By Julia DePasquale and Olivia Pitten
The Baltimore Ravens chose James Proche, a fourth-year Mustang wide receiver, with the 22nd pick of the sixth round of the NFL Draft on April 25, 2020.
Proche played four seasons with the Mustangs, contributing an SMU record of 39 career touchdowns. Throughout his time, he set five additional SMU records for career receptions, career receiving yards, career all-purpose yards, season receiving touchdowns and consecutive games with a receiving touchdown. His senior season, Proche had 1225 receiving yards for 15 touchdowns.
Following the Mustangs’ historic 10-win season, Proche was named to the All-American Athletic Conference first team for the second consecutive year and was honored as a FWAA Second-Team All-American.
Congratulations to @jamesproche3 and thank you for all that you did for @SMU_Football. You have been a joy to work with and we can’t wait to see what you do now. #PonyUpDallas #2020NFLDraft #SMU2NFL pic.twitter.com/dwiAqfjHRG
— Sonny Dykes (@CoachSonnyDykes) April 25, 2020
At the NFL Combine in February, the DeSoto native recorded a 34.5 inch vertical jump, 7.27 second three cone drill, 4.4 second 20-yard shuttle and 20 bench press reps. During scouting, NFL.com described Proche as “average size, quickness and speed, but extraordinary ball skills that allow for viral-caliber catches throughout his game tape.”
Proche follows in the footsteps of previous SMU great wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders. Sutton was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 40th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and Sanders was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 82nd pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Now, as the sole Mustang selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, Proche begins his professional football career in Baltimore.
