Thread: Pro Day Workouts

"Vastly improved" Pro Day workout could push Marshall's Curry into Top 32

By Rob Rang | The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

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One might think that by earning himself a spot on virtually every All-American team by way of posting 77 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three blocked kicks that Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry had already secured himself a spot in thefirst round.

His chances at doing so seemed to be improved witha solid performanceduring the Senior Bowl week of practice and the game, itself.

At just a shade shorter (6-3) and lighter (266 pounds) than scouts would prefer at defensive end, however, there had beensome concern that perhaps Marshall would have to make the switch tooutside linebacker in the3-4.His first chance at proving to teams that he could make this transition came at the Combine, where Curry struggled with a 4.98 time in the 40-yard dash and a 32" verticaljump that frankly looked pretty average in comparison to South Carolina'sMelvin Ingram,Southern Cal's Nick Perry and Illinois' Whitney Mercilus.

Curry'sprimary competition at defensive end this year certainly werenot on hand at Marshall's Pro Day Thursday. Fortunately for Curry, plenty of scouts were.

They saw Curry shave more than three-tenths of a second off of his time in the 40-yard dash (4.64, 4.69) as well as add three inches tohis vertical jump (35") and perform in the bench pressdrill for the first time. Currydid not lift at the Combine citing a wrist injury. He answered any questionsscouts had about his upper body strength by posting 28 reps of 225 pounds, Thursday.

Currycitednerves as a primary reason why his Combine workouts wereless than impressive.

"Everybody knew how rattled I was at the Combine," Curry told Andrew Ramspacher of the West Virginia Herald-Dispatch. "I was kind of out of my comfort zone a little bit. But, you know, I'm a competitor so to come here and chop a 4.9 40 down to a 4.64 and a 4.69, it's unbelievable.

"I knew I was faster than that when I ran at the Combine. But, you know, you have your doubters out there. But I proved them wrong. ... It's definitely been a great day."

One talent evaluator on hand forMarshall's Pro Day called Curry's workout "vastly improved" from his Combine performance and more in line with what he'd seen out ofConference USA's Defensive Player of the Year in Mobile andprior to the season.

"He's a good player so[the Pro Day workout] isn't that surprising."

Asked if Curry's workout solidifieda first round grade, the source only replied, "That wouldn't be surprising, either."

I've heard Curry's name as a possibility for us, but always as a 2nd rounder. Looks like he may work his way into the first or at least the upper 2nd. Is he worth a trade down in the 1st or a trade up in the 2nd?

One thing I'm always leery of with these guys is that huge jump between performance at a neutral site and how well they do on their home turf. Somebody needs to tell these guy to grow up. They'll be playing 8 games a year away from their home turf.

I don't dislike Curry at all. In fact he's probably my top 2nd tier guy but when you struggle to break 5.0 in the 40 at the Combine then shave 3.0 to 3.5 seconds off that time on your pro day my eyebrows raise. Who was holding the stop watches and which one is closer to his playing speed. If he's not a legit 4.6-4.7 guy in pads IMO he not a 1st round pick.

What's it's beginning to come down to for me is if we want a guy I think can play at LDE I like Perry or maybe Upshaw. I think Mercilus has a huge upside as a pass rusher but I don't know that the kid has a high football IQ and will be limited as a 3 down player because of it. Maybe I'm wrong in if I am I'm sure someone will offer another opinion but I see Mercilus as strictly a RDE pass rush specialist and we want 3 down players. JMHO

Originally Posted by soulman

but when you struggle to break 5.0 in the 40 at the Combine then shave 3.0 to 3.5 seconds off that time on your pro day my eyebrows raise. Who was holding the stop watches and which one is closer to his playing speed. If he's not a legit 4.6-4.7 guy in pads IMO he not a 1st round pick.

I was shocked to see his combine time, too, but it is just a couple tenths of a second (I'm guessing that's what you meant by 3.0 to 3.5 seconds; THAT would be incredible lol). A couple tenths of a second could be as simple as a slight slip here, a little trip there or not quite as quick of a start as normal. It sounds like he produced at Marshall. But, I guess there is the fact that it's not exactly one of the larger schools. I know diddly about college guys so I'm just talking out of my butt at this point. lol

Originally Posted by Chi66

I'm interested in seeing Alshon Jeffery's results. I wonder if teams would really be so high on Hill and others that somehow Jeffery would slip to #50.. nahh who am I kidding.

You can hold me to this Chi. I think Jeffery will go much later than that. He was slow at the Combine. I mean dump truck like slow for a WR. Couple that with a less than impressive showing at the Senior Bowl and he's dropped way down in the WR rankings. Where before he was ranked in the top 4 or 5 now he's slid to #12 with a down arrow. A lot of guys have passed him up. If he goes higher I think it will be because of his size and potential as a big possession type receiver.

Originally Posted by soulman

You can hold me to this Chi. I think Jeffery will go much later than that. He was slow at the Combine. I mean dump truck like slow for a WR. Couple that with a less than impressive showing at the Senior Bowl and he's dropped way down in the WR rankings. Where before he was ranked in the top 4 or 5 now he's slid to #12 with a down arrow. A lot of guys have passed him up. If he goes higher I think it will be because of his size and potential as a big possession type receiver.

