Perhaps that was part of the reason the cornerback did not receive an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine — and why many labeled it a reach when the Patriots strayed from consensus to draft him in the fifth round.
“My stats don’t lie,” he said. “I feel like as a corner, you’ve got to be productive. I feel I put myself in the right position to make plays. Just watching film, reading formations, knowing route recognitions, things like that. Played college for five years, so I’m very aware of what’s going on around me and everything like that.”
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound cornerback began his collegiate career at Kansas. He eventual transferred to North Carolina A&T before finishing at Wake Forest last season.
As Prunty pointed out, his stats and film speak for themselves at each stop. In 55 career college games, the corner tallied 166 tackles, three sacks, seven interceptions, 30 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The accolades then followed.
“I was a Freshman All-American when I first came to college, HBCU All-American when I was at North Carolina A&T, Wake Forest, Third Team All-ACC, PFF All-ACC,” Prunty said. “So, I feel like I am proven and I’m only getting better each year. I think I got better and I don’t see that stopping when I get to the next level.”
New England held Prunty on a pre-draft visit to Gillette Stadium, one the 23-year old left feeling confident about.
Prunty’s length, aggressiveness, and speed — as he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day — stood out to the Patriots at the perimeter cornerback spot. Cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton, who previously coached at Virginia Tech, was also familiar with Prunty from recruiting him out of high school.
The rookie will now join Hamilton’s room that includes Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Kindle Vildor, Marcellas Dial Jr., Kobee Minor and Brandon Crossley on the depth chart — with Gonzalez being a corner that Prunty has studied closely.
“The main thing I like about him is he plays with a good pad level. Very consistent, very disciplined. He also has fluid hips,” he shared. “As far as movement, he’s kind of my favorite because I feel like everything he does is pretty smooth. Even when he was at Oregon and everything, everything just seemed pretty smooth.”