Everyone in attendance was also greeted by even older faces in some ex-Spartans. Former first-round picks Darqueze Dennard and Trae Waynes made an appearance. Others who made the trip to East Lansing included Marcus Rush and Tony Lippett.

For the seven Spartans invited to the Combine, this was another step on their way to being drafted into the NFL. For others, it was the chance to show off their skills in front of a live audience.

Just being back in East Lansing and doing drills on home turf can be refreshing, especially for college aged kids. Former walk-on Jack Conklin said he understands that after forgoing his senior season, this might be the last time he sees some of his old Spartan teammates.

“It’s surreal to come back here and realize that all the teammates you were just playing games with now, you’re done,” Conklin said. “You’re moving on to the next chapter.”

Wide receiver Aaron Burbridge has come a long way to get to the point where he has now. While exploding for a career year his senior season has helped, he knows he still has a ton of work to do once he's actually in the pros.

"It was a long process and we just (finished) Pro Day," Burbridge said. "(It's) still not over and still have to keep working and getting ready for the draft."

As the day dragged along, a hot topic of discussion was senior quarterback Connor Cook. There has been a lot of criticism thrown his way because he wasn’t chosen as a captain his senior year.

“People can say whatever they want to say and it’s not going to affect me one bit,” Cook said. “They can come meet me and talk to me, then get a better feel on that.”

While Cook might get frustrated with all the comments about his personality, he knows best how he has the support of his teammates. 

"I display leadership on the field, I display leadership in the locker room," Cook said. "Stuff that people don't see, media people don't see. ... I think the best thing is me being me. Guys like me and the guys like that. We all have fun together."

But as head coach Mark Dantonio noted, Cook being excluded as a captain isn’t because of him failing to be a leader. Instead, it’s because of the strong senior class he was a part of.

“Everybody needs to understand we won 43 games with those seniors," Dantonio said. "There’s a lot of guys in that locker room that lead. There’s a lot of guys that have relationships with a lot of our players. We had a very, very strong senior class.”

He does understand the pressures that come with being a quarterback, however. Especially in the NFL, where there’s a constant magnifying glass on the face of the franchise.

“It’s a position that is highly regarded and highly scrutinized,” Dantonio said. “I think (Cook) has done a great job. We wouldn’t be where we’re at with all those banners without great quarterback play.”

As Pro Day finally wrapped up, Dantonio it was refreshing to see all of his graduating seniors. It was the first time the coaching staff saw them since the bowl game, Dantonio said.

With the graduating seniors saying their goodbyes to East Lansing for the last few times, it's bittersweet. 

"It was very well-organized," Dantonio said. "I thought our players came to compete and competed very well."