BOWLING GREEN — Harold Fannin, Jr., had one goal in mind for Monday’s Bowling Green State University pro day.

After a busy and high-profile stretch since the end of his historic 2024 season with the Falcons, Fannin wanted to have some fun with his former teammates.

“My mindset was really just enjoy the day,” Fannin said. “It’s kind of like the last hard part, physical part, really, in front of the scouts. So it was just go out there and just have fun with the guys.

“The day, it was smooth, I felt like, going out there and doing the drills with my teammates. Glad to be back man, glad to be back in Bowling Green. It definitely feels good seeing the guys after working out just for this day.”

Fannin, who took part in a couple of tight end and pass-catching drills at Perry Field House, was certainly the main attraction for the representatives from 28 NFL teams and four CFL squads in attendance. But 15 other players who made an impact in their time playing for BGSU showcased their talents, as well, in events such as the 40-yard dash, shuttles, and vertical/broad jumps.

“Good day, great to see everybody back. Definitely felt like I had a decent day,” two-time All-Mid-American Conference cornerback Jordan Oladokun said. “Showed some scouts some things that I think they’ll like.

“I think I’ll be a guy that you turn on my film and you see the plays I made here for the past three years, and you really get excited. So I’m just happy to hear back from these teams. I talked to a few after, and excited to see where this goes from there.”

After a milestone-filled BGSU career that included hauling in 117 catches for 1,555 yards — both FBS single-season tight end records — during the 2024 campaign, Fannin has had an important few months that included competing in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 1 and taking part in the NFL Scouting Combine a few weeks ago. Fannin, the first consensus All-American in BGSU football history and the first tight end in FBS history to be named a conference’s player of the year, said he feels like he has done everything he has needed to do to be one of the first tight ends taken in next month’s NFL draft.

“My season really helped me out for the most part, so I feel like I don’t really have anything else to prove,” Fannin said.

The approach Fannin has taken for each of the recent opportunities on a big stage has been to just be the best version of himself. Fannin led the National team in receptions (four) and targets (five) while tallying 25 receiving yards in the Senior Bowl — he also had several highlights in run blocking situations — and he felt like he had a solid showing at the combine where he finished top three among tight ends in the three-cone drill (6.97 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.39 seconds), and 10-yard split (1.56 seconds).

“I felt like I did pretty good for myself,” Fannin said. “Some drills, I kind of surprised myself.”

The player who connected with Fannin for nearly every completion last season had a pretty productive day, as well.

Quarterback Connor Bazelak, who threw for 4,979 of his 12,350 career passing yards the past two years at BGSU, said his approach to the pro day was to execute everything he has worked on in his preparation. The signal caller was noticeably nimbler on his feet, as well, especially in individual drills.

“I’ve lost some weight since the season, just to get lighter on my feet. But I think the past two seasons, I’ve just been dealing with injuries,” Bazelak said. “I had the knee surgery going into last season. I wasn’t able to have a full offseason of doing that type of stuff, speed work, change of direction stuff.

“It was really just getting ready for fall camp and then right into the season. I had the knee brace, which held me back during the season. So yeah, I feel good. Body feels good. I feel like I ran as fast as I could today.”

Bazelak, whose 66.9 completion percentage last season ranked first in the MAC, 14th in the country, and second in BGSU history, said he was glad to get another chance to throw to Fannin.

“He looks great, body looks in good shape. I can tell he worked hard training, and it was good to have him back here,” Bazelak said. “We threw a little bit leading up to this week on Wednesday and Friday, so it was good just to get out and throw with him.”

Meanwhile, Oladokun said he has met with around 20 teams and has gotten a lot of information from them. The standout in BGSU’s secondary, who had nine interceptions the past two seasons, was one of three FBS cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps and no touchdowns allowed in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.

“A lot of [teams] wanted to pick my mind, pick my brain, my personality basically. Talk football with me, and then just some things that they thought I can get better at that I can work on and things I did well,” Oladokun said. “So learning that every team has such a different mindset of how you play and what things they think they need to get better at, so it was good.

“I love talking to them, I love getting in the meeting rooms. I love watching film with them because that’s what I do. So it’s been great, great process.”

First Published March 24, 2025, 7:32 p.m.