‘This day, it can make or break you.’ What former Miami Canes did, said at UM Pro Day

Former University of Miami star safeties Kamren Kinchens and James Williams returned “home’’ Monday, along with nearly a dozen other former Canes and many current ones, in the place that groomed them for their life’s next passage.

So it wasn’t surprising when Williams, who didn’t perform in Monday’s University of Miami Pro Day because of a minor groin injury, said the question that stood out earlier this month among the 32 NFL coaches or team representatives at the Pro Scouting Combine was, “Who’s a better player, me or Kam?’’

His answer: “Kam is a better safety. I’m a better football player.’’

Added Williams with his ever-present smile: “That was a good question.’’

College scouts and representatives from every NFL team, including Dolphins scouting coordinator Minh Luu and an assistant, came to Greentree Field and the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility to watch the former Canes be measured, lift, run, jump and perform drills. Current coach Mario Cristobal and his staff watched from the sidelines, along with former Miami greats.

“This day, it can make or break you,’’ said UM director of player personnel Mike Rumph, a former Canes cornerback who played on the 2001 national championship team and was drafted in 2002 in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers. “It’s better than the Combine in Indianapolis because it’s warm weather, your family comes to support you and you haven’t been up all night for meetings.

“That 40-yard dash or your drills or your vertical can make your draft stock go up or down. Luckily, mine went up.’’

2023 draft

Last year, three Hurricanes were selected in the NFL Draft: cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, 56th overall in the second round to the Chicago Bears; tight end Will Mallory in the fifth round to the Indianapolis Colts; and cornerback DJ Ivey in the seventh and final round to the Cincinnati Bengals.

This year, during the draft from April 25-27 in Detroit, the 5-11, 203-pound Kinchens is projected to go as high as the second round by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who has him as the ninth best safety. ESPN’s Jordan Reid and Matt Miller have him as their third best safety. But Kinchens, who left UM after his junior season and achieved All-American status as a sophomore with six interceptions, six pass breakups and a 99-yard defensive touchdown, was upset by his 4.65 best 40-yard dash in Indianapolis.

Monday, surrounded by family members and his “UM brother’’ Williams, Kinchens ran a 4.56 40 in the indoor facility, per the ACC Network.

“I did well,’’ Kinchens told the Miami Herald. “I improved on the stuff I wanted to improve on.’’

When asked his NFL Draft expectations, Kinchens said, “It will be a blessing whenever and wherever I get drafted in the NFL.”

Kinchens looked up to see his giant first-team All-American banner hanging from the indoor rafters of the facility. “Great to be back here, be around the guys and see my name up there,’’ he said. “And great to have James on the sideline watching me.

Kinchens, Williams

“He’s right,’’ Kinchens said of Williams’ assertion that Kinchens is the better safety and Williams, the better football player. “We’ve made each other better.’’

Kinchens, out of Miami Northwestern High, left UM with 26 starts in 34 games, 162 tackles, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, 26 pass deflections, one sack, two defensive touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Williams, who graduated from Plantation American Heritage, also left as a junior and is expected to play linebacker at the next level. He matched Kinchens’ 4.65 at the combine, but at 6-4 and 230 pounds, it’s more understandable.

“I want to do whatever [NFL] teams want me to do,’’ said Williams, who came to UM in 2021 as a five-star crown jewel that former American Heritage head coach Patrick Surtain called “one of the best football players I’ve ever seen in high school.’’

“I could have done better at the Combine,’’ Williams said Monday, “but I had to rest today to stay healthy.”

Other former Canes who performed Monday included defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III, who under-performed at the NFL Combine and ran the a 5.13 best in Monday’s 40. He left before being interviewed by the local media.

‘Explosive, twitchy’

Defensive tackle Branson Deen, who transferred from Purdue for his sixth-year senior season, ran a 5.34 40 Monday after not being invited to the NFL Combine.

“More than anything this gave guys like me the opportunity for scouts to have a chance to see us move around outside the pads and see how explosive and twitchy we are,’’ Deen, 6-1 and 298 pounds, said. “UM changed my life and gave me a better outlook on the football world. There are a lot of really talented, NFL-ready guys on this roster.’’

Former UM center Matt Lee, who transferred from UCF for his fifth-year redshirt junior season, is Kiper’s No. 7 center in the draft. He performed in Indianapolis, but said he did 25 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press Monday.

“I’ll take it,’’ said the 6-3 1/2, 302-pound Lee, who ran his 5.03 40 in Indianapolis.

Lee said he liked UM’s Pro Day because “you get more eyes on you specifically. When you’re in Indianapolis, you’ve got 400-whatever guys, 50, 60, 70 offensive linemen there. This gets more focus on me.’’

The fastest runner Monday?

Blazing 40

Receiver Tyler Harrell, who transferred to UM from Alabama (and to Alabama from Louisville) before last season. He ran a blazing 4.28 seconds. But on the field, he only had four catches for 45 yards in eight games at UM.

Former UM general manager of football operations Alonzo Highsmith, who left the Canes last month to take a senior personnel executive job with the New England Patriots, came back to campus Monday to watch and evaluate his former players. He said at least some of them will be drafted, and that some of their Combine times, for example, shouldn’t be over-emphasized.

“They’re football players,’’ Highsmith said. “Not everyone tests well sometimes at the Combine. You’ve still got to look at the body of work. You can’t base a guy’s career, four years, three years as a starter, on a 20-minute workout. You have to do a lot of research.

“There are a lot of players in the Hall of Fame who didn’t perform well in their 40-yard dashes— namely Jerry Rice.’’

Williams, who said he appreciated Highsmith being there, added that being around his former teammates was “a blessing.’’

“I feel like a proud kid, like ‘We made it.’ The last step of our journey before the NFL dream is here.’’