Oh really.. hmm. If he had a great Pro Day do you think he will gain some stock or is this downward spiral permanent? If he's dropping way lower then that he'd be an interesting option if we don't get anyone in the first two rounds. Or three.. however far he's falling. Then again he's in this position for a reason. I'm wondering what round the Bears will target WR now that Marshall is on the team.

I know I'm an idiot for wanting to grab him in the first, but I don't care. I'd love to see him slowly get worked onto the field with Marshall and see what happens.
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Stephen Hill continued his meteoric rise up the draft boards with a fantastic workout at Georgia Tech’s pro day Thursday.
Hill (6-foot-3 3/4, 209 pounds) lit it up, as he went through drills in front of 20 teams. Falcons head coach Mike Smith was there along with Bears coach Lovie Smith and Vikings coach Leslie Frazier. Bills GM Buddy Nix was there to get a look at Hill, too. When you have three head coaches and a GM show up to a pro day, usually there’s consideration for a first-round pick. I would say Hill has gone from somebody who was not very well known to a first-round player.
Hill stood on all of his combine numbers, and caught balls from QB Eric Ward, who used to play for the University of Richmond and was brought in for the school’s pro day. It was a smart move by them to bring in Ward.
I didn’t include Hill on my first “Hot 100″ list, but he rose to No. 44 on my second list and he was No. 32 on my third. The best thing Hill did was work out with former NFL WR Terance Mathis at the IMG Academy. Mathis taught Hill how to run routes and took him from a person who was a straight-line streak WR to a guy who can really throttle down and catch the ball.
Eight players in all participated in Georgia Tech’s pro day.

NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Wilson dazzles, Konz sits at Wisconsin pro day «

By Gil Brandt |

Published: March 8th, 2012 | Tags: 2012 pro days, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Jeremy Bates, Mike Tice, Peter Konz, Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks, Ted Thompson, Wisconsin
Quarterback Russell Wilson (5-foot-11 3/8, 206 pounds) put on a show Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin’s pro day. Working out in front of all 32 teams and Seahawks QB coach Darrell Bevell, Bears coaches Jeremy Bates and Mike Tice and Packers GM Ted Thompson, Wilson threw the ball a total of 65 times and only four times did the ball hit the ground. I’m not sure exactly where he will be drafted, but I think this guy could be as high as a second-round pick.
Everyone is scared of quarterbacks who measure under 6-feet, but Wilson looked absolutely great. This guy whistles the ball. they say he only had four passes blocked at Wisconsin this past year — that’s outstanding for a short guy. His stock is rising.
In addition to Wilson, 16 other Wisconsin players worked alongside five players from some of the surrounding small schools. Center Peter Konz, NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock‘s No. 1 ranked center, was not medically cleared to work out because of his injured left ankle. The Green Bay Post-Gazette reported Konz will wait until his dislocated left ankle is ready and plans to work out April 4.
Workouts were conducted indoors and on field turf.
Bradie Ewing, FB (5-11 3/4, 237) — Stood on everything he did at the combine. Did position drills and worked out really well. He’s a very, very good athlete and was considered good enough to be on the basketball team as a walk on.
Antonio Fenelus, CB (5-8 3/8, 185) — He ran 4.44 and 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Fenelus posted a 36-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-9 broad jump, 4.15-second short shuttle and 6.70-second three-cone drill. He worked out very well. He’s a third-day draft pick.
Brad Nortman, P (6-2 5/8, 209) — He put on a very good punting exhibition and will be a draft choice. Ran 4.78 and 4.75 40s, had a 35-inch vertical jump, 9-10 broad jump, 4.30 short shuttle and 6.83 cone drill.
Josh Oglesby, OT (6-7 5/8, 331) — Passes they eye ball test even though didn’t run because of a meniscus problem in his right knee. He did do position drills, however, and likely is a third-day pick.
Nick Toon, WR (6-2 1/4, 211) — He helped himself at the pro day. He ran 4.41 and 4.38 in the 40, but didn’t do the short shuttle and the jumps because he had been hurt. He did work out in positional drills and was very impressive.
Kevin Zeitler, OL (6-4, 312) — His position drills were very good, but he still is probably a middle of the second round type pick.
Here are two guys worth adding, one from Wisconsin and another guy from Beloit College who created a stir among scouts:
Aaron Henry, FS (6-0, 203) — This guy wasn’t at the combine. He ran 4.50 and 4.53 40s, had a 39.5-inch vertical jump, 9-8 broad jump, 4.31 short shuttle and a 6.98 cone drill and did 16 strength lifts. Because of his workout, he will be a third-day draft pick.
Derek Carrier, WR (6-3 3/8, 238) — He was one of the five-non Wisconsin players who worked out. He probably got himself drafted Wednesday. Everyone will be headed to Beloit to study his game tape. He ran 4.50 and 4.50 in the 40, had a 38-inch vertical, 10-2 broad jump, 4.09 short shuttle, 6.70 cone drill (now, that’s a fantastic cone drill), and did 15 strength lifts. Scouts think that he would be converted into a TE.