18 Former Grizzlies Showcase Skills for NFL, CFL Scouts at Montana Pro Day

Michael Wortham clocked a 4.48-second 40-yard dash and posted a 37.5-inch vertical Friday at Montana's annual pro day, reinforcing why the Grizzlies' consensus All-American receiver and return specialist is the program's most closely watched prospect in the 2026 draft cycle. Wortham's times led all comers across every speed and agility drill at the Grizzly Indoor Practice Facility, where 18 players worked out in front of representatives from 11 NFL teams and one CFL franchise.

The numbers match what Wortham showed on Saturdays. He set Montana's single-season all-purpose yardage record with 2,431 yards in 2025, building career totals that include 2,611 kick return yards and 17 rushing touchdowns across 38 games. His pre-draft profile projects as an immediate-impact return specialist with upside as a slot weapon, a role he built credibility in with his East-West Shrine Bowl appearance in January. If selected, Wortham would give Montana back-to-back NFL Draft picks for the first time since 2011-12, following wide receiver Junior Bergen's seventh-round selection in 2025.

The strength portion of the day produced numbers that needed no small-school qualifier. Tight end Evan Shafer posted 30 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press, a total that would have led every tight end at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine and signals the kind of physicality that gives athletic TEs legitimate blocking-premium roster value at the next level. Guard Liam Brown followed with 26 reps, a mark that would have ranked in the top 10 among guards at the combine. "It's been my dream to do a pro day and try making the NFL," Brown said after his session. Both project as late-round or priority undrafted candidates in systems that value interior toughness.

Defensive testing produced two vertical jump results that registered as combine-caliber comparisons. Defensive lineman Kellen Detrick, a Havre native and the only homegrown Montanan in the group, cleared 36 inches, a mark that would have placed him in the top 10 among defensive ends at the combine. His burst off the snap on tape is consistent with that number: Detrick was a fixture in Montana's pass-rush rotation on a team that finished 13-2. Cornerback Kenzel Lawler, who transferred from Utah and recorded two interceptions across 28 games in Missoula, posted a 39.5-inch vertical, among the better jump results at his position in this draft class. The closing speed he showed in coverage throughout the season showed up in testing. "Not that many people get the opportunity to experience this and be in front of NFL scouts and CFL scouts," Lawler said. "I'm just grateful that I did this."

Three players from Frontier Conference programs joined the 15 former Grizzlies, a deliberate access decision that reflects a growing FCS trend of opening regional pro days to smaller-school prospects who would not otherwise appear in front of pro personnel during a concentrated evaluation window. Hunter Peck, a Carroll College product named Frontier Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 before spending one season in Missoula, was among those who used the event to face pro-level testing for the first time.

Punter and kicker Ty Morrison, who averaged 43.2 yards per punt to rank second in program history, added a special-teams dimension that scouts value more in each successive draft cycle. With evaluators now finalizing late-round boards, a clean day at an FCS pro day remains one of the few remaining levers a mid-major prospect can pull to convert tape into a legitimate roster conversation.