The Spire

Ben Lepper ’25

Chief Sports Editor

Ben Kuchipudi ’25

Sports Editor

On March 21, 2024, Holy Cross Athletics hosted their annual NFL Pro Day. While the event was impressive in its own right in years past, this year’s rendition was the school’s biggest by far. Athletes from New England area colleges, such as UNH, Merrimack, Brown, and Bentley, all converged to perform drills for professional scouts. 30 out of 32 NFL teams were in attendance, as well as a handful of CFL teams. Also in attendance were several player agents, including Sean Stellato, who New York Giants fans may remember as Tommy DeVito’s agent.

Of course, there’s been a significant amount of buzz surrounding Holy Cross football this past season, with WR Jalen Coker and IOL C.J. Hanson both declaring for the Draft and subsequently becoming the first two Crusaders to be invited to the NFL Combine. Also in attendance, but not participating in anything besides positional drills, was UNH RB Dylan Laube, who has been making some noise throughout the prospect evaluation process. Laube’s brother Deegan is a member of the Holy Cross football team. All three have a legitimate shot at being selected in the Draft, with Coker being mocked as an early day three selection.

The media was not allowed into the weight room to watch those drills, but according to Hanson, he hit “25 reps on the [225-pound] bench press”, which he was extremely happy with. We have no data on if Coker participated in any weight room drills, but based on his vertical jump at the Combine, he was just fine forgoing them if he had to. In fact, Coker did not participate in any drills during Pro Day, but he was still in attendance to watch.

While Hanson did not run the 40 yard dash, there were a few head-turning results from the drill. UNH WR Heron Maurisseau, who, according to staffers from UNH, can run in the 4.3s times, recorded an unofficial 4.41 second time. It very well could have been faster officially, as he was flying. Teams looking for a late-round speedster could very well call Maurisseau’s name.  

Brown DB Cooper DeVeau, who told The Spire that he got an invite thanks to his coach’s relationship with new Holy Cross coach Dan Curran, also put up a blistering unofficial 40 time, recording a 4.44. DeVeau, who played high school football locally at Xaverian Brothers High School, certainly improved his draft stock at Pro Day.

Hanson would run the short shuttle and three-cone drills, recording an unofficial 4.80 seconds on the short shuttle, and a 7.77 second three-cone drill. Hanson struggled with the three-cone drill, knocking one of the cones over three separate times, but eventually got a good run in, and looked smooth and fluid while doing it. 

Hanson was extremely happy with how the day went, and gave a few very emotional words to the media after. “I mean it’s a tremendous day,” he said, “my last game day at Holy Cross, so you know it’s a special place, this indoor top of the line facility and we’ve got all these teams out here, it’s an incredible day for everyone here, couldn’t be more blessed to be a part of it.”

Hanson mentioned that current NFL-ers Benton Whitley and Liam Anderson reached out to him to help him through the process, and then spoke on how Holy Cross as an institution helped prepare him for the real world. 

“I think in my training process, talking to all the other guys, we have such a different college experience than anyone else in the country,” he said. “Some guys are taking one class online and just staying in the football facility. Here we’re 24/7, man. I’ve got a full-time job: going to class, minimum 3 hours of studying a night, and then you’ve got football on top of it. I was at a job for the last 5 years and the job’s finally starting to pay off, which is really cool. I think that’s what we gained so much; the school aspect and the people at this school are determined to make you a better student and student-athlete because that’s what it means to be a college football player. I think this school does a tremendous job at melding both of them and creating the best possible person.”

Coker also spoke with the media, and even though he didn’t participate in any of the drills, he had nothing but glowing things to say about his coaches, his teammates, and Holy Cross as a school.

When asked how he saw the opportunity and day, Coker said “I see it as an opportunity, I mean it’s a great time to be a Holy Cross Crusader for sure.” He also mentioned how huge it is to have this opportunity on familiar ground. “It’s huge, like I was saying it’s just great to have it in our building. I remember coming back here the past two years and watching Liam, Benton, John Smith, Peter (Oliver) all those guys here, so to be here on the field doing it is really special,” Coker said.

Coker mentioned how much support he’s had from the coaching staff, specifically former head coach Bob Chesney and his former positional coach Rich Gunnell. When asked about how much Coach Chesney and Gunnell have helped him throughout this process, he had this to say: 

“A lot, I mean I was talking to him pretty much every other week before the Combine and he actually came to the Combine, stopped by and talked to us, so you know, he’s a one of a kind dude,” he said about Chesney. “He’s been probably, like a top five guy for me. I mean we talk all the time, you know, we’re more than just coach and player, that’s my boy, so he’s just had an amazing role in my life and I can’t thank him enough for it, whether that’s talking ball or just talking about life,” he said about Gunnell.

Coker also made sure to give Holy Cross its flowers, saying that “I feel like just coming here my freshman year like, the reason I came here was for the people, community, everyone has been so accepting, so grateful, and it’s just amazing to give back to that community who’s done so much for me and CJ so I can’t say thank you enough to all of the professors, coaches, everyone, it’s been awesome.”

Pro Day was a special day for all the athletes that attended, as they were able to showcase their talents in front of NFL scouts. The NFL Draft is two weeks away, and we hope to see Jalen and CJ’s name called when that time comes. 

Copy Edited by Sophia Mariani ’26