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Former Bears give NFL scouts a show at Cal's Pro Day
March 10, 11:20 PMCal Bears ExaminerRob CalongePrevious
http://www.examiner.com/x-599-Cal-B...-Bears-give-NFL-scouts-a-show-at-Cals-Pro-Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent Articles
Cal players hope to turn heads at Pro Day
Cal wins Pac-10 title outright
Reliving Cal's history-making game
NFL's combine coverage sub-par
While comparing notes with other reporters today at Cal's Memorial Stadium, we counted 19 NFL teams in attendance at Cal's annual Pro Day. Many of the scouts came to see if Syd'Quan Thompson could post a 40-yard dash time worthy of an NFL cornerback, but they also got an opportunity to see players that didn't get invited to the combine.
That's probably a good thing for the scouts, because they didn't get to see a healthy Syd'Quan Thompson run his 40. Thompson, who injured his hamstring the week of the Senior Bowl, has yet to get past the injury enough to run without tightness or pain.
Due to the injury, Thompson didn't run at the NFL Combine, (which due to a typo on my part, I reported that he did), so scouts were attentive when he came up to run. After his first run, there were groans amongst the scouts as he timed anywhere from 4.6s to 4.71s on the 20+ stopwatches at the finish line. His final run timed at 4.78s on one scout's stopwatch fueling more doubt about his ability to run with receivers in the NFL.
Thompson isn't the first Cal corner to face this sort of doubt. In 2007, Daymeion "Dante" Hughes had the same sort of problem. Hughes ended up being drafted in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts and now plays with the San Diego Chargers. Thompson has leaned on him for some uplifting encouragement.
"I talk to Daymeion all the time," said Thompson when reminded of the former Cal star. "He's always just telling me really just, 'Don't worry about what you can't control. Your ability is your ability. If you run fast, you're gonna' run fast. If you run slow -- slow. If you're healthy, you're healthy. If you're not...' So just keep my head up and keep working hard."
After telling us that his fastest time of the day was 4.6s, Thompson was asked what he thought he could run. He flatly stated, "Faster," giving those of us holding microphones a good laugh.
Tyson Alualu has been talking to teams about playing both the 3-4 and the 4-3 as an end, with one team also mentioning he could be moved to the middle in certain situations. Alualu ran a 4.87s 40-yard dash at the combine, so he was told not to run at Cal's Pro Day. He also improved upon his 21 rep's in the bench press at the combine to 24.
"I wanted to [run the 40], because I wanted to be with my teammates and do the things that they've been doing." said Alualu. "But coaches and agents told me not to." That's because a 4.87s 40-yard dash will likely prevent the former Cal defensive end from slipping past the third round in the draft. Mike Tepper later confirmed this when telling me that when a lineman runs in the 4.8's he raises his stock and when he runs in the 5.8's, he lowers it.
Speaking of Tepper, he ran the 40 and told me that he's timed at around the 5.25s range -- average for an offensive lineman. He would have liked to have benched, but he is suffering from a myriad of illnesses, notably strep throat.
At the combine, Tepper said he spoke with somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 teams and that he was told that he's rated somewhere in the middle of the pack. While there is never anything certain when it comes to the draft, NFL teams told him that he will certainly be drafted.
Despite his illness, Tepper was still his jovial self -- especially when talking about the experience of being poked and prodded at the combine by gangs of doctors. "If you have a personal bubble, that stuff is crushed. Gone," said Tepper.
"You're laying there and they're just messing with you and asking you questions. It's like, you hear someone asking you questions [as he points to his right], but you're answering this way [as he points to his left]. You're bouncing questions off left and right. And then all of the sudden, he flips the light on for your X-rays, and like everybody is messing with you. And litterally, two seconds later, 30 people disburse, and they end up in front of that table. You're just laying there, and you look up, and you're like, 'Where is everybody?'"
Apparently, Jahvid Best did everything he needed to do at the combine because he was told not to do anything at Pro Day. Although he isn't completely happy with his combine-best 4.35s 40-yard dash for running backs at the combine, there was no need to prove he had the speed that everyone is already aware of.
Best was at Memorial Stadium prepared to perform running back drills, but when the time came he was told they [the scouts] didn't need him to do them -- a sign that he's a lock for the first round in April. "I don't know how I feel about it," said Best about the position drills being scrapped. "I was ready to go, so I definitely feel a little disappointed. But that's good news again."
Best has workouts scheduled with the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Commanders later this month, and while he doesn't care which team drafts him, he didn't shy away from telling reporters that his favorite team is the local Oakland Raiders. With the release of Fargas late last week and the speed he's shown, it's not entirely impossible that he could get that wish with the eigth pick of the draft.
All-time favorite Raider? Charles Woodson. When he interviewed with the team at the combine, he spoke with former Cal offensive line coach Jim Michalczik and running backs coach Kelly Skipper, who played for Fresno State while Cal head coach Jeff Tedford was a volunteer assistant coach there.
Other players at Pro Day hoping to turn heads were former Cal players Erik Robertson (guard) and Bernard Hicks (safety). They worked out with recent grad's Kevin Bemoll, Devin Bishop, Nyan Boateng, Marcus Ezeff, Brian Holley, Brett Johnson, Chet Teofilo, Verran Tucker, and Eddie Young.
It turns out that it was a day for Cal safeties. Hicks put up a 40-time of 4.54s by one scout's stopwatch and Cal is reporting that Ezeff ran his in 4.40s and Johnson ran a blistering 4.30s sprint. All three have game tape. Ironically, it was Johnson that replaced Hicks during his senior season due to injuries and last season Ezeff was replaced due to academic requirements conflicting wtih practice.
Current players Marvin Jones and Jarred Price attended the event along with other current Cal players. Other notables at the event was Tedford briefly and former Cal stars Zack Follett, Lavelle Hawkins, Desmond Bishop, and Worrell Williams.
Oddest moment for me was after Chet Teofilo ran the 40-yard dash at five-plus seconds. One scout turned to another, showed him his stopwatch and said, "You see this time? Just toss it out, because this guy can play." Teofilo could have used that scout to make his case to line coach Jim Marshall last season when he was relegated to backup duties...or maybe he thought Teofilo was Alualu.
Cal Pro Day release
Cal Pro Day player quotes
2010 Schedule change
Cal announced today that due to a conflict with Stanford's midterms next season, they had to reschedule that game along with three others. Click here for the release.
March 10, 11:20 PMCal Bears ExaminerRob CalongePrevious
http://www.examiner.com/x-599-Cal-B...-Bears-give-NFL-scouts-a-show-at-Cals-Pro-Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent Articles
Cal players hope to turn heads at Pro Day
Cal wins Pac-10 title outright
Reliving Cal's history-making game
NFL's combine coverage sub-par
While comparing notes with other reporters today at Cal's Memorial Stadium, we counted 19 NFL teams in attendance at Cal's annual Pro Day. Many of the scouts came to see if Syd'Quan Thompson could post a 40-yard dash time worthy of an NFL cornerback, but they also got an opportunity to see players that didn't get invited to the combine.
That's probably a good thing for the scouts, because they didn't get to see a healthy Syd'Quan Thompson run his 40. Thompson, who injured his hamstring the week of the Senior Bowl, has yet to get past the injury enough to run without tightness or pain.
Due to the injury, Thompson didn't run at the NFL Combine, (which due to a typo on my part, I reported that he did), so scouts were attentive when he came up to run. After his first run, there were groans amongst the scouts as he timed anywhere from 4.6s to 4.71s on the 20+ stopwatches at the finish line. His final run timed at 4.78s on one scout's stopwatch fueling more doubt about his ability to run with receivers in the NFL.
Thompson isn't the first Cal corner to face this sort of doubt. In 2007, Daymeion "Dante" Hughes had the same sort of problem. Hughes ended up being drafted in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts and now plays with the San Diego Chargers. Thompson has leaned on him for some uplifting encouragement.
"I talk to Daymeion all the time," said Thompson when reminded of the former Cal star. "He's always just telling me really just, 'Don't worry about what you can't control. Your ability is your ability. If you run fast, you're gonna' run fast. If you run slow -- slow. If you're healthy, you're healthy. If you're not...' So just keep my head up and keep working hard."
After telling us that his fastest time of the day was 4.6s, Thompson was asked what he thought he could run. He flatly stated, "Faster," giving those of us holding microphones a good laugh.
