Former App State football standouts Shemar Jean-Charles, Zac Thomas, Ryan Neuzil and Noah Hannon participated in the program’s annual pro day at the Sofield Family Indoor Practice Complex April 1.

“It was a dream come true just to have this opportunity to perform at a pro day,”  Jean-Charles said. “This is something we’ve all been looking forward to since we were kids.”

Jean-Charles weighed in at 184 pounds and hit 19 reps in the 225-pound bench press. At the start of offseason training, Jean-Charles was in the single digits for bench press reps. He finished the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds and maxed out his vertical leap at 35 inches.

The cornerback from Miramar, Florida, earned first team All-American honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation for his 2020 performance. As one of the nation’s top defensive backs, he ranked first in the FBS in both pass breakups (16) and passes defended (17). PFF College named him the Sun Belt Player of the Year. 

Three-year starting quarterback Thomas impressed during his workouts. Coming in at just over 6 feet tall and 205 pounds, he showed his quickness in the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds. Thomas finished his career with 19 rushing touchdowns and showed scouts why he was able to score so much.

“I (had personal records) in everything … it’s very promising to see that, and you get a lot of feedback from scouts on what I need to improve in my game,” Thomas said. “I was very pleased with the way I threw the ball, it was coming out of my hand very well.”

Thomas finished his career with a 32-6 record as a starter, which is good for the third-most wins in App State history. On top of the wins, Thomas is also top five in program history in touchdown passes, passing yards, total yards and total touchdowns. 

Neuzil, an offensive lineman who came off the bench in his first two games as a freshman before starting the final 44 games of his App State career, knocked out 30 reps on the bench press and ran the 40 in 5.09 seconds. At last year’s NFL Combine, 30 reps would’ve ranked in the top five of offensive linemen and his 40 time would’ve been in the top 10. 

“It was really good, being able to show that I was able to put on about 15 pounds and still perform very well, and still be able to do the drills with the added weight,” Neuzil said. 

Neuzil was named a second team All-American in 2020 by PFF College and the Sporting News. Starting all 12 games for the Mountaineers at left guard in 2020, the Bradenton, Florida native helped App State rank seventh in the nation with 264.9 rushing yards per game. Neuzil also recorded 50 knockdown blocks in the 2020 regular season.  

Hannon, an undersized offensive lineman, made a position change and looks to play fullback for an opportunity in the NFL. Hannon was a two-time All-Sun Belt offensive lineman and started all 52 games during his career, ranking third all-time in starts at App State.

“I got a couple calls over a couple of weeks from some teams and they’re all saying the same thing: ‘What do you think about playing fullback?’” Hannon said. “I started training for (fullback) which is why I’m not the 272 (pounds).”

Hannon weighed in at 238 pounds and ran an impressive 4.68 second 40-yard dash. After dropping around 30 pounds in a short time, Hannon has made the position change fast and also didn’t drop a pass during his drills with Thomas from the backfield.

The quartet is happy with their performances and will continue to prepare for the NFL Draft, which takes place April 29-May 1.