With their final college football season having come and gone, Tuesday afternoon was the final opportunity for IU's recent defensive stars to impress.
Each of the seven former IU defensive players who took part in Tuesday's pro day had something different they wanted to show to the assembled scouts before the NFL Draft later this month.
Linebacker Chris Covington wanted to show off his agility, while his former partner at linebacker, Tegray Scales, focused on his "smoothness" during position drills.
Among members of the IU secondary, it was about versatility.
Safety Chase Dutra and cornerback Rashard Fant both mentioned their play on special teams units as positives for their chances to join an NFL roster.
While their goals and workouts differed, IU's pro day was the culmination of a defensive era for the Hoosiers.
Along with defensive linemen Greg Gooch and Robert McCray III and safety Tony Fields, Covington, Dutra, Fant and Scales played vital roles in IU's defensive revitalization during the past two seasons under IU Coach Tom Allen.
"It's crazy like, we came in all together and we all had the same mindset," Scales said. "It also just shows where this program is going. That's credit to Coach Allen and everything this program has invested in us."
From being ranked 108th in the country in S&P+ team defense following the 2015 season to its ranking of 26th after the 2017 season, IU's senior defensive leaders left their mark after Allen's arrival.
"There's no doubt you're going to lose a lot of playmakers on the field from this group," Allen said. "But at the same time they've set the standard. It's a lot of good players we're going to have to replace."
Covington and Scales were the only defensive players to participate in both the NFL Combine and pro day. Fant was also supposed to take part in the NFL Combine, but he tore his pectoral muscle before on-field workouts began.
Fant was not able to run as recently as two weeks ago, but after four total weeks of physical rehab and recovery, he decided to test his injury by running the 40-yard dash while wearing a brace four days ago.
He ran that 40-yard dash in less than 4.40 seconds, something that led to his decision to run Tuesday without a brace.
His unofficial time at pro day was 4.36 seconds.
"I was like a game day decision," Fant said. "I said, 'You know, forget the brace, feels pretty good, whatever happens, happens.' So I mean it was just getting out of my head, trusting myself and trusting the rehab."
Fant had to focus on getting healthy in the lead up to pro day, but other defensive players like Covington and Scales spent time together in Bloomington watching film and helping prepare each other.
"I always been a workout person," Scales said. "So just working out, getting ready for the combine and pro day its been fun, just around the guys. You don't get this opportunity a lot so you definitely make the best of it."
Dutra also worked with Fields and others in Bloomington prior to pro day.
"We were just able to fuel off each other and keep going day by day," Dutra said. "It was fun, it was competitive, it was everything you want when you're training for something that's the pinnacle in your life, the biggest day in your life so far.
Several IU players will continue to meet with representatives from NFL teams in the coming weeks.
Covington said he will choose between working out at pro days hosted by the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, and Scales has workouts scheduled with the Colts, Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots.
Fant will be traveling further than most to meet with teams, as he has visits scheduled with the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texas, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins.
Regardless of where each of their NFL futures lie, Fant said IU's defensive stars from the past few seasons will remain connected by their collegiate performances.
"It's been cool having those guys and being able to finish together out here," Fant said. "I mean we turned the defense around, which is what we wanted to do. Maybe not as many wins as we wanted to, but we could say we're one of the most dominant defenses in IU history."
