Tuesday was Liberty’s annual Pro Day where its football athletes workout for various NFL scouts hoping to catch their eye. Senior defensive back Walt Aikens was the man everyone wanted to see.
After impressive showings at various All Star games since the conclusion of the 2013 season, Aikens did not receive an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine, much to the surprise of many NFL Draft experts. In response, Walt said “I’ll bring the combine to me.” And he did so during Liberty’s Pro Day.
@LibertyFootball Great to see God at work…having the most NFL scouts ever on Liberty’s campus! For more pics to to @LibertyFootball
— Turner Gill (@LibertyTGill) March 5, 2014
Walt checked in with some impressive times for a defensive back with his size: 4.42 40-yard dash, 35″ vertical, 9’10” broad jump, 13 reps bench press, 7.1 3-cone drill, and a 4.1 in the 20 yard shuttle. His 40 time would have placed him in the top 10 of all defensive backs at the combine.
One scouting service had this to say about Walt after his impressive showing at Pro Day:
Aikens is like a gem that needs to be polished. He is a little rough around the edges, but coaching and experience could make him one heck of a football, in the NFL. The analogy I have to describe Aikens is he is like a classic American muscle car. Think of the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 or 1970 Chevelle 454 SS, he is power and speed. Aikens is that muscle car with an overpowered engine built to deliver a beating and able to burn some rubber.
According to WalterFootball.com, Aikens has four visits set up with NFL teams beginning with a private workout with the Chicago Bears on Wednesday. Current NFL projections has Aikens projected to go in the middle rounds of May’s NFL Draft. Aikens hopes to be the first player from Liberty drafted since 2009 when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected running back Rashad Jennings in the 7th round.
