Running backs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas have the fifth and sixth most rushing touchdowns in UL football history, respectively.
The former Cajuns are working to make their NFL dreams a reality.
“I’ve been having this in the back of my head since I started playing football back when I was six years old,” Ragas says. “It’s always been in my head to make it into the NFL.”
“Since I started playing football, I always knew about the NFL,” Mitchell says. “That’s something I always wanted to do since I was small. It’s crazy how it’s starting to turn into a reality now.”
Scouts from 28 NFL teams were at the Cajuns’ Pro Day.
In the 40-yard dash, Mitchell had one of the most impressive times in the country: a 4.32.
“Elite numbers,” Louisiana head coach Billy Napier says of Mitchell’s Pro Day performance. “That’s the only way I can describe it. One of the best Pro Days in the entire country for a running back for the last five years I would say.”
“My plan was just to run a 4.4, to be in the 4.4s,” Mitchell says. “I just kept speaking the 4.3s into existence. And it happened. I’ve been training in Texas a few months at MJP in McKinney, Texas. Shoutout to them for that. They prepared me and I was ready to go.”
A few states over, Ragas was training for Pro Day in South Florida.
“You know, there ain’t nobody telling you you missed something,” Ragas says. “You gotta do it yourself you know. Yout gotta show up everyday for yourself. Nobody really cares if you show up or not. That’s up to you. I would say I got that NFL feeling where you gotta show up everyday and put in the work.”
“I think Trey’s game really translates well to the National Football League,” Napier says. “You know, there’s not a lot of home runs hit in the National Football League in the run game. I always used to say Trey hits a lot of doubles. There’s no question, his production is well documented as well.”
Ragas and Mitchell talked after Pro Day about what they could bring to an NFL team.
“Just being a playmaker for whoever picks me up,” Mitchell says. “Just be a guy to come in and do my job and do it the right way.”
“I’m willing to do just about anything to help the team be great,” Ragas says. “I’m coachable. I can catch the ball from the outfield. I can run between the tackles. I can play special teams.”
The NFL Draft is scheduled to start on Thursday April 29th, ending on Saturday May 1st.