Ten senior members of the CU football team from this past fall participated in Pro Timing Day on Friday morning in front of 21 profession football scouts from 18 teams.
The ten seniors were center Mark Fenton, guard Brian Daniels, safety JJ Billingsley, cornerbacks Lorenzo Sims and Terry Washington, defensive end Abraham Wright, linebacker Thaddeus Washington, running back Mell Holliday, wide receiver Blake Mackey and place kicker Mason Crosby.
Of the ten seniors that worked out, Crosby is the odds-on favorite to be taken first in the NFL draft in April. After Crosby, the most seniors garnering attention at Pro day were Daniels, Fenton and Wright.
Wright, who recorded 11.5 sacks during his senior season, stood out during the session when he ran a 4.60 forty yard dash, which is a very good time for a defensive end. According to Wright, it’s always a little more comfortable running on a surface you’re used to.
“The good thing is I had a few weeks to come out and prepare on this surface. At the (NFL) combine you show up and have never been on that surface so being familiar with the surroundings here gives you an advantage,” Wright said.
A concern NFL teams may have with Wright is his size: 6 feet 2 inches, 234 pounds. In an effort to show off some versatility, scouts had Wright run through some linebacker drills. Among those watching Wright was Miami Dolphins General Manager Randy Mueller.
“I’ve talked to a few teams and they’ve had me (do linebacker and defensive line drills). You just have to come out and be prepared to do both,” Wright said.
Daniels also got some heavy looks while going through extensive line drills for over 30 minutes in front of representatives from the New York Giants and Detroit Lions. Daniels was a four-year starter for CU where he received multiple Big 12 Conference honors.
Daniels timed in at 5.03 in the forty and completed 22 repetitions on the bench press at 225 pounds. The scouts watching over Daniels also had him taking reps at center.
Daniels, Wright and the other eight players at timing day started off in the weight room where their height, weight, hand size, arm size, vertical jump, broad jump and bench press numbers were recorded. The players then moved into Balch Fieldhouse to run their forty-yard dashes. After the Fieldhouse, the players went onto CU’s practice fields, where they were timed in the shuttle and did individual drills.
Terry Washington, when asked if the experience was a little nerve-wracking, said it definitely could be.
“Yeah, I was a little nervous. I didn’t get any sleep last night,” Washington said.
The lack of sleep didn’t appear to limit the athletic senior. Washington was the fastest at the workout as he timed in with the best numbers in six of the day’s tests. Washington, who did drills at cornerback and wide receiver, recorded the fastest forty time of the day with a speed of 4.41 seconds.
Washington has been working out five days a week since the beginning of the year in an effort to get ready for timing day. For him, it’s all about getting someone to notice you.
“Hopefully (once scouts) see my numbers, someone will invite me in because I’m a pretty good athlete. Hopefully they see my size, my speed and my strength so I can compete with people at the top level,” Washington said.
When asked if scouts were looking at him as a corner, Washington said he wants teams to know he’s willing to play wherever.
“I was playing receiver out there too. Hopefully somebody will look at me and say this guy’s an athlete. I’m doing punt return and kick return. I’ll play every position,” Washington said.
Notes:
Scouts were also looking over Mark Fenton, who was hampered with a leg injury during his senior season, extensively, but he was limited due to a calf injury… Linebacker Thaddeus Washington measured in his height and weight and did the bench press but did not participate in any of the other exercises because of an injury.Mason Crosby was booting kickoffs into the end zone with regularity as everyone else was done with their drills. The Giants scout was taking particular interest in the All-American kicker.Mueller, the Dolphins GM, talked to Wright one-on-one for approximately 20 minutes following his drills.
Fastest Times:
Forty-yard dash: Terry Washington: 4.41 seconds
Bench press: Daniels and Thaddeus Washington: 22 repetitions
Vertical Jump: Terry Washington: 38.5 inches
Broad Jump: Terry Washington: 9-foot-11-inches
Contact Campus Press staff writer Stirling Wade at stirling.wade@thecampuspress.com.
