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Jake Golday Impresses With NFL Combine Testing As Week Continues For Bearcats' Group

Cincinnati will have a few players drafted this April.
Russell Heltman|
Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday (11) smiles during the Cincinnati Bearcats football spring practice at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday (11) smiles during the Cincinnati Bearcats football spring practice at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday posted some stellar athletic testing numbers on Thursday to ignite his NFL Draft stock even more ahead of the April festivities.

Golday's NFL Combine showing makes him one of the most athletic linebackers to test for the draft so far. He still has to run agility tests if he wants to at UC's Pro Day next month. He ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash, launched a 39'' vertical leap, and a 10'5'' broad jump. The latter two are elite for a linebacker.

According to Math Bomb, Golday scored an unofficial 9.84 RAS (Relative Athletic Score) out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 53rd out of 3,215 LBs from 1987 to 2026.

It's a great way to hammer home swift play on the field with stamped testing numbers. UC's leading tackler from last season was already the top-ranked Bearcats prospect entering the week and should climb more. He is currently ranked 54th on the consensus big board from the Mock Draft Database and fifth among linebackers.

Joe Royer is also about to test his athletic marks today after getting in plenty of meetings this week. He is in contact with the hometown Bengals.

A place he'd love to stay after rekindling his football love here.

Joe Royer
Cincinnati Bearcats tight end Joe Royer (11) talks with Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday (11) during football practice at Sheakley Athletic Performance Center in Cincinnati on Dec. 18. Golday will not play in the game, but has been working out with the team. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"When I transferred to Cincinnati (from Ohio State), I had no worries about making the next step to the NFL," Royer said to the media on Thursday. "Great talent goes through Cincinnati. I feel that NFL teams respect the organization for the talent that comes out of it. There's talent for sure. We've got guys excelling in the NFL. I just want to take that next step and be the next one, for sure."

Check out the full scores from Golday and comments from Royer below:

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Russ Heltman
RUSSELL HELTMAN

Russ Heltman is on the Bearcats and Bengals beat for On SI. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.

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