Former Stanford/Indiana DB Nic Toomer hopes to get NFL draft call

“At the Falcons Local Day, there was a lot of people there,” Toomer told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “At the other Pro Day that I went to with the Colts, they just had one group for the defensive backs, because it wasn’t that many of us there.”

The Falcons split the group into cornerbacks and safeties. Toomer played cornerback at Stanford and was moved to safety last season at Indiana.

“It’s a lot more appealing, I think, to show that I can go play corner because bigger corners are a higher commodity,” Toomer, 6-foot-2 and 199 pounds, said. “I ended up going with the corners group because corners can move to safety, but it’s harder for safeties to move the corner. Going from covering outside receivers to covering tight ends is easy, but vice versa is a little bit more difficult.”

Toomer said he felt he held his own during the workouts.

“I had a pretty good showing,” Toomer said. “I feel like I showed that (even after) a year of not playing corner … I still had the footwork I needed. Obviously, there’s a high ceiling for me in the league. I’m coachable. I feel like I showed what I needed to show to put myself on the radar for them.”

At the Colts’ Locals Day, he participated with players from the Indianapolis area and from Purdue, Notre Dame and Indiana.

“It was a good workout,” Toomer said. “I got to retest and run again and do on-field position work. It was a good workout.”

Toomer is hoping teams put on the film of his matchup against Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. from the 2023 season.

“We had a good scheme going into the game,” he said. “We played a lot of coverages. I ended up guarding him a lot of the game. … We had a good game plan set up. With players of his caliber, obviously you don’t want to go into one-on-one matchups the entire game. Nobody does, just not smart, even if you can do it.

“But (you) just (have) to hold on to your one-on-one when you get to the red-zone area. When we do, you just have to stand up and practice your technique. So, it was a good challenge.”

The game was 10-3 at halftime. The Buckeyes ended up winning 23-3, but Harrison was held to two catches for 18 yards.

“He only had a few catches,” Toomer said. “He had his least amount of catches and yards that whole season in that game. I just executed the game plan that the coach gave to us. It worked out. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win. But, as a personal battle, it was a good showing for me.”

Credit: By Chris Conaway

Credit: By Chris Conaway

Toomer started his high school career at Landmark Christian and helped the War Eagles win the Class A state title in track and field as a freshman. After transferring to Sandy Creek, he won the Class 4A state title in the 400 meter as a senior.

He helped Sandy Creek’s 4x400 meter relay team win back-to-back Class 4A state titles as a junior and senior. He also won the Class A long jump title as a sophomore and triple jump title as a freshman.

Sandy Creek football alums include Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson and current Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch.

In football, Toomer was named to the all-region defensive first team twice in high school, intercepting 16 passes over four seasons.

He was rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN. He selected Stanford over Cincinnati, Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Tulane, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

After a torn ACL in 2019 he missed all of the 2020 season at Stanford.

“It took a while to come back,” said Toomer, who’s father, La’Mont Toomer, played at West Georgia. “But once I finally got on the field, it was smooth sailing from there. I got a chance to play, my first game, my first start was against the number three Oregon team.”

He said he hopes the NFL teams look up that Oregon game.

“One of my better games, honestly,” Toomer said. “I had about 10 tackles, and we got an upset win in overtime. My Stanford career had its ups and downs, but once I finally got on the field, it went smoothly for me.”

Former Stanford coach David Shaw and famous alum and cornerback Richard Sherman were ardent supporters of Toomer’s. When Shaw resigned, Toomer entered the transfer portal.

He started immediately at Indiana for coach Tom Allen, but was moved to safety when coach Curt Cignetti came in 2024. He played sparingly after that.

Toomer worked out at the Pete Bommarito facility in South Florida since January to prepare for Indiana’s Pro Day and the Local Days.

“I am (an) underrated guy in the draft,” Toomer said. “I feel like what I bring to the table is a lot of versatility. I’ve played every position in the secondary.”

Toomer is willing to play on special teams, too.

“I feel like I have the speed, and I tackle well,” he said. “I’m more than willing to play special teams. I’m willing to do anything that contributes to a win.”