Inside The Panthers

Pitt DB's Pro Day Score Among Best at Position

The Pitt Panthers safety had one of the best Pro Day performances in college football.

Kevin Sinclair

Oct 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Donovan McMillon (3) reacts after a defensive stop against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Donovan McMillon (3) reacts after a defensive stop against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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When the Pitt Panthers held Pro Day with representatives of all 32 NFL teams in attendance, mike linebacker Brandon George hit the headlines over the following days with his outstanding RAS score. 

RAS, standing for Relative Athletic Score, is a popular and often-cited metric created by Kent Lee Platte, an average calculated among the 40-yard dash along with 20 yards and 10 yards, the vertical jump and broad jump, height and weight, bench press, the shuttle drill, and the three-cone drill.

Brandon George tested with a 9.98 which was the seventh-best at his position among 3,182 linebackers dating back to 1987. 

While that was an amazing feat, Platte also noted that Pitt safety Donovan McMillon also rated particularly high among strong safeties. 

  • Height: 6.015’
  • Weight: 203 pounds
  • 40-yard: 4.48-sec.
  • 20-yard: 2.62-sec.
  • 10-yard: 1.64-sec.
  • Vertical: 35”
  • Broad: 10.05’
  • Shuttle: 4.13-sec.
  • 3-cone: 6.98-sec.

Those numbers were calculated to a RAS score of 9.20. Dating back to 1987, among 1,128 strong safeties tested, McMillon's score rates No. 99.

Compared to what current and former pro strong safeties churned out during the NFL Draft process, McMillion, at 9.20, scored higher than former Colts All-Pro Bob Sanders (9.16), former first-round pick Jabrill Peppers of the Patriots (9.14), Chicago Bears safety (via PSU) Jaquan Brisker (9.11), six-time Pro Bowl Minnesota Viking Harrison Smith (9.09), and former All-Pro Darren Sharper (9.01) among others.

A few strong safeties with RAS scores slightly higher than McMillon’s (9.20) dating back to 1987 include former superstar Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu (9.24), two-time All-Pro from the Los Angeles Chargers in Derwin James (9.34), and three-time second-team All-Pro in Bennie Blades (9.52) to name a few. 

After spending two season with the Florida Gators (2021-22), McMillon notched 225 total tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, nine pass breakups, and two forced fumbles over 2023 and 2024 as a Pittsburgh Panther.

Prior to Pitt’s Pro Day, McMillon didn’t appear in many NFL Mock Drafts, expected to be signed immediately after the Day Three picks are finished when teams rush to sign the top undrafted free agents. 

With his strong showing at Pro Day, it’ll be interesting to see if McMillan earned his way into the Day Three conversation. The same could be said regarding his teammate Brandon George. 

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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