Keionta Davis finally got his chance to perform in front of NFL scouts, something Corey Levin had done at the recent NFL combine.
C.J. Board just wanted a chance to be seen in front of those same scouts.
All three made good use of their final opportunity.
They were among eight 2016 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga players participating in the school's pro day Thursday at Finley Stadium, in front of 18 NFL scouts. Former UTC players Tommy Hudson and Faysal Shafaat and recent Lane College graduate Javonte' Kelly also participated.
Defensive end Davis didn't get an opportunity to run at the combine, as doctors "found something" and would not let him perform in Indianapolis. He's been since checked and rechecked and was cleared to participate Thursday, and he had a good day by running an unofficial 4.69-second 40-yard-dash and doing 30 bench-press repetitions of 225 pounds.
He and Vantrel McMillan worked extensively with Cincinnati Bengals defensive line coach and former UTC football player Jacob Burney, who worked the pair out for 30 minutes on a variety of drills.
The Bengals sent two representatives to Chattanooga to evaluate Davis, who received additional attention from Philadelphia Eagles defensive line coach Phillip Daniels.
"Coaches are wanting to see how tough you are," Davis said. "I've been doing that since I was here at Chattanooga. I couldn't tell you all the conditioning stuff we did - way worse than that, and I knew if I could make it through that, I could make it through this.
"At the end of the day, it's football; it's what I do."
Davis plans to be checked out again in two weeks, just so NFL teams can get a good report. Offensive lineman Levin went through most of the drills at the combine that Davis did Thursday. He added an 8-foot, 10-inch broad jump and showed good technique in position drills.
"I thought I moved around great, and showed some athleticism for sure," Levin said. "There's always some nerves involved, but since I'd been to the combine I felt I had a head start on some of this stuff, but overall I felt confident and great.
"I'm just planning to be ready to play some football in early May, and do everything I can to become a better football player this next month. Since Christmas until this point, we've been training to be track athletes, running as fast as we can, jumping as high, but from here on out it's all football, moving and stuff like that."
Thursday was key for both. Levin and Davis are projected to be picked in the sixth or seventh round of the NFL draft, which takes place April 27-29 in Philadelphia.
That's a projection wide receiver Board does not have, but he definitely turned some heads with his performance Thursday. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder had a vertical leap of 38 inches and ran a 4.37 in the 40. He and Xavier Borishade made some good catches in receiver drills, as did former UTC running back Derrick Craine, who ran a 4.62 in the 40.
Board finished his UTC career as one of the top receivers in the school's history. He was sixth all-time in receptions (146) and fifth in yards (2,032) and caught a pass in 30 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in UTC history.
"My goal was to be consistent," he said. "I've been training since January, and coming out here I wanted to put up some good numbers. I felt good about it and I felt the scouts did, too. A lot came up to me today after I ran the 40, so that's good."
Getting on some people's radar was his goal coming in. Mission accomplished.
"I didn't really get any calls, or any contact with them before this, so I came out here, performed, and a lot saw I could be a good player," he said. "I just wanted to give myself a chance, do what I normally do and see if anybody likes it."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.