5. Willie Gay Jr., Mississippi State
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 243
40-Yard Dash: 4.46 seconds
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical Jump: 39.5 inches
Broad Jump: 11 feet 4 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.08 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.3 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Willie Gay Jr. was a four-star linebacker for Starkville High School in Starkville, Mississippi. Growing up around the corner from Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, it was widely expected that Gay would stay home and play for Mississippi State. While in high school, Gay played both linebacker and at times quarterback, and tallied 83 combined tackles – nine for a loss – as a senior. He entertained offers from LSU and Michigan, but in the end stayed home to play for the Bulldogs.
Playing time was hard to come by for him, thanks to a few team suspensions. But when he was on the field, he shined. His 2018 sophomore campaign was his breakout performance, when he played 455 snaps and notched 31 total tackles.
Stat to Know: Eight. That is how many games Gay missed this season due to suspension.
Strengths: Gay has the kind of athleticism that might make general managers overlook the off-the-field issues. He lit the Lucas Oil Stadium turf on fire, from his 4.46 40-yard dash (99th percentile) to his 39.5 inch vertical leap (96th percentile) through his 11 foot 4 inch broad jump (once more, the 99th percentile). But this athleticism was on full display when he was able to get onto the field. He truly plays sideline-to-sideline against both the run and the pass. He is explosive when blitzing, flying downhill with reckless abandon. He also shows good balance, with the ability to run through cut block attempts that he does not see coming and somehow manage to stay upright. In space he flashes good change-of-direction ability, both when sticking on receivers or in trying to take down ball-carriers in the open field.
Against the run, Gay is generally solid. He has a good nose for the football, and can fight through traffic in front of him and still put his facemask on the ball-carrier. He fits well in the running game, taking his gap responsibility to heart and attacking it with controlled abandon. Gay has the vision to identify threats in the passing game and shows the penchant for keeping one eye on the quarterback and the other on the nearest threat when in zone coverage. He gets into his zones with more fluidity than Murray. When rushing the passer he has a good stutter/hesitation move that has worked for him.
Weaknesses: There are the character issues that teams will need to work through with him. He was suspended for cheating on a test, and was also suspended for punching a teammate in the face. In addition, even when eligible he was just a rotational player for the Bulldogs. Those are questions he will need to answer.
Beyond those issues, Gay can sometimes struggle to stack and shed blockers down near the line of scrimmage. He would rather evade blockers than take them on as a result, which works well in space but limits his effectiveness at times when playing in the box.
Conclusion: With his athleticism and ability to play in space, as well as what he offers in coverage, Gay is going to generate interest from NFL clubs. But the red flags are issues to consider, and one cannot help but wonder how teams are going to feel about drafting him without the ability to work through some of these issues during a final Top 30 visit. Will teams be comfortable enough to use an early pick on him based on what they learned over Zoom? If they are, they’re getting a potential modern linebacker with the ability to still play down near the line of scrimmage, but the questions are real.
Comparison: Athletically, Gay compares favorably to Bobby Wagner. The more you watch Gay play, you can see that potential inside of him on the field.