Cal’s Jackson Sirmon uses Pro Day audition to bolster NFL Draft stock
BEREKELY – Linebacker Jackson Sirmon is undaunted by the NFL Draft bubble, as are myriad prospects across the country, looking to land their dream job out of college.
“I’d love — and it wouldn’t surprise me — to get drafted,” Sirmon said after Cal’s pro day workout Thursday. “But it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just excited to be with a franchise and get to show what I can do on a football field.”
Two years ago, a quarterback out of Iowa State almost wasn’t drafted, then was claimed by the 49ers with the 262nd and final pick. That didn’t stop Brock Purdy’s meteoric rise to becoming a Super Bowl quarterback.
An inspirational tale for any NFL hopeful? Of course.
“It’s really neat to see,” Sirmon said. “But it’s different for different positions. At quarterback, that’s a pretty unique thing to happen.
“At linebacker, it’s a little more common for guys to go undrafted or get drafted late, then really have great careers and take advantage of opportunities.”
His dad, Peter Sirmon, was a 2000 fourth-round draft pick who spent seven seasons as a Tennessee Titans linebacker. He then took on the nomadic life of being a college coach, ultimately leading in 2018 to Cal, where he reunited with Oregon teammate Justin Wilcox and currently serves as his defensive coordinator.
NFL teams can’t resist asking about his dad as Jackson Sirmon navigates his post-Cal job hunt, including an impressive showing at last month’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. That was his first on-field action since tearing his left biceps six games into last season.
It didn’t earn him a trip to the NFL Scouting Combine, but it did remind NFL teams of his college production and leadership. Upon transferring from Washington in 2022, Sirmon had 15 tackles in Cal’s seven-point loss at Notre Dame, and, even bigger, he became a Big Game hero by scoring a go-ahead touchdown against Stanford on a 37-yard fumble return.
Peter Sirmon casually looked on Thursday at Memorial Stadium as his son went through drills before some 20 NFL scouts, most of whom paid closer attention to Patrick McMorris, potentially the sixth safety in five years to get drafted out of Cal. Scouts from the 49ers and the Miami Dolphins spoke to the younger Sirmon afterward.
What fatherly advice has been given?
“He said there’s a lot of frustrations, a lot of highs and lows, and there’s a lot of criticism that you’re hearing, because that’s really all the process is – people telling you why you can’t play in the NFL,” Jackson Sirmon said. “So, block it out, keep working, and good things will happen.”
Something bad happened to end Sirmon’s collegiate career, which began at Washington (2018-21) and finished at Cal the past two years. He tore his left biceps six games into last season, in his 51st career game.
On April 15, Sirmon turns 24 – the same age as Purdy – but he has shown throughout his career key traits for any linebacker: make plays, swarm to the ball, and astutely know what’s going on across the field.
“Obviously the Fred Warners (of the 49ers) and Roquan Smiths (of the Baltimore Ravens) are super fun to watch and learn from,” Sirmon said.
He has also admired the Cincinnati Bengals’ Logan Wilson, the Buffalo Bills’ Matt Milano, and the Chicago Bears’ T.J. Edwards, the latter of whom went undrafted in 2019.
“If I were to go undrafted or get taken late, it’s been done before, it happens,” Sirmon said, “and it’s not the end of the world. … I just really enjoy football, and if you do, it gives you a chance.”
A month remains in the pre-draft evaluations, and several Cal players will partake in the 49ers’ pro day tryout next month for locals. Others participating in Thursday’s audition at Cal: wide receivers Brian Hightower and Monroe Young, running back Isaiah Ifanse, defensive tackle Darius Long Jr., and center Matthew Cindric.
Thursday’s workout did not include a 40-yard dash time as he focused on other drills with his chiseled frame (6-foot-2, 240 pounds).
But before NFL scouts could head to Stanford for the Cardinal’s afternoon pro day, Sirmon worked out as a long snapper, a role he has never played in a game but served as a backup the past three seasons.
“It’s just something to really add value,” Sirmon said. “If I can play linebacker or do special teams and long snap, it might be something a team finds useful.”
In the NFL, versatility is coveted, especially for an entry-level linebacker. If Sirmon follows in his father’s footsteps to the NFL, even he isn’t sure how similar his style will be.
“I would love to know that. I would assume it is,” Sirmon said. “But he played so long ago, there’s no footage anymore. I mean early 2000s? That‘s like ancient. Nah, I’m just trying to give him a hard time.”
And he’d like to give NFL opponents a harder time for years to come.