Official Pro Days Thread

[AvengerRam]

As the Pro Days are near, here's the thread to post updates.

This is the schedule of Pro Days:

March 1: Purdue, Texas-El Paso
March 4: Alabama-Birmingham, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Troy
March 5: Auburn, Buffalo, Harding, Jackson State, Northwestern, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tuskegee, Youngstown State
March 6: Alabama A&M, Duquesne, Eastern Washington, Kent State, Mississippi State, North Alabama, Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Texas Tech, Wisconsin
March 7: Arizona, Arkansas-Monticello, Clemson, Furman, Idaho, Illinois, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Syracuse, Washington State
March 8: Arizona State, Cornell, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Missouri State, Montana, Mount Union, Ohio State, Southern Mississippi, TCU, Texas A&M, Wofford
March 11: California (Pa.), Central Michigan, Penn State
March 12: Delaware State, Florida, Jacksonville State, Kansas State, Lehigh, Monmouth, Oklahoma State, Portland State, Towson, UCLA
March 13: Alabama, Central Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Washington
March 14: Arkansas State, California, Fort Valley State, Georgia Tech, Grambling State, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tulsa, UNLV, West Alabama, West Virginia
March 15: Arkansas, Georgia State, Kansas, Oregon State, San Jose State
March 18: Air Force, Albany State (Ga.), Howard, Idaho State, Indiana, Memphis, Montana State, Valdosta State, Villanova, Virginia Union, Wake Forest
March 19: Florida A&M, Florida State, Louisville, Richmond (with Liberty), Sam Houston State, San Diego State, Virginia
March 20: Ball State, Baylor, Central Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina State, Ohio, Sacramento State, Tennessee, Utah
March 21: Boise State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Old Dominion, Stanford, Stony Brook, Temple, William & Mary
March 22: Missouri Western, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt
March 25: Duke, Iowa, Middle Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin
March 26: Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, North Carolina, North Carolina Central, Notre Dame, Texas
March 27: LSU, South Carolina, SMU, USC
March 28: BYU, Central Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Yale
March 29: Southeast Missouri State
April 2: Columbia

[richtree]

Marshall for Dobson, and next day Cal for K.Allen...

[AvengerRam]

The 40 times at Pro Days are always interesting. If a player improves dramatically from the Combine, you have to take it with a pretty big grain of salt, in my opinion.

[sosa39rams]

The 40 times at Pro Days are always interesting. If a player improves dramatically from the Combine, you have to take it with a pretty big grain of salt, in my opinion.

Joe Haden? Couldn't care less about 40 yard dashes at pro days. Matter of fact, they have minimal meaning at the combine.

[AvengerRam]

Joe Haden? Couldn't care less about 40 yard dashes at pro days. Matter of fact, they have minimal meaning at the combine.

Well, given that you've posted continuously about your favorite prospect, DeAndre Hopkins, who posted a somewhat disappointing 4.57 in the 40, I guess nobody should be surprised by your comment.

[sosa39rams]

Well, given that you've posted continuously about your favorite prospect, DeAndre Hopkins, who posted a somewhat disappointing 4.57 in the 40, I guess nobody should be surprised by your comment.

I'd rather have guys that just ball. It does have some weight though. For a guy like Marquise Goodwin, he better run a damn fast 40 because that's the only thing he's got going for him. If I've got a guy who grades out highly, I may be dissapointed by their 40 time because of the potential lack of work they did to improve it.

[HUbison]

March 5: Auburn, Buffalo, Harding, Jackson State, Northwestern, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tuskegee, Youngstown State

Let's go Ty Powell!!!

Among DL at the Combine:

#7 in the 40 - 4.64
#14 in the bench - 28
#2 in the vertical - 37.0
#4 in the broad jump - 10.2
#4 in the 3-cone - 6.98
#8 in the 20-yard shuttle - 4.40

I'll be as happy as those guys in the Geico commercial if we use a day 3 pick on my boy.

[AvengerRam]

According to a couple of Twitter reports, the Rams are one of eight teams present at the Harding Pro Day!

[citr92]

USC's pro day takes too long :/

[HUbison]

According to a couple of Twitter reports, the Rams are one of eight teams present at the Harding Pro Day!

Woo-hooooooo!!!

[Nick]

Ty Powell impresses at Harding’s pro day
By Gil Brandt
Published: March 5th, 2013 | Tags: 2013 pro days, Harding College, Ty Powell

Backed by a strong NFL Scouting Combine effort and now a quality workout at Harding College’s pro day, Tyanthony “Ty” Powell is looking like a mid-round draft choice come late April.

Powell (6-foot-2 1/8, 246 pounds) was one of three players who worked out for seven teams outdoors on FieldTurf in 43-degree weather in Searcy, Ark.

Powell — who has played defensive end, safety and now linebacker — stood on his numbers from the combine (he was a top performer in his position group in the vertical jump and three-cone drill). Indianapolis Colts linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald led Powell through a workout that lasted for about an hour. Powell, who is being checked out as a linebacker by NFL teams, looked good in the drills and displayed exceptional ball skills.

Powell could be selected as high as the fourth round and become the first player drafted from Harding in 30 years.

