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Kapena Gushiken did not waste his only opportunity during Ole Miss Pro Day

11by: Jake Thompson03/18/26JakeThompsonOn3

For players who do not get invited to the NFL Scouting Combine to perform in front of scouts, head coaches and executives during the late-February week in Indianapolis their school’s pro day creates even more pressure. The same is true for Ole Miss safety Kapena Gushiken.

The Rebels safety did not receive that all-important invite to Lucas Oil Stadium so Wednesday’s pro day in Oxford was the last opportunity to showcase his athleticism and talent to all of NFL eyeballs at one time.

Gushiken did not waste the chance, providing some of the top numbers that would have put him among the best at his position at last month’s combine.

“Honestly, really important,” Gushiken said of pro day. “I care a lot about football and this journey that I’ve been on and I know how much weight, how much it’ll help me going forward. So, definitely took the process very serious and feel like I did decently good.”

The numbers produced on Wednesday are worthy of being described better than decent. Gushiken’s 11-foot broad jump would have shot him to the top of the combine leaderboard as the best among his position, by two inches.

His 40-yard dash time of 4.35 seconds was eight hundredths of a second slower than SFA’s Lorenzo Styles, Jr. and would have been tied for the fourth-best time among safeties. Though he was really shooting for 4.20s or even 4.10s, which also would have led the position group.

“You aim high, you’re bound to end up somewhere near that. So, I was really shooting for the stars when it came to the 40,” Kepena said.

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Gushiken transferred in from Washington State, spending one season at Ole Miss.

He finished as the seventh-best tackler for the Rebels with 55, which was his career best that includes his two seasons with the Cougars, and also had one interception and a fumble recovery. There were also five pass break ups and one quarterback hurry in 2025 for Gushiken.

Despite only one year in the Southeastern Conference the development in Oxford compared to his two seasons in Pullman was noticeably different to him.

“I think coach (Nick) Savage, that whole strength staff, did a really good job of developing us in the offseason,” Gushiken said. “The mental side of things, and obviously the physical side of things. Then as far as just the coaches upstairs, I felt very prepared going to war with all these guys in the building. I wouldn’t want to be part of any other team. I would not want to do my last year at any place. Definitely chose the right spot coming here.”

As for what the future holds for Gushiken, he is viewed as a late-round pick and potentially viewed as as seventh-rounder. The Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals are two teams that have been talking to him and a few other teams have had “small conversations,” per Gushiken.