LaRon Stokes, Oklahoma’s lone Pro Day participant with just one chance to perform in front of NFL scouts, had the most to prove.
Unlike 11 of his former OU teammates at the Sooners’ 2022 Pro Day, Stokes wasn’t invited to showcase his talents at the NFL Combine last weekend. Instead, Wednesday’s training sessions were perhaps his lone opportunity to show scouts he was capable of making the next-level leap.
Suffice it to say, Stokes passed every test.
The redshirt senior who transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M prior to the 2019 season ran a 4.90-second 40-yard dash, leaped an impressive 33.5 inches at 275 pounds, recorded a 4.68 20-yard shuttle and pumped 23 reps on bench press inside the Sooners’ Everest Training Center on Wednesday.
“Definitely (set personal records) in some things, so excited to do that,” Stokes said. “Definitely was my plan going into it. And just to be able to put my best foot in front of these scouts because I wasn’t at the combine like everyone else. This was my one chance to blow and I didn’t want to miss it.”
Stokes appeared in eight games last season and recorded 1.5 tackles for loss. He received reserve playing time behind fellow draft hopeful defensive linemen Perrion Winfrey, Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas, each of whom are projected selections in the April 28-30 draft.
Despite a minimal role last season, Stokes originally burst onto the scene in 2019, winning Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and flashing potential that could perhaps land him on a professional roster. But injuries “derailed some things,” he said, as he missed five games over the next two seasons.
However, Stokes has used the months since the 2021 season ended to improve his explosiveness, a trait he wanted NFL personnel to take away from his showcase. Stokes’ results at pro day would’ve ranked top-five among combine defensive tackles. His 40-yard dash time and 20-yard shuttle would’ve ranked fourth, with his vertical first.
“Every drill just looked smooth and fluid like he’d been doing it the whole time that we were training,'' said Winfrey, the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl MVP. “I would say he surprised me most out of everyone here.”
Stokes and Bonitto, a top-100 draft prospect according to CBS, discussed their goals for their respective drills in a group chat beforehand, and Stokes hit each of them.
“It was really big,” Bonitto said. “He’s the guy that I knew when his time came for doing a pro day or some sort like that, he was gonna crush it. And that’s what he did today.”
Multiple members of Stokes' family came to Norman from Tulsa to watch him compete for a chance to continue his playing career. Two of his trainers from Crull Fitness, a facility in Richardson, Texas, were front and center for each of his events and provided some of the loudest support among attendees.
Stokes felt the familiarity of having his closest companions in the building contributed to his important showing. After his vertical leap at the first station of the morning, the pressure of performing an act scouts will surely recall until the draft was in the rearview.
“I’ve been doing this stuff my whole life pretty much and been training for these things specifically for the most two (or) three months,” Stokes said. “Once you do that … it’s just another workout.”
Although he made lifelong relationships during his three seasons at Oklahoma, Stokes said he definitely won’t miss homework. The 2020 OU graduate with a degree in human relations who was pursuing a master’s degree for the same program during the 2021 season was named an Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection for his efforts in the classroom.
Whether Stokes ends up as a late flier in the draft, earns a contract as an undrafted free agent, or neither, he hopes his self-accountability earns him a chance.
“You can’t get bored with trying to be great,” Stokes said. “If that happens, you want to take steps off, take time off, maybe not do everything you know you need to do.
“It’s very important just to be in the moment.”
