Tank Bigsby entered Auburn’s pro day on Tuesday at the Woltosz Football Performance Center with redemption as a primary goal. He was so unhappy with running the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the NFL scouting combine that he canceled visits with prospective teams. The reasons behind those moves were to focus on building his speed in advance of pro day workout in front of scouts and executives from NFL teams.
Bigbsy showcased his hard work with an unofficial 4.45 40-dash at the facility.
Bigsby has plenty of game footage to show his value with nearly 3,000 yards rushing during his three seasons on the plains. He had 25 touchdowns and last season, had over 700 yards after contact. Several draft boards have him going anywhere from the third round to the Dallas Cowboys or in the fourth round to the Tennesse Titans.
The 6-foot-1 running back could’ve leaned on film but wanted to embrace the challenge of working on his 40-yard dash time.
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“That time at the combine just did something to me,” Bigsby said. “I knew I run faster than that, and I knew I moved faster than that. I know I play faster than that. I couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about that time, tossing and turning, and (I was) getting up early just to call my trainer and be like, ‘Hey, we need to do it again. We need to do it again.’ He’s like, ‘Man, you’re fine. You’re fine. You know you play faster than that.’ And I’m like, ‘No, we need to do it again.’”
An aspect of Bigsby’s game that he didn’t get to show off much at Auburn was pass-catching. He had 30 catches for 180 yards last season. Most of the routes were quick passes, but in the NFL teams want running backs that can line up on the hashes and run routes. Bigsby ran several routes and made some nice catches during his pro day workout.
“Certain teams just say they see the ability of me catching,” Bigsby said. “They say they see on film that we didn’t throw the ball as much, but they want to see me catch more. So that’s what made me do receiver drills today, made me do more routes today. You get the opportunity to do all those things, and it’s a blessing. So I’m excited to be here, excited to do what I did today. Just get that work in.”
Bigbsy will continue working until April’s draft. He’ll watch the draft with his family in Atlanta. He enjoyed his last time working out on campus as an Auburn Tiger.
“It went great. Being here with my teammates again, it did a lot to me,” Bigsby said. “Made me feel that joy again, being around the team. Two months without being on the team, it felt kind of weird. But I feel like, me personally, I had a great workout with the guys and had a great workout.”
Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.
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