Golson, Prewitt on display at Ole Miss pro day
Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 8, 2015
OXFORD – Senquez Golson says he turned down a $1.35 million signing bonus from the Boston Red Sox back in 2011, opting to play college football instead.
There were some days that it looked like a disastrous decision.
But a terrific senior season – followed by a good day at the NFL combine in February – have put Golson in a position to possibly recoup some of that money. The undersized cornerback drew quite a crowd of scouts on Thursday when he went through position drills at Mississippi’s pro day on campus.
“There are always a lot of questions when you’ve got a 5-foot-8 cornerback who had 10 interceptions,” Golson said. “A lot of people want to get their eyes on me and see if everything matches up with the numbers.”
Ole Miss said 27 NFL teams had representatives on campus.
Golson had three decent seasons at Ole Miss before a huge leap in performance last fall earned him All-American honors. He was an outfielder in baseball and his ability to track and catch the ball has translated well to the football field.
Golson and Cody Prewitt, who also worked out on Thursday, were a huge part of the Ole Miss secondary last season. The Rebels gave up just 16 points per game last season, which ranked first in the country.
Prewitt is a 6-foot-2, 208-pound safety who made 64 tackles and grabbed three interceptions in 2014. He was an All-American in 2013 after having 71 tackles and six interceptions.
He likely helped himself on Thursday by running a significantly faster 40-yard dash than his 4.6 in Indianapolis. He ran a 4.46 on Thursday, which was such a big improvement that scouts asked him to run it again.
He finished with a similar time, bringing a big cheer from other Ole Miss players and coaches.
“Here, I just kind of let loose,” Prewitt said. “I got tired of feeling the pressure, so I just ran. I’m very pleased with my performance today.”
Also in attendance on Thursday: Quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace wasn’t invited to the NFL combine despite throwing for nearly 10,000 career yards in three years for the Rebels. He’s occasionally battled an injured throwing shoulder for the past few years, but said he felt good when throwing to receivers on Thursday.
“I felt like I had as good of a day as I could have,” Wallace said. “I feel healthy – that’s the big thing. I think being unhealthy at the end of this year hurt me, especially the way I played the last three games.”
DAVID BRANDT, AP Sports Writer