Colorado State University Athletics
Holker and Kamara Use Pro Day to Build on Combine Performances
3/18/2024 6:11:00 PM | Football
Seven Rams worked out in front of NFL scouts
Dallin Holker will keep it low-key on draft night. Some family and friends, but probably nothing more.
ÂSame for Mohamed Kamara. Unless he goes first round, in which case he'd have a celebration as big as is imaginable.Â
ÂBut what matters most is the call on draft night. Or whichever night, for that matter, so long as an opportunity to play football at the highest level presents itself.
ÂThose two, plus five other seniors — Chigozie Anusiem, Ron Hardge III, Matt Thomas, Tony Pierce, Jr. and Oliver Jervis — put the finishing touches on their careers playing college football at Colorado State at the 2024 Pro Day in front of NFL scouts.
Â"I've been here for five years and I've just stuck to it," Kamara said. "It's like icing on the cake."
ÂBoth Kamara and Holker impressed at the NFL Draft Combine a few weeks ago in their own ways. Kamara clocked a 4.57 40-yard dash — the third fastest edge rusher in attendance.
ÂHolker, who tallied 767 receiving yards and six touchdowns to earn a spot as a Second Team All-American, caught a bit of a viral social media moment with one hand during the gauntlet drill, when he tucked one ball thinking the drill was over, only for another one to be lasered at him. Without thinking, he snagged it, the other ball still in his hand, and finished the drill with two of them.
ÂIn describing what happened in the moment, the tight end still seems stricken by the one-off occurrence, but he'll take it any day.
Â"Definitely a happy accident. Definitely glad I caught it, it would have been kind of bad if I missed that catch," Holker said. "I'm grateful, you know, I reacted last second and I caught it."
ÂNeither of the standout seniors said they received much criticism from scouts at the combine, but Kamara learned a bit about what kind of defense teams think he'd thrive in.
ÂFor instance, they told him a 3-4 defense is more likely to favor him for his size. But he knows he can play in a 4-3 as well, so he went out of his way to show scouts both at the combine and at Pro Day he can drop into coverage when needed.
ÂHolker didn't get much either, but was unhappy with himself for his 40-yard dash, which he ran in 4.78 seconds officially. So naturally, he recruited his wife, Rams track and field sprinter and jumper Taye Raymond Holker, to give him some tips.
Â"I ran a pretty bad 40 at the combine, so me and her were in the film room," Holker said. "We watched some stuff, went over, tried to fix stuff. But yeah, she helped out a lot. She's awesome."
ÂFor Holker, the one-year stop in Fort Collins was chock-full of memorable moments. Like being named captain before ever playing a snap. Or a hail-mary catch as time expired to beat Boise State for the first time in Rams history. And perhaps most importantly, marrying the junior track star who transferred from BYU to CSU with him.
ÂNone of which he'll ever take for granted.
Â"It's everything. I love Fort Collins and I love Colorado State," Holker said. "My time here was amazing. I love the coaches and my teammates and honestly it means everything to me to be back here with my guys and the coaches who believed in me and let me showcase my abilities out on the field."
ÂA similar feeling for Kamara, only he spent all five of his years at Colorado State. To cap off a career in which he racked up 179 tackles and 30.5 sacks, he was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and was also named a Second Team All-American in 2023.
ÂAn ample reward for the work put in, but he knows he still is only getting started. While he's excited for any kind of call come draft night, he won't admit he's actually ready for it until the phone rings for real.
Â"I don't want to jump steps. I'm going to take it one step at a time," Kamara said. "I don't want to say I'm ready yet because I'm still going to work. Even when I was at the combine, there were things I wanted to get better at, so I'll just keep looking at the film and just use it to get better."
