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Mack Wilson content with Alabama Pro Day despite slower 40-time

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mack Wilson seemed at peace with himself Tuesday. Like most of the 18 former Alabama players who participated in the team’s Pro Day, he had just been subjected to a gauntlet of drills in front of a large congregation of NFL scouts inside Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.

Wilson entered the day looking to prove that he was the top linebacker in this year’s draft — a class that includes LSU’s Devin White and Michigan’s Devin Bush. Following a busy day that consisted of him participating in the broad jump, vertical, 40-yard dash and positional skills, Wilson stated he felt content with his performance.

However, when asked he if he felt like he did enough to solidify his first-round status, the former Alabama linebacker responded with a quick, “No.”

“I still feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Wilson said. “You know, I didn’t have the perfect Pro Day. I didn’t accomplish everything that I wanted to accomplish. But I told my parents and my trainers, ‘as long as I’m happy, I want y’all to be happy.’ After I ran my 40 and I saw what I ran, I was happy. I wasn’t mad at myself, I wasn’t down. I was like, ‘I’m going to finish these drills strong and go about my day.’”

The headline surrounding Wilson’s Pro Day will center around his lackluster time in the 40-yard dash. While Alabama doesn’t make times public, the linebacker reportedly was clocked with a 4.72 time in his first attempt and a 4.65 time in his second attempt.

Neither time presents a red flag to NFL teams, especially since Wilson is still nursing a hamstring injury which prevented him from running at the NFL Scouting Combine. However, the time is a far way off from the blazing 4.42-mark White posted at the combine.

Wilson said he was looking for a better time Tuesday, but he won’t be losing any sleep over how things turned out. The 6-foot-2, 239-pound linebacker recorded a 33-inch jump in the vertical as well as a 122-inch broad jump. Both were improvements over his showing at the combine. Wilson believes his game-tape covers any other questions.

“Football is football. A 40-yard dash is a 40-yard,” Wilson said. “I didn’t play football all my life to be a track star or anything else like that. I feel like there’s a part of football that some scouts, some teams, some coaches want to see, but at the end of the day, it’s about what you put on film. That’s your resume.”

Wilson earned second-team All-SEC honors last year, finishing tied for fourth on the team with 71 tackles, including five for a loss, with a sack two interceptions. His six combined interceptions over the past two years top all Alabama defenders over that span.

“Every team I met with I told them, ‘I feel like the most versatile linebacker in the draft,’” Wilson said. “I can flip my hips. I can cover. I can do whatever. I wanted to be able to show those guys that when I did my position drills.”

Wilson said he’ll look to continue to improve on his 40-time leading up to the NFL Draft on April 25. He’ll have more opportunities to perform in front of scouts as plans to hold private workouts with a handful of NFL teams. No matter how those work out, he’s comfortable in his ability to perform for whichever team drafts him — regardless of which round they select him in.

“Like I said, I’m blessed to be in this position,” Wilson said. “At the end of the day, a coach from a national football team is going to want a guy with great character, great work ethic, and my film is my resume so I feel like that like that will be the decision that a team will have to make when they draft me.”

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