Tuesday afternoon was the culmination of the careers of one of the best football graduating classes in the history of Sam Houston State University. Pro Day featured some of the best individual talent that made up some of the best teams in the history of the program. It's a group that won't be forgotten, especially after an amazing 10-month run in calendar year 2021. From late February 2021 to early December 2021, K.C. Keeler's Bearkats won 21 games in a row. TWENTY ONE. The Streak finally ended after Sam Houston lost to national championship game finalist Montana State in the fall 2021 season playoffs. Those 21 wins included the program's first FCS National championship in the spring 2021 season, which capped off a perfect 10-0 season, after not playing football for 464 days. This group will have some incredible reunion stories to tell when they come back for future versions of Homecoming in Huntsville.
However, Tuesday was the end of the Sam Houston chapter for those on the field, but it won't be the last day for a handful of those players on a football field. The Bearkats Pro Day had scouts from nearly every team in the league, in some cases, a few teams sent multiple scouting and/or coaching personnel. The Bearkat stars didn't disappoint.
For five years, I've been calling games at Sam Houston so I feel like I've seen the duo affectionately known as The Twins grow up in front of my eyes. Actual identical twins Zyon and Tristin McCollum have played alongside one another since they came into the world. Tuesday, most of the eyes in the building were on those two, in particular, Tristin who was coming off of shoulder surgery. Zyon worked out at the Combine and put on a show, posting a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash, a 39.5-inch vertical and sub four second/sub seven second short shuttle/3-cone drill, respectively. As such, Zyon didn't perform every drill but did all of his position drills alongside his brother who posted mighty impressive numbers. Tristin posted a 37.5-vertical and a 40-yard dash that was in the 4.5 range in the wind, low 4.5 range with the wind. He was also battling a hamstring injury that slowed him down prior to Pro Day. Yet, he gutted it out and, despite that nagging him, he moved and tested extremely well, assuredly grabbing the attention of the scouts on hand.
Wide receiver Jequez Ezzard is another intriguing prospect who transferred to Sam Houston for the spring season in 2021. He had been a star at Howard University and heading into the COVID season of 2020, Ezzard looked for another opportunity and found it at Sam Houston. During our first TV production meeting of the spring season, Keeler mentioned something about "this transfer from Howard who was pretty good". He more than undersold Ezzard's impact. The former Bison star was electrifying in that 10-game championship season and his ability to make plays at clutch times was as memorable as the quicksilver change of direction skills that left defenders tackling air. Injuries halted much of Ezzard's 2021 season, which was a shame, but he was healthy and ready to roll on Tuesday. He posted a 37-inch vertical and ran in the 4.55-4.6 range in the 40-yard dash. I didn't get his times on the change of direction drills, but watching him run routes and catch everything in sight during his position drills was a reminder of what the young man can do in the future, if given the opportunity.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those three get drafted in the upcoming draft but one other name to keep an eye on is DL Joe Wallace. The interior star slimmed down a bit for the Pro Day and was MOVING for a guy nearly 300 lb. I thought he was the most disruptive defensive linemen in FCS football over the calendar year 2021. He got a full opportunity to play at Sam Houston after starting his career at Texas Tech, was a two-time captain at Sam Houston and completely took over games at times in his Bearkat career. He may not get drafted, but he should be in an NFL training camp this fall.
The Bearkats football twitter account pinned a tweet to the top of their timeline earlier this month with the headline "21 in '21" to indicate those 21 wins over essentially a ten month timeframe. There's little question Tuesday's Pro Day was a win, making it number 22 in calendar year 2022.
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