The coronavirus outbreak pumped the brakes on the Rutgers football team’s annual Pro Day earlier this month.
But last week, Willington Previlon got to perform drills in a pro day setting at the TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, where he’s been training the last couple of months.
Wednesday, Previlon, an interior defensive lineman, shared with TKR about his time at TEST and the pro day.
“The last few months at TEST have been a grind mentally to stay focused on the small details,” Previlon said. “I am very grateful for the coaches there who do a wonderful job.”
Previlon measured in at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds. He ran a 5.11/5.21 laser 40-yard dash, registered 23 reps on the bench preps, notched a 32 inch vertical leap, a broad jump of 9-5 (114 inches), a short shuttle of 4.66, and a three-cone drill time of 7.91.
NFLDraftBible.com said Previlon has “outstanding size and movement skills” with “room to grow”.
As always, Previlon said he wasn’t perfect, but was pleased with his performance in the events. A few scouts from teams have been in contact.
“It went as well as it could have,” Previlon said. “I wish the numbers could have been a little better, but I am satisfied overall.”
This past fall, the Orange, N.J. native received the Homer Hazel Award, which is given to the team’s most valuable player. He also earned the David Bender Trophy on the defensive side of the ball. A starter in all 12 of the Scarlet Knights’ games, he made 35 tackles including 7.5 for loss with a sack. He made six tackles against Minnesota and Penn State, both tying his career-high. He also tallied two tackles-for-loss versus Iowa and Indiana. His sack was against Maryland.
For his career, Previlon appeared in 36 games with 18 starts. The Orange High product made 71 total stops, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, and three pass deflections.
“I am very grateful for my time at Rutgers,” Previlon said. “No regrets at all. I would do it all again.”
With a month until April’s NFL Draft from the 25th-27th, Previlon will continue to work and hope the COVID-19 pandemic will pass.
“What’s best for me now is to stay in shape, talk to scouts, and hopefully if this virus madness can end soon, I can perform at pro day at Rutgers and work out in front of scouts.”
Previlon doesn’t know if he’ll hear his name called at the draft or afterwards as a free agent, but he feels like he’s improved over the years and can make it at the next level
“I definitely believe I deserve a shot,” he said
You can watch a livestream of the TEST pro day on the academy's Facebook page.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.