Kent State
The Kent State workout is over, and tight end Casey Pierce, a Combine snub, performed exceedingly well.
Pierce, who measured 6-3 1/2, 244 pounds at the Senior Bowl, ran 40 times between 4.69 to 4.74 on a fast turf. His other marks included 36.5 inches in the vertical jump, 9-10 in the broad jump, 19 reps on the bench and a short shuttle time of 4.22. He zipped through the 3-cone in hand times which ranged between 6.83 to 6.87. Only one tight end at the Combine was comparable: Blake Bell who ran a time of 6.85s.
Pierce looked good catching the ball for the 17 teams on hand, including Baltimore Ravens tight end coach Rich Angulo. The Philadelphia Eagles are scheduled to work out out Pierce in the coming days.
Montana
A number of pro days fill the schedule on Tuesday including UCLA, which will be closely watched. We expect to have news on the Bruins' pro day and the doings of Brett Hundley sometime during the afternoon.
Finishing up on Montana from Monday, there were several impressive performances.
Teams were impressed by the overall athleticism Zack Wagenmann showed. After improving on several of his marks from the combine, Wagenmann ran both defensive line and linebacker drills, looking good in each. Most leaving the workout felt Wagenmann secured himself as a last-day pick, and he met with both the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers during the previous two days.
I reported on the workout of Vaetuitonga Takai yesterday, and some feel the big defensive tackle may squeeze into the very late picks of Round 7 and at the very least, assured himself of being signed after the 2015 NFL Draft.
Ditto for running back Travon Van. The diminutive back measured 5097/195, ran 40 times of 4.55 and 4.48 seconds, posted a short shuttle time of 4.08 seconds and a 3-cone drill of 6.78 seconds. His vertical jump measured 33 inches, and he completed 16 reps on the bench. Van looked good in ball-carrying drills and terrific catching passes. He was lined up in the slot and on the flanks, and ran great routes besides catching everything. Afterward, Van fielded nearly a dozen punts and looked good.
One of the biggest surprises of the day was Australian punter Rhys Felton of Carroll College in Montana.
First, the background. Felton attended Grossmont JC in Arizona and was headed for Iowa State on a scholarship, but visa issues held things up and he finally landed at Carroll. Last season, he averaged 40.7 years on 45 punts, with a long of 70 yards and three times booted the ball longer than 50 yards.
After measuring 6030/233lbs yesterday, Felton put on a punting clinic. I'm told not only did he punt the air out of the ball, but his directional punting was phenomenal. Felton consistently placed the ball inside the 5- and 10-yard line when asked, putting reverse spin on the ball. He's sure to be signed after the 2015 NFL Draft.
Alabama
Every team was represented at Alabama pro day and several unheralded prospects stood out, possibly none more so than Xzavier Dickson.
The linebacker timed right around 4.7 seconds in the 40, with some having him as low as 4.68 seconds. This is a marked improvement from the combine (4.73 seconds), and afterward, Dickson looked terrific in linebacker drills. He was fluid moving in every direction and very quick. One linebacker coach told me he was impressed with the way Dickson takes direction.
Blake Sims helped himself today. Not so much at quarterback as Sims lined up at running back and in the slot, catching passes. He also fielded punts with the Arizona Cardinals afterward and is meeting one-on-one with the New Orleans Saints. The overall feedback was positive.
Unheralded receiver Deandrew White, whom I grade as a priority free agent, timed 4.40 seconds in the 40 and caught the ball very well. That time is surprising as scouts had him as a 4.5-second receiver and he really does not play to that speed.
Amari Cooper sat on his 40 time but posted a 34-inch vertical jump, 1 inch better than the combine, and looked exceptional catching the ball. His quickness and smoothness stood out. He looked off on a few routes, floating on exit, but overall it was impressive work for Cooper.
The times for T.J. Yeldon have been all over the place. I'm sure they will settle somewhere in the low 4.5-second range, which is a marked improvement from the combine.
Landon Collins stood on most of his combine marks but participated in position drills. He was solid but not outstanding and definitely did not look like the top-12 pick some have tabbed him as.
Offensive lineman Leon Brown timed 5.97 seconds in the 40 after tipping the scales at 333 pounds. A sprained AC joint kept him from participating in the bench press.
Safety Nick Perry ran poorly (4.62 seconds) but looked solid in position drills.
Mile College cornerback Travis Lee, who met with the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, is at Alabama's pro day and will be meeting with a contingent from the New Orleans Saints.
USC
Leonard Williams was dominant in drills today. He was explosive, powerful and looked very athletic. His balance and body control are exceptional. The Tennessee Titans spent a lot of time with Williams.
Offensive lineman Aundrey timed 5.15 seconds in the 40 which is not a surprise. As a sophomore, looked terrific at left tackle before struggling in 2013 after moving to guard. Last year, he barely saw the field but possesses the underlying ability to play at the next level if he puts his mind to it.
Linebacker Hayes Pullard was slightly better in the 40, timing 4.71 seconds (4.73 seconds at combine).
Washington State
Defensive tackle Xavier Cooper is sitting on his combine numbers but doing position drills. I'm told he looks outstanding, with one source describing him as a "beast." Cooper had a hand-timed best of 4.82 seconds in the 40 at the combine after weighing in at 293 pounds.
Vince Mayle, who broke his thumb during the Senior Bowl but still participated in everything but the bench press at the combine, is in a cast that comes off on March 20th. He will run the 40 for scouts on April 1st. Mayle ran at the combine, but the inability to put pressure on his right thumb hampered his start and he timed poorly.
Underrated defensive tackle Kalafitoni Pole, a lineman who stands out on film, measured 6-1 5/8, 311 pounds, posted a vertical jump of 29 inches and completed 35 reps on the bench press.
A bit more on the workout of Chris Bonner at Colorado pro day yesterday: He measured 6-6 7/8, 231 pounds and threw 60 passes with four hitting the ground, though I'm told three were outright drops by running backs.
I'm not really big into completion percentage on a pro day, but it must be pointed out Bonner was throwing to just one of this CSU-Pueblo teammates, as the rest of the pass-catchers were basically foreign to him. I'm told he did throw a pair of 60-yard strikes downfield, and all in attendance gave him positive reviews. As of now, the Denver Broncos are displaying the greatest interest in Bonner.
Michigan
I'm told Devin Funchess looked good catching the ball, which is no surprise. His route running was improved, but still needs a bit of work. On the other hand, Devin Gardner had a number of drops and will probably fall out of the seven rounds.
Linebacker Jake Ryan looked solid in all his position drills. His hip turn needs a bit of work, but overall, he received positive reviews. The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings both sent linebacker coaches.
As tweeted earlier, Vikings' general manager Rick Spielman was in attendance. Viking fans will want to consider both Funchess and Ryan at some point in their team's mock.
Numbers I'm receiving for Ramon Taylor include 40 times which clocked as fast as 4.38, 15 reps on the bench, a vertical jump of 33.5 inches, 4.11s in the short shuttle and 6.75 in the 3-cone.
Former NFL punter Zoltan Mesko was on hand and worked out, hoping to catch on with another team.
Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt · 3h3 hours ago
Tony Pauline @TonyPauline · 22m22 minutes ago
Bryan Fischer @BryanDFischer · 35m35 minutes ago
Brian Costello @BrianCoz · 4m4 minutes ago
Dane Brugler @dpbrugler · 23m23 minutes ago
Rich Cimini @RichCimini · 13m13 minutes ago
Connor Hughes @Connor_J_Hughes · 11m11 minutes ago
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet · 5m5 minutes ago
Damien Woody