Today, nine seniors and a former Buff (Thaddaeus Washington) participated in the Colorado Pro Day in their attempt to fulfill a life long dream of playing in the NFL. It was no secret that CU didn't send any representatives to the NFL combine. Many thought DT George Hypolite should have been invited as he was being discussed as a draft pick after his junior season. Other players like LB Brad Jones and C Daniel Sanders were border line invites. Regardless, today was their chance to impress thirteen scouts from the league. We don't have definitive results for all players available from NFL.com but here are a few:
George Hypolite, DL: At 6-0 7/8, 299, he ran the 40 in 5.05 and 5.04, had a 32-inch vertical jump, 8-foot, 10-inch long jump, ran 4.72 in the short shuttle, 7.66 in the three-cone drill and did 32 reps in the bench press.
" Maurice Lucas, DE: At 6-3 ¾, 262, he ran the 40 in 4.88 and 4.92, had a 28-inch vertical jump, 9-foot, 8-inch long jump, ran 4.77 in the short shuttle, 7.48 in the three-cone drill and did 20 reps in the bench press.
" Pat Williams, WR: At 6-1 ½, 204, he ran the 40 in 4.55 and 4.52, had a 38-inch vertical jump, 11-foot long jump, ran 4.19 in the short shuttle, and 6.93 in the three-cone drill.
Also, S Ryan Walters was said to have a pretty impressive day according to Gil Brandt at NFL.com:
Perhaps the most impressive of the group was DB Ryan Walters, whose father played QB for Colorado in the late '80s. Walters checked in at 5-foot-11, 206 pounds. He ran the 40 in 4.62 and 4.65, had a 35-inch vertical jump, 9-foot, 5-inch long jump, ran 4.33 in the short shuttle, 7.01 in the three-cone drill and did 27 reps in the bench press.
I have also heard that LB Brad Jones ran a sub 4.6 forty which would put him right up with Aaron Curry of Wake Forest, who is expected to go in the first couple of picks in the 2009 NFL draft (see NFL combine results here). If this is true, Jones would really help his draft stock. That is a very impressive time for a linebacker, especially one that didn't get invited to the combined. Their is a matter of subjectivity when analyzing forty times ran at an athletes home turf but nonetheless, this will send shock waves around the NFL.
As soon as I get all of the information from the day, I will get it to you along with where they would rank if they would have been in the combine. George Hypolite's 32 bench press reps would have ranked him tied for 6th among defensive lineman.
- In other news, it's official, the Colorado vs. Nebraska game will be played the day after Thanksgiving for the fourteenth straight year. The game will be on ABC in Boulder.
- A good article on QB Matt Ballenger in the Boulder Daily Camera about what it will take to be the starting quarterback this year for the Buffs. For Matt, it basically comes down to being a leader and showing consistency, nothing to do with his great physical tools. He will be a third year sophomore in 2009 so we should start seeing that natural progression into a team leader this season. I would love to have Ballenger really progress and take the job. He has the height and good feet but their is more to playing quarterback, something Matt has not shown the coaches on a consistent basis. He is definitely the wild card in the equation.