Tyson Alualu has been talking to teams about playing both the 3-4 and the 4-3 as an end, with one team also mentioning he could be moved to the middle in certain situations. Alualu ran a 4.87s 40-yard dash at the combine, so he was told not to run at Cal's Pro Day. He also improved upon his 21 rep's in the bench press at the combine to 24.
"I wanted to [run the 40], because I wanted to be with my teammates and do the things that they've been doing." said Alualu. "But coaches and agents told me not to." That's because a 4.87s 40-yard dash will likely prevent the former Cal defensive end from slipping past the third round in the draft. Mike Tepper later confirmed this when telling me that when a lineman runs in the 4.8's he raises his stock and when he runs in the 5.8's, he lowers it.
Speaking of Tepper, he ran the 40 and told me that he's timed at around the 5.25s range -- average for an offensive lineman. He would have liked to have benched, but he is suffering from a myriad of illnesses, notably strep throat.
At the combine, Tepper said he spoke with somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 teams and that he was told that he's rated somewhere in the middle of the pack. While there is never anything certain when it comes to the draft, NFL teams told him that he will certainly be drafted.
Despite his illness, Tepper was still his jovial self -- especially when talking about the experience of being poked and prodded at the combine by gangs of doctors. "If you have a personal bubble, that stuff is crushed. Gone," said Tepper.
"You're laying there and they're just messing with you and asking you questions. It's like, you hear someone asking you questions [as he points to his right], but you're answering this way [as he points to his left]. You're bouncing questions off left and right. And then all of the sudden, he flips the light on for your X-rays, and like everybody is messing with you. And litterally, two seconds later, 30 people disburse, and they end up in front of that table. You're just laying there, and you look up, and you're like, 'Where is everybody?'"
Apparently, Jahvid Best did everything he needed to do at the combine because he was told not to do anything at Pro Day. Although he isn't completely happy with his combine-best 4.35s 40-yard dash for running backs at the combine, there was no need to prove he had the speed that everyone is already aware of.
Best was at Memorial Stadium prepared to perform running back drills, but when the time came he was told they [the scouts] didn't need him to do them -- a sign that he's a lock for the first round in April. "I don't know how I feel about it," said Best about the position drills being scrapped. "I was ready to go, so I definitely feel a little disappointed. But that's good news again."
Best has workouts scheduled with the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Commanders later this month, and while he doesn't care which team drafts him, he didn't shy away from telling reporters that his favorite team is the local Oakland Raiders. With the release of Fargas late last week and the speed he's shown, it's not entirely impossible that he could get that wish with the eigth pick of the draft.
All-time favorite Raider? Charles Woodson. When he interviewed with the team at the combine, he spoke with former Cal offensive line coach Jim Michalczik and running backs coach Kelly Skipper, who played for Fresno State while Cal head coach Jeff Tedford was a volunteer assistant coach there.
Other players at Pro Day hoping to turn heads were former Cal players Erik Robertson (guard) and Bernard Hicks (safety). They worked out with recent grad's Kevin Bemoll, Devin Bishop, Nyan Boateng, Marcus Ezeff, Brian Holley, Brett Johnson, Chet Teofilo, Verran Tucker, and Eddie Young.
It turns out that it was a day for Cal safeties. Hicks put up a 40-time of 4.54s by one scout's stopwatch and Cal is reporting that Ezeff ran his in 4.40s and Johnson ran a blistering 4.30s sprint. All three have game tape. Ironically, it was Johnson that replaced Hicks during his senior season due to injuries and last season Ezeff was replaced due to academic requirements conflicting wtih practice.
Current players Marvin Jones and Jarred Price attended the event along with other current Cal players. Other notables at the event was Tedford briefly and former Cal stars Zack Follett, Lavelle Hawkins, Desmond Bishop, and Worrell Williams.
Oddest moment for me was after Chet Teofilo ran the 40-yard dash at five-plus seconds. One scout turned to another, showed him his stopwatch and said, "You see this time? Just toss it out, because this guy can play." Teofilo could have used that scout to make his case to line coach Jim Marshall last season when he was relegated to backup duties...or maybe he thought Teofilo was Alualu.
Cal Pro Day release
Cal Pro Day player quotes
2010 Schedule change
Cal announced today that due to a conflict with Stanford's midterms next season, they had to reschedule that game along with three others. Click here for the release.
