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It's Ben Tate, Walter McFadden, Gabe McKenzie and more from Auburn's Pro Day
http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2010/03/its_ben_tate_walter_mcfadden_g.html
By Charles Goldberg -- The Birmingham News
March 09, 2010, 4:56PM
Gabe McKenzie streaks past coaches during a cone drill (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)If looks count, Gabe McKenzie was the winner of Auburn's Pro Day.
The sometimes tight end, occasional defensive end was an impressive figure going through drills Tuesday. The higher profile players showed off too -- like the Ben Tates and Antonio Colemans -- but McKenzie was hard to miss dressed in all white, at least to start with.
Montez Billings goes high in the standing vertical jump. (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)McKenzie didn't have an all-star year as an Auburn senior, and who knows what the pro scouts really thought. It'll be interesting to see if an NFL team will take a flier on him. He won the bench press, going 22 times at 225 pounds.
Defensive back Walter McFadden and his six interceptions weren't invited to the NFL Combine, so Tuesday was likely a big day for him.
His times in the 40-yard dash -- 4.39 and 4.40 -- were faster than the cornerbacks at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis two weeks ago.
Quarterback Chris Todd did all the drills, though really didn't have many wide receivers to work with. Defensive lineman Jake Ricks hurt his hamstring in one of the first agility drills, and did little afterward.
Thirty-six NFL scouts, and two scouts from the CFL, were in attendance.
There's a new blog up with video highlights right here. There's a photo gallery -- scroll down -- shot by The Birmingham News' Joe Songer.
Some other notes:
**Running back Ben Tate didn't go through the agility drills in the indoor facility, opting to sit on his top-flight numbers he had the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He went through the drills outside, however, teaming up with former Auburn running back Brad Lester to catch some passes and such, and to get some tutoring from former Mississippi State had coach and St. Louis assistant coach Sylvester Croom.
He'll be the first Tiger drafted.
Tate said while he opted out of the first half of drills, he was happy to do the outside work.
"I never back away from competition. So I definitely wanted to come out here and show them what I can do,'' Tate said.
Tate acknowledged that some might have been surprised at how well he did at the Combine.
"A lot of the scouts and a lot of you guys in the media, but I knew what I could do the whole time,'' Tate said. "I've been telling y'all I was fast, but no one really wanted to listen to me. My coaches knew, and my family knew."
Walter McFadden shows his moves (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)**McFadden went through all the drills with ease.
"I think I had a good day. The word, everybody was saying that I ran well, that I did pretty good. A lot of scouts came up to me saying a lot of great things,'' McFadden said.
McFadden said he wanted to prove the scouts wrong -- about his size.
"A lot of guys had me weighing 170 pounds, saying I was going to be 5-10, I measured at 5-11 ½, I think. And 182 pounds. I think that was just a great improvement,'' McFadden said.
**Defensive end Antonio Coleman said he went through the drills with a strained quad. He had some do-overs in some of the agility drills early on.
"It bothered me a lot,'' Coleman said. " had a sleeve on it; I also had something under that. It's a big thing when you're out here running doing all these movements. It's painful, but I've played through pain before.
"With a busted-up quad, I think I was doing pretty well."
**Some former Tigers tried their luck as well, like Lester and tight end Robert Johnson and wide receiver Robert Dunn, and even Maurice Smith, a 29-year-old one-time Auburn decathlete who has participated in two Olympics for Jamaica. He's never played organized football, but said he wanted to give wide receiver or defensive back a shot.
PRO DAY STATS
(some of the highlights)
Antonio Coleman
Best 40 time: 4.72
Vertical: 33.5
Long jump: 9-8
Bench reps: N/A at 225 pounds
Walter McFadden
Best 40 time: 4.39
Vertical: 35.5
Long jump: 10-3.5
Bench reps: 5
Gabe McKenzie
Best 40 time: 4.74
Vertical: 37
Long jump: 10-4
Bench reps: 22
Jake Ricks
Best 40 time: 4.95
Vertical: N/A
Long jump: N/A
Bench reps: 15
Ben Tate
Best 40 time: N/A
Vertical: N/A
Long jump: N/A
Bench reps: N/A
Chris Todd
Best 40 time: 4.85
Vertical: 27.5
Long jump: 9-1.5
Bench reps: 13
Montez Billings
Best 40 time: 4.42
Vertical: 34
Long jump: 10-6.5
Bench reps: N/A
http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2010/03/its_ben_tate_walter_mcfadden_g.html
By Charles Goldberg -- The Birmingham News
March 09, 2010, 4:56PM
Gabe McKenzie streaks past coaches during a cone drill (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)If looks count, Gabe McKenzie was the winner of Auburn's Pro Day.
