PRO DAY at SMU
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 3:16 pmEight current and former SMU players took part in SMU's annual Pro Day Thursday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
The players who took part were: linebacker Will Bonilla, tight end Vincent Chase, running back/kick returner Jessie Henderson, running back Andrew McKinney, punter Thomas Morstead, deep snapper Jackson Taylor, tight end (and college offensive lineman) Tommy Poynter and former SMU wide receiver Bobby Chase.
Scouts from six teams were in attendance: the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.
The players went through a series of drills for the scouts: vertical jump, broad jump, flexibility measurement, bench press, 40-yard dash, pro shuttle and three-cone shuttle.
Bonilla had the best day of testing, finishing first among the eight players in the vertical jump (33 inches), broad jump (9 feet, 9 inches), bench press (25 repetitions at 225 pounds and just missing out on the fastest time in the 40 (4.52 - Henderson ran a 4.50).
Bonilla might have done even more bench press reps had he not had to re-start. After five repetitions, he clipped the stand with the bar, unbalancing the weight on each side. He said he already "felt tight" in the chest, but the scouts allowed him to rest a little and then re-start.
Morstead only lifted, choosing to accept his numbers in the other events from the NFL Combine. Morstead lifted 225 pounds 21 times (two more than Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith, who started the season projected as perhaps the top pick in the entire NFL Draft later this month). The scouts seemed most impressed by Henderson, whose 18 reps at 225 pounds tied McKinney for the third-highest total.
How much can be gleaned from the running times was unclear, as the players ran through incredibly stiff wind, which seemingly stopped them in their tracks when they were running into the wind. It also affected Morstead, who followed the running drills with a punting exhibition. When he had the wind at his back, Morstead was crushing bombs of 60 yards or more; when he faced into the wind, his punts often got caught in gusts and either fell very short or sailed off to one side of the field or the other.
The players who took part were: linebacker Will Bonilla, tight end Vincent Chase, running back/kick returner Jessie Henderson, running back Andrew McKinney, punter Thomas Morstead, deep snapper Jackson Taylor, tight end (and college offensive lineman) Tommy Poynter and former SMU wide receiver Bobby Chase.
Scouts from six teams were in attendance: the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.
The players went through a series of drills for the scouts: vertical jump, broad jump, flexibility measurement, bench press, 40-yard dash, pro shuttle and three-cone shuttle.
Bonilla had the best day of testing, finishing first among the eight players in the vertical jump (33 inches), broad jump (9 feet, 9 inches), bench press (25 repetitions at 225 pounds and just missing out on the fastest time in the 40 (4.52 - Henderson ran a 4.50).
Bonilla might have done even more bench press reps had he not had to re-start. After five repetitions, he clipped the stand with the bar, unbalancing the weight on each side. He said he already "felt tight" in the chest, but the scouts allowed him to rest a little and then re-start.
Morstead only lifted, choosing to accept his numbers in the other events from the NFL Combine. Morstead lifted 225 pounds 21 times (two more than Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith, who started the season projected as perhaps the top pick in the entire NFL Draft later this month). The scouts seemed most impressed by Henderson, whose 18 reps at 225 pounds tied McKinney for the third-highest total.
How much can be gleaned from the running times was unclear, as the players ran through incredibly stiff wind, which seemingly stopped them in their tracks when they were running into the wind. It also affected Morstead, who followed the running drills with a punting exhibition. When he had the wind at his back, Morstead was crushing bombs of 60 yards or more; when he faced into the wind, his punts often got caught in gusts and either fell very short or sailed off to one side of the field or the other.
