EVANSTON, Ill. – Olivet Nazarene University's Jalen Dunnigan will be participating in Northwestern's NFL Pro Day on March 14. He received an invite from the Northwestern coaching staff earlier this year.
The event will take place at the Ryan Fieldhouse on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and will feature scouts from all 30 NFL teams, many of whom Dunnigan has already been in contact with. Scouts from over 20 NFL teams visited the campus of Olivet Nazarene University to meet with Dunnigan over the course of the 2022 season.
Scouts also got a chance to check out Dunnigan when he competed in the 2022 FCS National Bowl in Daytona, Fla. on Dec. 11. Dunnigan hauled in a pair of catches for eight yards and returned a punt for seven yards at the showcase.
Tuesday's NFL Pro Day will begin with measurements in the morning and will then transition into the 40-yard dash, the key event of the day. For invited players outside of the Northwestern team, the 40-yard dash time is pivotal in earning a spot in the rest of the day's activities.
Thankfully for Dunnigan, he has been consistently training sprints for the past four months as a member of the ONU men's track & field team. He recently blitzed out a 7.07 to earn a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter dash at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Indoor Championships in February. Dunnigan has been a member of the Tiger track & field team for the last three seasons.
If Dunnigan's 40-yard dash time makes the cut, he will then perform the bench press, going for as many reps as possible of 225 pounds. Then he will run routes and perform various drills with the Northwestern players.
Dunnigan played five historic seasons at wide receiver for the ONU football team, where he racked up 164 receptions, 2,346 yards, and 28 touchdowns, all top-five marks in program history. The Jacksonville, Fla. native closed out his ONU career with three-straight MSFA Midwest first-team all-conference selections.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu