Nearly 40 representatives from 29 of 32 NFL teams were on hand to watch Bell and eight of his teammates train for the upcoming draft.

“I feel like I’m the best back in the draft from top to finish,” Bell said. “I can do anything. I’m the most complete back in the draft.”

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was one of the scouts on hand, and took Bell and teammate Dion Sims to dinner Tuesday night.

Bell said he’s been talking to eight or nine teams that need running backs, and having dinner with Tomlin was a great experience.

“It was a blessing to get to meet those guys and talk to them,” he said. “I know he thinks I’m a great player. I’m just trying help my cause and hopefully they pull the trigger.”

After a 4.6 second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, he said he was using the MSU pro day to show scouts he can also be a pass catcher.

Sims also thought he was the best at his position in the draft and said he was using the pro day to improve the things he fell short on during the NFL combine last month.

“I retested in the bench, and got more than what I did at the combine,” Sims said. “I did 22 at the combine, and 26 here today.”

Since the combine, he’s been in Boca Raton, Fla. training with other NFL prospects.

Many former college basketball players are now top tight ends in the NFL, and after a brief stint on the MSU basketball team, Sims, a fourth place finisher in the Mr. Basketball voting in 2008, says the scouts already see it.

“Some of them say they can tell by the way that I’m moving and being a little shifty,” he said. “They asked me if I love football more than I love basketball, and I say ‘If I loved basketball more, I would’ve been playing basketball.’”

Not only is this a difficult time for the players, but it affects the coaches as well. Head coach Mark Dantonio said he feels like a father seeing his children grow up.

“As the head football coach, as a position coach, or even as a fan you can’t be selfish and be like, ‘They’re here to play for us and me,’” Dantonio said. “You have to look at the big picture, and the big picture for them is they thought that that was best and they made that decision. You have to support those decisions.”

Dantonio said he knows his players are ready for the NFL because they played on big stages in their time as Spartans, but there are things he will miss.

“You can talk about marriage all you want, but until you experience it, it’s really not the same,” Dantonio said. “Seeing Will Gholstonwalk down hall with a smile on his face, or Le’Veon playing around, just jabbing at me. What I will miss is that interaction
with guys.”