I've been away, but couldn't stay away, when I realized Penn State was holding its Pro Day today. I called a few people and got a special direct flight back, cutting my vacation short, and walked into Holuba Hall smelling bad, unshaven, and wearing the same clothes from my nine hour flight last night.
And really, I'm only partially kidding.
So let's knock out some notes from Pro Day today, just the absolute basics, before I start running through photos and video:
- Tom Bradley was back, Steelers pullover and everything, in his new role as DBs coach for the black and gold. It was great to see him.
- Saquon Barkley, in the house. I feel like more time was spent talking about the impending birth of his first child - gender a surprise - than anything else, but he did explain that he didn't do any work today because no running backs coaches were in attendance. He had previously considered doing some work, had they been. He, predictably, was disappointed in his combine numbers, noting that he was a 30-35 rep guy on the bench until he had a "setback" that prevented him from working on it, leading into the combine, and his 40 time was "average."
OK, Saquon.
Anyway, he said and did all the right things, again, even though he didn't do anything physical today beyond amping up his teammates. He did say he's hopping on a plane back to Scranton if his child is born on draft day. If I'm remembering correctly, the due date is April 14. The first night of the draft is April 26. He intends to be in Dallas for the draft.
- DaeSean Hamilton said he heard he clocked a 4.47 in the 40, which he was quite pleased with. It was really the overriding question about his NFL readiness, he said, and he felt like the work that he's put in the past six weeks really paid off with that number. Barkley and Mike Gesicki were jacked up for him after the run, which really just furthers Hamilton's climb up the draft board. He also suggested that by waiting on the 40 until today, rather than at the Combine, he was able to better concentrate on his route running and the other things he did in Indianapolis.
- Nearly every NFL franchise appeared to be represented at Pro Day, and many teams appeared to have multiple reps there. And it makes sense, with so many under the radar guys participating that might end up getting a look outside the draft.
The complete list of participants included:
Marcus Allen, Troy Apke, Saquon Barkley, Saeed Blacknall, Jason Cabinda, Christian Campbell, Colin Castagna, Tyrell Chavis, Curtis Cothran, Parker Cothren, Desi Davis, Tyler Davis, Mike Gesicki, Grant Haley, DaeSean Hamilton, Brendan Mahon, Josh McPhearson, Paris Palmer, Tom Pancoast, Brandon Smith and Mitchell Vallone.
- I was a little surprised to see Gesicki run routes. That would seem to me to be an area NFL teams wouldn't have many questions about.
- Colin Castagna is a Greek God. Just absolutely chiseled.
- Josh McPhearson was happy with his 4.47 today.
- Christian Campbell seemed to have a hiccup or two in some of the DB drills they ran, but otherwise my impressions were that he had a good day. Certainly the 11-3 broad and 41-inch vertical were good looks.
- Parker Cothren is getting ready to visit some teams. He didn't specify which, but he indicated he had a bunch of conversations with teams at the East-West Shrine Game.
- Troy Apke, always a man of few words, was all smiles about his ascent through this process. From the NFLPA All-Star MVP performance to his Combine 40, he said it's been nice. Also, he said he'd been invited to the Combine even before the Fiesta Bowl.
- I didn't get a chance to talk to Saeed Blacknall, but he again looked the part physically and seemed to have a good positional drill performance.
Results are not yet in from the Penn State site for measurables, times and reps, but we'll get all of that posted as it comes in. As always, if there are any questions for things I didn't touch on or maybe forgot, I'm happy to answer them here.
And really, I'm only partially kidding.
So let's knock out some notes from Pro Day today, just the absolute basics, before I start running through photos and video:
- Tom Bradley was back, Steelers pullover and everything, in his new role as DBs coach for the black and gold. It was great to see him.
- Saquon Barkley, in the house. I feel like more time was spent talking about the impending birth of his first child - gender a surprise - than anything else, but he did explain that he didn't do any work today because no running backs coaches were in attendance. He had previously considered doing some work, had they been. He, predictably, was disappointed in his combine numbers, noting that he was a 30-35 rep guy on the bench until he had a "setback" that prevented him from working on it, leading into the combine, and his 40 time was "average."
OK, Saquon.
Anyway, he said and did all the right things, again, even though he didn't do anything physical today beyond amping up his teammates. He did say he's hopping on a plane back to Scranton if his child is born on draft day. If I'm remembering correctly, the due date is April 14. The first night of the draft is April 26. He intends to be in Dallas for the draft.
- DaeSean Hamilton said he heard he clocked a 4.47 in the 40, which he was quite pleased with. It was really the overriding question about his NFL readiness, he said, and he felt like the work that he's put in the past six weeks really paid off with that number. Barkley and Mike Gesicki were jacked up for him after the run, which really just furthers Hamilton's climb up the draft board. He also suggested that by waiting on the 40 until today, rather than at the Combine, he was able to better concentrate on his route running and the other things he did in Indianapolis.
- Nearly every NFL franchise appeared to be represented at Pro Day, and many teams appeared to have multiple reps there. And it makes sense, with so many under the radar guys participating that might end up getting a look outside the draft.
The complete list of participants included:
Marcus Allen, Troy Apke, Saquon Barkley, Saeed Blacknall, Jason Cabinda, Christian Campbell, Colin Castagna, Tyrell Chavis, Curtis Cothran, Parker Cothren, Desi Davis, Tyler Davis, Mike Gesicki, Grant Haley, DaeSean Hamilton, Brendan Mahon, Josh McPhearson, Paris Palmer, Tom Pancoast, Brandon Smith and Mitchell Vallone.
- I was a little surprised to see Gesicki run routes. That would seem to me to be an area NFL teams wouldn't have many questions about.
- Colin Castagna is a Greek God. Just absolutely chiseled.
- Josh McPhearson was happy with his 4.47 today.
- Christian Campbell seemed to have a hiccup or two in some of the DB drills they ran, but otherwise my impressions were that he had a good day. Certainly the 11-3 broad and 41-inch vertical were good looks.
- Parker Cothren is getting ready to visit some teams. He didn't specify which, but he indicated he had a bunch of conversations with teams at the East-West Shrine Game.
- Troy Apke, always a man of few words, was all smiles about his ascent through this process. From the NFLPA All-Star MVP performance to his Combine 40, he said it's been nice. Also, he said he'd been invited to the Combine even before the Fiesta Bowl.
- I didn't get a chance to talk to Saeed Blacknall, but he again looked the part physically and seemed to have a good positional drill performance.
Results are not yet in from the Penn State site for measurables, times and reps, but we'll get all of that posted as it comes in. As always, if there are any questions for things I didn't touch on or maybe forgot, I'm happy to answer them here.
