said. "I'm chasing after people right now and hopefully soon guys will be chasing after me."
Brinson was asked about Jackson and quickly threw out: "4.42. That's the fastest safety in the combine."
It's a different track, but that 40 time in Indianapolis would have tied for fourth.
Brinson said he looked at NFL scout's stopwatches Wednesday after Jackson ran and all were in the 4.4s.
A hand-held 40 had Jackson at 4.37 to 4.50 on his two tries.
"Hopefully it was good enough," Jackson said. "I tried to show my quickness, my range, being me."
The 5-foot-11 1/2 , 194-pound Jackson became a key cog for Georgia's defense.
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"People are down on him because how he looks," Brinson said. "Without him, we wouldn't have made the playoffs last year."
Malaki Starks ready for next level — wherever that may be
Malaki Starks starred nearby at Jefferson High before becoming an All-American safety at Georgia.
He trained for the NFL combine and Pro Day in Tampa, his longest stretch outside of northeast Georgia.
"I haven't really been outside Georgia that much," Starks said.
He brought up a road game to Missouri his freshman year as a trip away from the state that stood out.
Of course, he could end up in an NFL city like Minnesota , Green Bay, New England or Denver .
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"I'm going to buy a jacket and go play in the snow, I guess," he said.
The 6-foot-1, 197-pound Starks did position drills Wednesday even after a well-received workout on the field in Indianapolis.
He did not run the 40 again after posting a 4.5-second 40 at the combine.
Starks shows up in some first-round projections, but some have him sliding to the second.
Trio of NFL head coaches on hand
Georgia is now typically one of the marquee Pro Days for NFL teams to attend.
On Wednesday, three NFL head coaches were on hand: Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins , Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons and Tomlin.
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The Falcons' contingent included general manager Terry Fontenot
Brinson was asked if he talked to anybody with the Falcons.
"Nah, I haven't man," Brinson said. "I don't know what's going on with the Falcons. I don't think they take Georgia players."
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel watch UGA Footballs Pro Day in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams are on hand to watch former UGA football players in action.
Georgia fans often bring up former Bulldogs players in the NFL that the Falcons have passed on. Atlanta has taken just one Georgia player in the first three rounds since third-rounder Scott Woerner in 1981. That was Akeem Dent in 2011. The Falcons have drafted three Georgia players in the sixth round since 2022.
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Tomlin is a regular at UGA Pro Day. His daughter, Harley, is a freshman on the gymnastics team.
Jared Wilson got nod from Bulldog coaches to turn pro
Center Jared Wilson was one of four offensive linemen from last year's Georgia team to go through Pro Day.
The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Wilson only had one season as a starter, which isn't a large body of work for teams evaluating him.
He said got the endorsement to turn pro after his redshirt junior season from Smart and offensive line coach Stacy Searels.
"I leaned on Coach Searels and Coach Smart to give me the best information possible and they said you should come out so I did," he said.
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Wilson waited his turn while Sedrick Van Pran-Granger started ahead of him.
"I'm not going to lie, it was definitely frustrating, but I know God has a plan," he said.
Wilson is ESPN's Mel Kiper's top-rated center. His 4.84 40 at the combine was fastest of all offensive linemen.
"The 40 was impressive, but at the end of the day, it won't get me drafted," Wilson said. "It was cool to go out there and do it and put on a show."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Mykel Williams, Malaki Starks, Dan Jackson and more from UGA Pro Day
