Garrett Sickels made a bold move before declaring early for the NFL draft
For the top underclassmen in college football, there’s a process.
That process usually consists of consulting the NFL Draft Advisory Board sometime during or right after the bowl season and getting some feedback. That can sometimes make an underclassman’s decision for him if it’s convincing one way or the other.
But former Penn State defensive end Garrett Sickels didn’t follow that path. Without seeking advice from the NFL Draft Advisory Board — or even family and friends — Sickels made up his mind.
He was going to the NFL. There was no changing his mind.
“As soon as I made my decision, my declaration on January 4, I haven’t looked back,” Sickels said at Penn State’s pro day on Thursday. “Yeah, I miss the guys here, I miss the D-line, but I feel like I’m in a great place with myself. I’m happy, I’m hyped for the guys that are still here. This team’s gonna do great things next year.
“I just felt for myself, I was ready to move on.”
Sickels got some nice validation by getting a combine invite, but he admittedly didn’t have the performance that he wanted. He recorded a 4.9-second 40-yard dash, a 105-inch broad jump and a 28-inch vertical jump. He said the jumps were the worst that he had ever recorded.
It remains to be seen whether or not that’ll hurt his NFL draft stock, which was in the middle-round range to begin with.
But Sickels did have a much better pro day on Thursday. Unofficially, he said he ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash and he recorded a 113-inch broad jump, as well as a 33-inch vertical jump.
Sickels and Chris Godwin were Penn State’s only two underclassmen to declare early for the draft, and both were invited to the combine. If and when Sickels gets drafted, he’ll be the Lions’ fourth defensive lineman selected in the last two years.
And if he gets picked in the first two days, his bold call will look that much better.