Three UCF Knights Players Who Improved NFL Draft Stock at Pro Day

The UCF Knights hosted their Pro Day on Wednesday afternoon, giving NFL Draft hopefuls among former members of the Knights' football team the chance to work out in front of professional scouts from 29 of the NFL's 32 teams.

EDGE Malachi Lawrence already drew the attention of several scouts and analysts with his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, but Pro Day offered several other former Knights to make their case why they too should be selected in next month's draft.

So, here are three players who took advantage of Pro Day to raise their stock as they chase their dreams of playing professional football:

1. Paul Rubelt, Offensive Lineman

Paul Rubelt turned some heads today 👀@PRubelt pic.twitter.com/i0T0V9vl9N
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) March 25, 2026

Offensive lineman is Paul Rubelt is looking to be the next in the line of NFL players hailing from Germany. Though he said he views that aspect of him playing in the league as "the cherry on top."

In six seasons with the Knights, the 6-foot-10 lineman started getting regular starting nods during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

During Pro Day, four of Rubelt's drills yielded results that would have placed him in the Top 10 among offensive linemen at the NFL Scouting Combine. His broad jump was his biggest highlight, tying for second among the Combine's linemen with a 9-foot-8-inch leap. This is while weighing 310 pounds and standing 6 feet, 10 inches.

Drill	Result	Rank (Among Combine Results)
40-yard dash	4.99 seconds	T-9th
Bench Press	26	T-8th
Broad Jump	9-feet-8-inches	T-2nd
Shuttle Run	4.68 seconds	5th

"I had a really good day," Rubelt said. "I feel I'm going to sleep really well tonight."

2. Nyjalik Kelly, EDGE

While EDGE Nyjalik Kelly joined fellow EDGE Malachi Lawrence in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine last month, he was back doing drills for scouts for Pro Day.

Kelly ended up finishing outside of the Top 10 EDGEs and defensive ends in three of the four drills he ran. Partially thanks to that, his score of 58 from the NFL Next Gen Stats Draft Model ranked him 32nd in his position group, which was in the "below average" tier. His prospect grade, a 5.68, forecasted him as a "candidate for bottom of roster or practice squad," according to NFL.com.

Drill	Result	Rank (Among EDGEs and DEs)
40-yard dash	4.88 seconds	19th
10-yard split	1.69 seconds	18th
Broad Jump	9-feet-11-inches	T-12nd
Vertical Jump	37 inches	T-7th

"Kelly needs to get stronger and play with better grit to leverage his gap and win individual block battles in run support," NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. "Improved hand usage and refined counters might bolster his chances of creating pressure, but it’s hard to envision much sack production given his lack of quickness and explosive power. Kelly will have to battle for a roster spot as an even-front end."

During Pro Day, Kelly said he wanted to focus on his 40-yard dash, being disappointed with his result from the Combine. While his result was not posted by UCF, he did say he got his 40-yard dash down on Wednesday.

"Every coach I talked to said they loved it," Kelly said.

3. Myles Montgomery, Running Back

Myles was Movin at Pro Day 💨@datboymyles_ pic.twitter.com/AUuErkcxng
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) March 26, 2026

Rubelt was not the only Knight to perform well against the rest of his position at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Running back Myles Montgomery ended up recording results that would have been in the top five amongst running backs at the combine. His shuttle run time, 4.26 seconds, would have even been the fastest among the combine's running backs, though it was an unpopular drill with only four doing it in Indianapolis.

Drill	Result	Rank (Among Combine RBs)
40-yard dash	4.39 seconds	4th
Bench Press	22 reps	T-3rd
Broad Jump	10-feet-4-inches	T-3rd
Shuttle Run	4.25 seconds	1st

Montgomery's focus, however, was on the 40-yard dash, a drill he said he "specifically focused" on and that he prepared for by running one "just about every day or every other day since December." His work paid off since his 4.39-second time would have placed him fourth among running backs at the combine.

"I already knew I had it in me the entire time, but it was just a matter of getting on the stage and being able to show it," Montgomery said.

The 2026 NFL Draft opens on April 23.

Catch up on more UCF news below:

Biggest Highlights From UCF Knights Pro Day

UCF EDGE Does Not Run Drills At Pro Day

UCF Hires New Defensive Backs Coach