Penn State's 2019 Pro Day is in the books.
The Nittany Lions who worked out for 30 NFL scouts in attendance - every franchise was represented except for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals - plus a pair of CFL teams and the WWE, included:
Quarterback: Trace McSorley
Running backs: Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas
Wide receivers: DeAndre Thompkins, Jylil Reeder (East Stroudsburg University)
Cornerback: Amani Oruwariye
Safety: Nick Scott
Linebacker: Koa Farmer, Jake Cooper, Donnel Dix
Defensive tackle: Kevin Givens
Defensive end: Shareef Miller
Offensive line: Ryan Bates, Connor McGovern, Chasz Wright
Long snapper: Kyle Vasey
A few news, notes and observations to pass along from the day.
1) Saquon Barkley was in the house, and you couldn't miss him. Wearing a bright orange sweatshirt, courtesy of former teammate Marcus Allen's brand, Vibes By Chico, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's NFL Draft caught up with all of his former teammates, head coach James Franklin and the rest of the staff.
"That’s my guy at the end of the day. We played with each other for two years. I learned a lot from him. I made him better, he made me better a lot," said Sanders. "So just seeing him is cool. He always comes back. He’s cool. He’s a cool dude. I know he’s busy, but it was good to see him today."
His was a big presence, but obviously, he wasn't the only story of the day.
2) Trace McSorley threw well on the day. He had four incompletions working a variety of routes with Sanders, Thomas, Thompkins and Reeder, who was a wideout at East Stroudsburg. Two of the incompletions were drops, the other two were just off the mark. McSorley also had a few balls that were iffy that his targets managed to pull in some pretty acrobatic catches on. All-in-all, seemed to be a pretty good performance for him and, yes, he took some snaps under center as well as from the shotgun.
"I think being versatile with the footwork, working under center and working from the gun, having some pocket movement and throwing on the run….We wanted to show I could push the ball to the sideline with some deep comebacks, pushing it down the field with post and goes. Being able to show arm strength and getting it down the field. And trying to show off the accuracy. That’s something I’ve continued to work on and something I feel we’ve improved on," said McSorley. "It was a good array of everything. We were able to show the things that make me the player that I am from a physical standpoint."
3) Amani Oruwariye's 4.47 was a good enough time at the Combine for him to feel comfortable going with it, rather than running the 40 again Tuesday at Penn State's Pro Day.
"For the most part everyone said they were impressed with my 40," said Oruwariye. "For my size, me running sub-4.5 was pretty good. I’m happy with it, I thought I trained my butt off for that, and I’m happy with the results."
Oruwariye also said he was happy with his drills today.
4) I had a chance to speak briefly with Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who said he was really pleased with how the day went for Shareef Miller and Kevin Givens. He said that Miller was explosive and fast off the snap, and Givens demonstrated his power really well for the day. He was excited for those guys as they both gear up for the next phase of their careers.
That's all from me for the moment, but I plan to have much more from Pro Day when I get home.
The Nittany Lions who worked out for 30 NFL scouts in attendance - every franchise was represented except for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals - plus a pair of CFL teams and the WWE, included:
Quarterback: Trace McSorley
Running backs: Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas
Wide receivers: DeAndre Thompkins, Jylil Reeder (East Stroudsburg University)
Cornerback: Amani Oruwariye
Safety: Nick Scott
Linebacker: Koa Farmer, Jake Cooper, Donnel Dix
Defensive tackle: Kevin Givens
Defensive end: Shareef Miller
Offensive line: Ryan Bates, Connor McGovern, Chasz Wright
Long snapper: Kyle Vasey
A few news, notes and observations to pass along from the day.
1) Saquon Barkley was in the house, and you couldn't miss him. Wearing a bright orange sweatshirt, courtesy of former teammate Marcus Allen's brand, Vibes By Chico, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's NFL Draft caught up with all of his former teammates, head coach James Franklin and the rest of the staff.
"That’s my guy at the end of the day. We played with each other for two years. I learned a lot from him. I made him better, he made me better a lot," said Sanders. "So just seeing him is cool. He always comes back. He’s cool. He’s a cool dude. I know he’s busy, but it was good to see him today."
His was a big presence, but obviously, he wasn't the only story of the day.
2) Trace McSorley threw well on the day. He had four incompletions working a variety of routes with Sanders, Thomas, Thompkins and Reeder, who was a wideout at East Stroudsburg. Two of the incompletions were drops, the other two were just off the mark. McSorley also had a few balls that were iffy that his targets managed to pull in some pretty acrobatic catches on. All-in-all, seemed to be a pretty good performance for him and, yes, he took some snaps under center as well as from the shotgun.
"I think being versatile with the footwork, working under center and working from the gun, having some pocket movement and throwing on the run….We wanted to show I could push the ball to the sideline with some deep comebacks, pushing it down the field with post and goes. Being able to show arm strength and getting it down the field. And trying to show off the accuracy. That’s something I’ve continued to work on and something I feel we’ve improved on," said McSorley. "It was a good array of everything. We were able to show the things that make me the player that I am from a physical standpoint."
3) Amani Oruwariye's 4.47 was a good enough time at the Combine for him to feel comfortable going with it, rather than running the 40 again Tuesday at Penn State's Pro Day.
"For the most part everyone said they were impressed with my 40," said Oruwariye. "For my size, me running sub-4.5 was pretty good. I’m happy with it, I thought I trained my butt off for that, and I’m happy with the results."
Oruwariye also said he was happy with his drills today.
4) I had a chance to speak briefly with Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who said he was really pleased with how the day went for Shareef Miller and Kevin Givens. He said that Miller was explosive and fast off the snap, and Givens demonstrated his power really well for the day. He was excited for those guys as they both gear up for the next phase of their careers.
That's all from me for the moment, but I plan to have much more from Pro Day when I get home.
