After the spring 2021 season, Weber State senior defensive tackle Jared Schiess thought he’d probably be done playing college football.

Wednesday, though, was a big reason he came back for the fall season. He and nine other Wildcats participated in pro day at WSU’s Marquardt Field House. They did so in front of a handful of NFL scouts, including representatives from the Bears, Browns, Broncos, Lions, Commanders, Packers, Raiders and 49ers among them.

Schiess totaled 173 tackles, including 24 for loss with 6.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and three recovered fumbles in his WSU career. He played in 59 games, a new school record. He became Mr. Wildcat in a road game at Eastern Washington that saw him catch a momentum-grabbing fake punt pass and plow over a defender during a first-down rumble.

He took the practice field Wednesday as someone who was somewhat already on NFL radars and put a great foot forward. He completed 32 reps on the 225-pound bench press, which is three more than the top-performing defensive tackle at this year’s NFL Combine.

“When I was doing training, I hit 36 but I tweaked my (pectoral muscle) a little bit the week after that so I haven’t been training bench for a couple months,” Schiess said. “I hadn’t tested in a while so to get 32 after not doing as much as I’d like, I’m content with that.”

Schiess also hit 32 inches on his vertical leap and 9 feet, 5 inches on the broad jump. Both would have been second among defensive tackles at the combine.

Then came the 40-yard dash, and Schiess yielded midway through with a pulled hamstring.

“I felt like I was getting prepared to have a good day. That’s the best I had ever done on the vertical and the broad jump, so I felt like it was going to be a good day,” Schiess said. “But at the same time, there are things that happen that you can’t control, so you have to move on and do the best with what you’ve got. So I’m disappointed, but I’m also happy with the hard work I put into it.”

Schiess missed the remaining agility drills but had scouts tell him to keep training as if he were about to play a season and stay ready. He expects teams will be wrapped up in pro days and will reach back out to prospects within two weeks of the NFL Draft.

Also participating with Schiess were center Ben Bos, running back Dave Jones, receiver Randal Grimes, linebackers Sherwin Lavaka, Conner Mortensen and BJ Taufalele, safety Preston Smith, receiver Rashid Shaheed and offensive lineman Ty Whitworth.

Schiess said Bos and Whitworth, who joined WSU’s program at the same time as he did, felt they had good workouts. Lavaka and Mortensen each had moments in the spotlight during their playing careers, and Shaheed’s receiving and kick-return talent speaks for itself — though a leg injury suffered in WSU’s 2021 finale kept Shaheed from participating in pro day, except for in the bench press.

“It was a fun experience to get out there and just be with your teammates, and see them perform off all the hard work they put in,” Schiess said. “Everyone who did pro day put in a lot of hard work and were really dedicated, and did really well.”

Schiess will meet with his agent and see if perhaps they can film a session of agility work after he’s healed, or see if there are other workouts that can be arranged.

“If there’s a team that will give me a shot, I’ll take it and run with it and give my best,” said Schiess, who has a master’s degree in health administration. “If it’s not in the cards, I’ve got other stuff going that will be just as exciting.”

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