The sometimes tight end, occasional defensive end was an impressive figure going through drills Tuesday. The higher profile players showed off too -- like the Ben Tates and Antonio Colemans -- but McKenzie was hard to miss dressed in all white, at least to start with.
Montez Billings goes high in the standing vertical jump. (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)McKenzie didn't have an all-star year as an Auburn senior, and who knows what the pro scouts really thought. It'll be interesting to see if an NFL team will take a flier on him. He won the bench press, going 22 times at 225 pounds.
Defensive back Walter McFadden and his six interceptions weren't invited to the NFL Combine, so Tuesday was likely a big day for him.
His times in the 40-yard dash -- 4.39 and 4.40 -- were faster than the cornerbacks at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis two weeks ago.
Quarterback Chris Todd did all the drills, though really didn't have many wide receivers to work with. Defensive lineman Jake Ricks hurt his hamstring in one of the first agility drills, and did little afterward.
Thirty-six NFL scouts, and two scouts from the CFL, were in attendance.
There's a new blog up with video highlights right here. There's a photo gallery -- scroll down -- shot by The Birmingham News' Joe Songer.
Some other notes:
**Running back Ben Tate didn't go through the agility drills in the indoor facility, opting to sit on his top-flight numbers he had the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He went through the drills outside, however, teaming up with former Auburn running back Brad Lester to catch some passes and such, and to get some tutoring from former Mississippi State had coach and St. Louis assistant coach Sylvester Croom.
He'll be the first Tiger drafted.
Tate said while he opted out of the first half of drills, he was happy to do the outside work.
"I never back away from competition. So I definitely wanted to come out here and show them what I can do,'' Tate said.
Tate acknowledged that some might have been surprised at how well he did at the Combine.
"A lot of the scouts and a lot of you guys in the media, but I knew what I could do the whole time,'' Tate said. "I've been telling y'all I was fast, but no one really wanted to listen to me. My coaches knew, and my family knew."
Walter McFadden shows his moves (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)**McFadden went through all the drills with ease.
"I think I had a good day. The word, everybody was saying that I ran well, that I did pretty good. A lot of scouts came up to me saying a lot of great things,'' McFadden said.
McFadden said he wanted to prove the scouts wrong -- about his size.
"A lot of guys had me weighing 170 pounds, saying I was going to be 5-10, I measured at 5-11 ½, I think. And 182 pounds. I think that was just a great improvement,'' McFadden said.
**Defensive end Antonio Coleman said he went through the drills with a strained quad. He had some do-overs in some of the agility drills early on.
"It bothered me a lot,'' Coleman said. " had a sleeve on it; I also had something under that. It's a big thing when you're out here running doing all these movements. It's painful, but I've played through pain before.
"With a busted-up quad, I think I was doing pretty well."
**Some former Tigers tried their luck as well, like Lester and tight end Robert Johnson and wide receiver Robert Dunn, and even Maurice Smith, a 29-year-old one-time Auburn decathlete who has participated in two Olympics for Jamaica. He's never played organized football, but said he wanted to give wide receiver or defensive back a shot.
PRO DAY STATS
(some of the highlights)
Antonio Coleman
Best 40 time: 4.72
Vertical: 33.5
Long jump: 9-8
Bench reps: N/A at 225 pounds
Walter McFadden
Best 40 time: 4.39
Vertical: 35.5
Long jump: 10-3.5
Bench reps: 5
Gabe McKenzie
Best 40 time: 4.74
Vertical: 37
Long jump: 10-4
Bench reps: 22
Jake Ricks
Best 40 time: 4.95
Vertical: N/A
Long jump: N/A
Bench reps: 15
Ben Tate
Best 40 time: N/A
Vertical: N/A
Long jump: N/A
Bench reps: N/A
Chris Todd
Best 40 time: 4.85
Vertical: 27.5
Long jump: 9-1.5
Bench reps: 13
Montez Billings
Best 40 time: 4.42
Vertical: 34
Long jump: 10-6.5
Bench reps: N/A