[AvengerRam]

There are reports already of prospects improving on their Combine 40 times. For example, Montee Ball has reportedly improved from a 4.66 to a 4.57. Jonathan Banks has reportedly gone from a 4.59 to a 4.52.

I, for one, have a hard time trusting the Pro Day times. Unlike the Combine, where everyone runs indoors on the same surface, Pro Days can be held anywhere, resulting in wind or surface aided times.

The bigger problem, of course, involves players who did not run at the Combine, and will only have Pro Day times (i.e. Keenan Allen, Eddy Lacy, Jonathan Cyprien). It could be difficult to compare these players to others at their position who ran in Indy.

[AvengerRam]

DeAndre Hopkins clocks 4.41 in 40

Updated: March 7, 2013, 4:01 PM ET

Associated Press

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins did his best to push himself into the NFL draft's first round, bettering his 40-yard dash time Thursday and putting on a solid pass-catching show in front of New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and personnel from 31 pro teams.

Hopkins put up a 4.41-second time in his second 40-yard run at the Tigers' recently opened indoor football facility. Hopkins' first-run time of 4.46 seconds was also faster than his NFL scouting combine time of 4.57 seconds.

Hopkins, the 6-foot-1, 214-pounder, decided to skip his senior year at Clemson. He is considered to be a late first-round or possibly second-second pick -- and he gave team officials plenty to think about with his performance.

Hopkins spoke with Ryan several times during the session. The Chicago Bears were the only team not represented, Clemson said.

About the only thing Hopkins didn't do was talk about his day.

"Sorry, man, I can't right now," he said as he breezed past a group of reporters.

Hopkins was mostly overlooked his first two seasons with the Tigers before becoming an offensive star last fall. He led the team with 52 catches for 637 yards as a freshman in 2010, but the Tigers were just 6-7.

Hopkins came back in 2011 with 72 catches for 978 yards. Still, his efforts were overshadowed by freshman teammate Sammy Watkins, who became an All-American with his 82 receptions for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Last fall, Hopkins became Clemson's unquestioned receiving leader. His best game, though, may have come in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl when he set a bowl mark with 13 catches for 191 yards. Among the grabs was a sliding 26-yard reception with the Tigers facing fourth-and-16 on what became the team's winning drive in a 25-24 victory over LSU.

Not everything went perfectly for Hopkins during Thursday's workout. He dropped two passes during position drills, then promptly did 20 pushups for the pair of miscues.

Several of Hopkins' former Clemson teammates were also hoping to impress NFL eyes at the three-hour session.

Clemson tailback Andre Ellington, who's twice rushed for more than 1,000 yards, did not take part because of a hamstring injury. He plans to hold his own workout for scouts March 29.

Players were measured for height, weight, hand size and wing span. Some took part in weightlifting drills, bench-pressing 225 pounds as often as they could with Clemson's strength coach Joey Batson urging them on. There were the 40-yard dash runs, broad jumps and vertical leaps before cone drills and position workouts -- all under the steady stares of NFL scouts watching for flaws.

"It's pretty nerve-wracking," Clemson receiver Jaron Brown said.

Brown was the fastest of the 12 players taking part with a 40-yard time of 4.29 seconds. He said he worked hard during his training on getting faster since the bowl game. "I was glad to see it pay off," he said.

Brown and tight end Brandon Ford alternated with Hopkins on the pass-catching workouts. The three were asked to make several hard cuts and quickly locate the ball in the air.

Ford was not invited to the NFL scouting combine and was eager to show NFL people he was ready for the pros. Ford compared it to playing major opponents like Florida State, South Carolina or LSU when scouts fill the press boxes.

"They're there for a reason. They want to see what guys can do against the best guys that are out there," Ford said. "Today, I knew there were going to be a lot of guys because Clemson always has a good pro day with a lot of people."

The players took part in some interviews, too. Brown said he was asked by one team if he'd draft Hopkins, nicknamed 'Nuk,' or Watkins, given the choice of one. Brown's answer? "I told them 'Nuk' because he's eligible for the draft," he said, laughing.

Watkins, a sophomore this season, has at least one more season left at Clemson before starting a pro career.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said it was fun seeing his old players again, most who'd been off training for the pros since the season ended.

"This is a big day for them and I'm glad to see them perform at their highest level," Swinney said.

Now sosa will never shut up about Hopkins!

On a more serious note, I think this is a good step for Hopkins, but I wouldn't put too much stock in it. As I noted above, Pro Day 40 times always seem to magically come in faster than the Combine times. Take it with a grain of salt.

All that said, I think Hopkins is a lock for a top 50 selection, and on pretty solid ground to go in the first round.

[sosa39rams]

Now sosa will never shut up about Hopkins!

On a more serious note, I think this is a good step for Hopkins, but I wouldn't put too much stock in it. As I noted above, Pro Day 40 times always seem to magically come in faster than the Combine times. Take it with a grain of salt.

All that said, I think Hopkins is a lock for a top 50 selection, and on pretty solid ground to go in the first round. [/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/LEFT][/LEFT]

Hahah its true! I read about this today and was happy to see he did good. Things are the same for me. I'd be ecstatic with either Nuk or Tavon Austin in the first, as well as Patterson.

[sosa39rams]

" Per @TonyPauline Johnathan Cyprien ran a 4.50 today at FIU's pro Day "

Not bad.