What the coronavirus pandemic means for the Charlotte 49ers and their NFL draft hopes
Not hosting a pro day last month wasn’t unique to the Charlotte 49ers. Like many college football programs across the country, their March 20 event in front of NFL scouts and coaches was canceled to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
But unlike North Carolina’s trio of ACC schools in the Triangle or South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference, Charlotte’s 6-year-old program doesn’t garner the same level of weekly national exposure, and, for some players, not having a pro day could mean not hearing their named called in the NFL draft.
The three Charlotte players who attended February’s NFL Scouting Combine — running back Benny LeMay, defensive end Alex Highsmith and offensive lineman Cameron Clark — all have a chance to be drafted later this month. Highsmith, a 2019 third team All-American, is projected to be selected early on the third day of the draft. LeMay, the program’s second-leading rusher and the only 49er to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in two seasons, is expected to go a bit later in Day 3. And Clark, the school record holder for career games played (49) and a first-team All-Conference USA selection, is expected to go in the last round of the draft or be signed as a rookie free agent.
But without a pro day or the ability to visit teams in person (the NFL has limited franchises to using virtual conferencing with prospects), their stock is essentially locked in place, and they’ve had to come up with unique ways to stay in shape.
“I was (in Charlotte) for about a week and got on a really good schedule. I was doing a strength and conditioning internship with our strength coach in Charlotte,” Highsmith said from his family’s home in Wilmington. “Then everything happened and nothing was open in Charlotte. My dad taught a UFC fighter, his name is Derek Brunson, the No. 8 ranked middleweight in the world right now. He’s from Wilmington, so I’ve been training with him this past week and also doing some footwork (drills) with Tarence WIlliams, he played at Wake Forest in the early 2000s.”
Highsmith excelled at the NFL combine, finishing with the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.7 seconds) among defensive linemen. On top of that, he had a broad jump of 10 feet, 5 inches, a 33-inch vertical leap and was named by NFL.com to the All-Combine team as an edge rusher.
“I felt like it was a good week for me. With me being an underdog, small school guy, you know people probably look at me differently than the guys like from Ohio State or Clemson or the Power Five schools,” Highsmith said. “(I) just wanted to go there and put my best foot forward and do the best that I could do, not just on the field, but also with the interviews as well. I definitely felt like I went out there and just gave my best effort to show scouts and show teams that I can play and that I have a want to do this.”
While he has returned to his hometown, his teammates who joined him at the combine — LeMay, who attended Butler High in Matthews, and Clark — have remained in Charlotte training together. Of North Carolina’s seven NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision programs, only Wake Forest (also with three) sent as many players to the combine as the 49ers did. Among teams from “Group of Five” conferences, only Boise State (four) sent more than Charlotte.
“When I got back (from spring break in Orlando), I heard everybody talking about the possibility that pro day could be canceled,” LeMay said. “At first I didn’t believe it, because I thought it was just something that they could handle. The more reports that came in about the whole thing, it kind of just struck me as like, ‘Wow, this thing’s kind of serious.‘
“It’s been good for the most part, just finding your own kind of routine, basically staying in shape every day and staying with a meal plan as well. Making sure you’re staying active because you know you can kind of lose your little twitch if you’re just laying around in bed all day.”
The impact of the cancellation of the pro day is not as great for these three players because they were able to participate in the combine and play in the East-West Shrine Bowl (where LeMay was Offensive MVP). They were able to show what they could do outside of the game tape.
Missed opportunities?
For the 49ers’ trio that went to the combine and played in the East-West Shrine Bowl, pro day’s cancellation is a disappointment but it shouldn’t crater their draft stock. For their teammates who are considered fringe prospects, not getting that opportunity could be devastating.
“I was definitely disappointed, not even so much for myself, but for my teammates and everyone across the country that didn’t get to have a pro day. That’s the main thing that I was thinking about,” Clark said. “A lot of people don’t even have their physicals done … that very well could have been me. I very well could not have been invited (to the combine) and I would have been banking on my pro day and this could have been me. I really felt bad for them.”
Clark might have been referring to linebacker Jeff Gemmell, who finished his career as the 49ers’ all-time leading tackler (306) and was honorable mention all-Conference USA in his sophomore and senior seasons.
The postponement of Charlotte’s pro day had a profound effect on Gemmell’s chances of making it to an NFL training camp. There’s almost no chance Gemmell’s name will be called during the NFL draft, and he was hopeful a strong pro day might lead to an invitation to a rookie mini-camp. Those were originally scheduled for early May but were also postponed by the NFL.
He (along with offensive lineman Jalen Allen) participated in the College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth, Texas, in January and had minor ankle surgery (from an injury that kept him out of one game last season).
“Ever since January, I’d been preparing, and I don’t know what the deal is now,” Gemmell said. “There’s so much uncertainty to deal with. But we’re not letting all these circumstances stop us from working hard and preparing for a time where we’ll get our shot.”
But while teammates LeMay, Highsmith and Clark were invited to those higher-profile scouting opportunities, Gemmell stayed in Charlotte and continued to train.
Practicing social distancing, he and other former 49ers (including LeMay, Clark, Allen and former defensive back Denzel Irvin) have been working out at several fields in the Charlotte area, as well as in a friend’s personal gym that’s housed in a garage. Another Charlotte player, cornerback Marquill Osborne, was also planning on attending the pro day.
“The best case is this pandemic comes to an end in the next few weeks and we get a pro day,” Gemmell said. “But we’re also talking about the possibility of filming something and sending that out (to NFL teams).
“This is a very interesting thing to talk about. This has never happened before.”
Gemmell was to be married this Sunday, but the wedding has been postponed indefinitely. He graduated in December with a degree in accounting and, while hopefully pursuing his NFL dream, had an internship at a local accounting firm lined up for the summer. He’s working at a part-time job with a local business management consulting firm.
“The office is located right next to Panthers stadium,” Gemmell said. “Every time I drive past it, I say, ‘I’m going to be playing in there soon.’ ”
Moving things digital
While LeMay, Clark and Highsmith were not as dependent on their pro day as Gemmell, they were planning for it. LeMay intended to run the 40-yard dash, something he didn’t do at the combine. A lot of teams have questioned Highsmith’s strength during the process and he didn’t do the bench press at the combine because of a strained pectoral muscle he was rehabbing.
Instead, he sent a video of him bench pressing to his agent for all 32 teams. He did 20 full reps.
“I didn’t perform the short shuttle and the three-cone drill at the combine. I opted to do that at pro day and I didn’t end up getting a number for that,” Clark said. “I was really disappointed because I felt like I could have helped my draft stock at my pro day because I feel like I would have had a good short shuttle and I would have done well in the position drills. Just another chance for coaches to put their eyes on me.”
Top-30 visits scheduled to take place across the country for each were canceled as well with teams instead FaceTiming with prospects for an hour at a time. All three have been part of those calls, almost entirely with position coaches.
LeMay, Highsmith and Clark have all participated in hour-long FaceTime video calls with NFL teams that are usually reserved for bringing in their top-30 prospects to their facilities. The calls primarily consist of getting to know the players and testing their ability to learn certain plays.
LeMay has spoken with the Giants (a couple times, he said), Ravens, Buccaneers and Colts and has more scheduled, including the Panthers. He said he would “love that opportunity” to stay in Charlotte.
Like many other prospects around the country, LeMay will sit and wait (inside a little more than usual) until April 23-25, with the draft moving on as scheduled, to find out where he will be headed next. After that, who knows? Things can change quickly. March 20 was supposed to be a pro day before everything shifted. There’s no way to say what’s next.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
