The offseason is in full swing in Oxford, and Wednesday marked Ole Miss football's Pro Day.
The players who had opted out and even the players who impressed the NFL Scouts at the NFL Combine, and the ones who weren't invited, all ran drills to give their NFL Draft stock a boost.
A total of 17 players participated in the Pro Day, but one in particular commanded the scouts' eyes.
The one that stood out: Kapena Gushiken
Since he did not receive an invite to Indianapolis, Pro Day was the only chance with safety Kapena Gushiken to boost his draft stock, and he made the most of his touches.
On Wednesday, the Rebels' safety put up a performance that would have instantly made him a hit among the NFL scouts were it at the Combine.
His 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds, as eight hundredths of a second slower than SFA’s Lorenzo Styles, Jr. and would have been tied for the fourth-best time among safeties.
“You aim high, you’re bound to end up somewhere near that. So, I was really shooting for the stars when it came to the 40,” Kepena said.
“Honestly, really important,” Gushiken said of pro day. “I care a lot about football and this journey that I’ve been on and I know how much weight, how much it’ll help me going forward. So, definitely took the process very serious and feel like I did decently good.”
Gushiken’s 11-foot broad jump would have shot him to the top of the combine leaderboard as the best among his position, by two inches.
The same goes for his 41 inch vertical jump; a bit more fuel and he would have been easily topped the safeties chart, but he could have been looking down at a potential first or second round pick with the team in need of a safety.
With those metrics, Gushiken didn't just meet expectations—he shattered them, making a first-round case that’s hard to ignore.