For NFL front office executives and scouts, the B.E.S.T. Academy football stadium was the place to be on Friday afternoon.
Representatives from 29 of 32 NFL teams were on hand for the Pro Day workout for the reigning Canadian Football League rookie of the year Qwan’tez Stiggers.
Stiggers, an Atlanta native, didn’t play in college and was discovered by the Toronto Argonauts while playing the now defunct-Fan Controlled Football League. After his workout and the posting of competitive numbers, several scouts said that Stiggers would be picked during the NFL draft, which is April 25-27 in Detroit.
The Falcons had two representatives on hand. The Rams, Bucs and Bengals were three teams that did not attend. However, the Bengals have a top-30 visit set up with Stiggers.
“I feel like overall I had a good day,” Stiggers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t base my pro day off of one drill. Based on all of my drills I feel like I did a good job.”
The workout started inside the school’s smallish weight room. He was measured and did his vertical jump. He didn’t do the bench press of 225 pounds because of an right-shoulder injury.
His hands measured 8 7/8 inches, arms 30 7/8, wing span 73 3/8 and he was 5 foot-11 3/8. He weighed in at 204 pounds.
The rain stopped and the field drained quickly.
Stiggers did more physical testing and worked through some cornerback drills. He ran his first 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds, which would have been the 10th-fastest time of the cornerbacks at the combine. Clemson’s Nate Wiggins ran the top time of 4.28 seconds.
One scout noted that Stiggers rushed through his subsequent 40-yard dashes and had slower times. He didn’t take the proper amount of rest between the runs.
Stiggers moved well through the three-cone and agility drills and he had a 10-foot, 8-inch broad jump, which would have been 11th of the cornerbacks at the scouting combine. Rutgers’ Max Melton had an 11-4 as the top broad jump for cornerbacks at the combine.
“Today was just to remove the question marks that everybody has on me,” Stiggers said. “Not having (any) college experience. Not having that much football experience and (I wanted to show) that I can play at the highest level. Just coming out here and removing those question marks.”
He started 15 games at cornerback for the Argonauts and was named to the East Division all-star team. He made 53 tackles, three special-teams tackles, and had five interceptions in 16 games. He was the first defensive back to win the most-outstanding rookie award since 1998.
The Argonauts could have blocked Stiggers’ pursuit to make it to the NFL.
“He was under contract and the fact that they gave him permission to pursue his NFL dream, you just don’t see teams do that,” said Fred Lyles, Stiggers’ agent. “The fact that we reached an agreement with the NFL and CFL. The agreement we reached because he was not far enough removed from high school that he’d have to go into the draft. They could have easily said, we’re not going to let him go in the draft. We want him back.”
Stiggers has 10 top-30 visits scheduled with NFL teams. Lyles is confident that he’ll get drafted, but is not sure how high. Stiggers will have to answer questions about not playing in college and how the tragic death of his father led him to leave Lane College. Also, he’ll have to address how his mother signed him up for Fan Controlled Football, that played for two seasons at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta.
Also, the NFL teams scouted Stiggers against former college players in the East-West Shrine Bowl game. He made several “top performer” lists for his work in practice and in the game.
“I feel like I competed with some of the best athletes in the world,” Stiggers said. “It was also a blessing to be there.”
He’s been trained by Lily Abdelmalek of DSA Sports Performance.
“It’s always good to be in contact (with the teams),” Stiggers said. “Overall, I feel like I had a pretty good day. I felt like I improved my draft stock today.”
Now, with the pro day over, Stiggers will stay in shape and prepare for his interviews.
“I have a couple of top-30 visits set up,” Stiggers said. “Hopefully, I’ll have some more rolling in after this wonderful pro day. … Shout out to the whole B.E.S.T. Academy community for supporting me on this journey.”
Stiggers was impressed with 10-8 broad jump.
“This whole week I was 10-3, 10-4, but that adrenaline probably kicked in and I tried to jump out of the gym,” Stiggers said.
Stiggers was not a big Falcons’ fan growing up.
“Tell them to come get me,” Stiggers said. “I grew up right up the street. ... I remember Roddy White and Michael Turner.”
Several students and administrators from B.E.S.T Academy lined the field during Stiggers’ workout. They cheered after each of his events.
“This is my backbone,” Stiggers said. “I walked these halls with some of the kids and some of the people. So it’s a blessing to be here.”
Stiggers is clearly enjoying the pre-draft process.
“Chase your dreams because everyone told me that I couldn’t,” Stiggers said.
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