WOLF PACK: Johnson FB surprises the field at NFL's pro day

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WOLF PACK: Johnson surprises the field at NFL's pro day
By Dan Hinxman • dhinxman@rgj.com • March 26, 2009




It was Jerome Johnson who captured their attention.

The largest scout turnout since Nate Burleson's pro day in 2003 ran 10 former Wolf Pack players through a series of physical tests, including shuttles, the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and bench press.

Johnson, who lined up at both outside and inside linebacker in his three seasons at Nevada, is working out at fullback.

"He just wowed everybody," said Johnson's agent, Bardia Ghahremani of International Sports Agency. "Nobody expected that. We knew he could play fullback. (It's his) natural position. A 6-foot, 260-pound fullback who can run a 4.7 (seconds in the 40) is hard to find. He opened some eyes. I'm so proud of him I can't even tell you."

Ghahremani said four NFL teams expressed interest in Johnson prior to pro day. After Johnson ran routes and ran his 40, other scouts took notice and they held a special drill just for running backs at the end of the session specifically for Johnson. There were no other running backs at pro day.

"The rest of the teams were like, 'Where'd this kid come from?'" Ghahremani said.

Ghahremani said more NFL teams are going back to using fullbacks.

"(They want the player) who can hammer you, get the short yardage and clear the road for the star running back," he said.

New York Giants scout Jerry Shaw, who was here mainly to see Mauga, said Johnson did well for himself.

"People didn't have him on their radar," Shaw said. "He worked out pretty well. He ran well for a big guy, and he caught the ball really well."

Johnson smiled at the notion of someday blocking for his brother, Jeremiah Johnson, who was Oregon's starting running back last season and is a likely draft pick in April. Jerome Johnson began his career at Oregon as a fullback before transferring to Nevada.

"That would be excellent," he said. "That would be a dream come true."

 

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Others worked out well, too, specifically Mauga and defensive tackle Mundrae Clifton. There were eight seniors from the 2008 season who took part. The other four were offensive lineman Dominic Green, safety Uche Anyanwu, receiver/return specialist Brian Fludd and placekicker Brett Jaekle. Two others who participated -- tight end Adam Bishop and safety Justin Jackson -- were seniors in 2007.



Scouts were most eager to see Mauga, who was unable to take part in the NFL Combine in February because he had not fully recovered from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. He still is not 100 percent and did not do the bench-press drills, but he did manage to impress.

"He worked out pretty well," Shaw said. "(The bench press) is something he can't worry about. If you're interested in a kid, you don't make him do it and risk re-injury."

Mauga, a 6-2, 246-pound inside linebacker, will have another obstacle to overcome. He's having microdiskectomy surgery today to fix a bulging disk and will be sidelined for 8 to 10 weeks, he said. Still, Shaw said he believes Mauga will get drafted.

The 6-2 Clifton, who is up to 305 barrel-chested pounds, ran a 4.81 40, his personal best, according to strength and conditioning coach Matt Eck. Last year, USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis ran a 5.07 at the Trojans' pro day, and LSU's Glenn Dorsey, who was the top defensive tackle taken in the 2008 draft (fifth overall), ran a 5.13 and a 5.12.

"The scouts were impressed with Mundrae, how he ran the 40," Eck said. "He did better than everyone expected."

Clifton said he felt that overall he did pretty well, but he hoped to do 35 reps of the 225-pound bench press. He managed to get in 30.

Mitchell and Bishop both tweaked a hamstring during drills and had to shut it down. Bishop, who had a meniscus injury last season and was very limited at pro day, has improved on his 40 time and broad jump significantly since last year. He said he will workout with the 49ers next month.

Mitchell was probably the least hurt by getting hurt because he can rely on his performance at the combine. Still, he said he was disappointed he could not do more. His scout, Jack Scharf, said he improved on his vertical jump and broad jump Wednesday. Media were not allowed to view the indoor workouts.

"Marko didn't do a whole lot," Eck said. "But he had a really good showing at the combine. You don't want to do anything to hurt yourself here."