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jamesmadison.rivals.com]
His superfast 40-yard dash almost never happened – a couple of times.
“And you don’t want to let that go to waste because I knew how hard I worked,” former James Madison wide receiver Brandon Polk said during a phone interview Wednesday.
Last week, Polk ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at a private pro day in Atlanta with former Falcons executive Ken Herock managing the drills. Had Polk been invited to the NFL Combine this past February and ran that well there, his mark would’ve ranked second among all prospects at the event.
But Polk and his agent, Ed Wasielewski at EMG Sports, had to get creative in order for the speedster just to have a platform to showcase his skills.
The Dukes’ annual pro day, slated previously for March 19, was canceled due to COVID-19. Shortly after the cancellation, Polk and Wasielewski pivoted to a potential private pro day in New Jersey for the wide receiver. According to Polk, the New Jersey pro day got shut down, too, for the same reason, so his last-chance try to complete a pro day involved Herock, who Wasielewski had known.
Polk said he and his family left for Atlanta on March 22 and he did his pro day on March 25.
“But then we had rangers and cops telling us we couldn’t be out there,” Polk said. “Then we didn’t know if we could do anything, but we found a field and we were on the field that Wednesday.
“Then the head ranger was like, ‘You guys can’t be on there.’ Then Ken said, ‘We’re trying to do this private pro day and it won’t last that long,’ and then the ranger allowed us to do it. But once we were finished, they pretty much closed the fields down.”
So Polk had his pro day, and he said overall his workout went really well. On top of his standout 4.28 40-yard dash, he tallied a 121-inch broad jump.
Tape of his pro day was sent to all 32 NFL clubs.
“I was extremely excited for that time,” Polk said about his 40-yard dash. “And my broad was like 10 [feet]-1 [inch], and I remembered I was never able to jump above 10 [feet] at Penn State or JMU.”
NFLPA Collegiate Bowl advanced scout Ric Serritella, who also created NFL Draft Bible, said Polk caught his eye when he visited Harrisonburg this past season.
“I was watching this small, little wide receiver showing explosion, burst, speed, and quickness and I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’” Serritella recalled during an interview with the Daily News-Record last week. “It’s Brandon Polk and he had big-school pedigree much like [JMU defensive end] Ron’Dell Carter does, and Polk made a few plays there when I saw him live and in person.
“But again, the size will come into question and when you’re that size at 5-foot-10 – in and around that height – you’re expected to run pretty fast. They want to see you in that 4.4 [40-yard dash] range, so a guy like Polk is the perfect example of a guy who you want to see check all the boxes before you decide to invest him.”
The 4.28 40-yard dash should help Polk, who transferred from Penn State to JMU last summer and thrived in his final season of eligibility with the Dukes.
While playing a key role for the team to reach the FCS national championship game, he made 74 catches for 1,179 yards and 11 touchdowns. Polk was only the second receiver in Madison history to put together a 1,000-yard campaign. He also had a stretch of nine straight games with a receiving touchdown, which included scores in playoff contests against Monmouth and Northern Iowa.
He said his favorite moment with the Dukes was catching a bubble screen from quarterback Ben DiNucci against Towson and turning the play into a 60-yard touchdown reception.
“I think it definitely helped out my draft stock,” Polk said of his move to JMU. “I think I remember that at the time there were a lot of questions of whether or not I could stay healthy for a full season, and I feel like I took that upon myself to be eating right, sleeping right and doing everything necessary in order to be in the games and not having any distractions.”
The Dukes played a 16-game schedule and Polk didn’t miss any time.
“And I worked with all the guys in the senior class,” he said. “We had a lot of aspirations and goals, and not only was it to make the national championship and win – and I know that it didn’t happen – but to make it to the next level. Being around those guys that had that same aspirations of me to get the next level helped me. So going against [cornerback] Rashad Robinson every day because he’s a draftable guy as well helps, and having a draftable [quarterback] in Ben.”
Polk said he took about a week between the title game and beginning to prep at XPE Sports in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for his pro day. He said the staff there boosted his training skills and eating habits.
“And I had been running like 4.28 and 4.33 when I was training,” Polk said.
With his pro day behind him, Polk’s is starting to get some initial feedback from NFL teams and that he’s hoping he’ll land a few FaceTime or phone interviews leading up to the NFL Draft, which is scheduled to for April 23-25.
Polk said he’s willing to play wide receiver, inside receiver as well as return kicks and return punts and play on special teams in the NFL.
“A guy they can count on in any situation whether it be on special teams or as a receiver,” Polk said. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go give it my all and I’ll be that burner, who can take the bubble screen to the house.”
