Photo by: Eric Evans Photography
Ducks Spread Their Wings At Pro Day
03/15/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon hosted its annual Pro Day for NFL scouts Thursday, when Kani Benoit and Arrion Springs lit up the stopwatches to impress NFL scouts.
Arrion Springs had some numbers on his side.
The Oregon cornerback had 12 passes broken up as a sophomore in 2015, and another 19 last fall as a senior, both of which led the Pac-12 Conference. The analytics web site Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of 88.2 out of 100 in 2017, seventh nationally among FBS cornerbacks.
Still, there were questions about his long-term potential. Springs wasn't extended an invitation to a postseason all-star game, nor to the NFL Scouting Combine. Through the grapevine, Springs heard whispers it was another number that scouts doubted — his 40-yard dash time.
"They thought I was a 4.5, 4.6 guy," Springs said. "… All the teams told my agent, if you want to be a draft pick, you gotta run like one."
Springs did that Thursday, running himself onto the radar of NFL scouts and stealing the show at Oregon's annual Pro Day workout for draft prospects. With combine participants Tyrell Crosby, Royce Freeman and Tanner Carew on hand but limiting their activity to position drills, the stage was set for other UO alumni to grab the spotlight, and several did.
The fastest 40 of the day was by Springs, who was clocked under 4.5 seconds on both runs, and under 4.4 by some hand-held timers. Freeman's backup the last four years, Kani Benoit, also was clocked under 4.5 by some of the few dozen scouts on hand, both players blowing away their expectations for the pre-draft showcase.
"I'm extremely pleased," Benoit said. "(The NFL scouts) were excited. I got a lot of 'good jobs' and personal talks. We'll see where it leads."
Benoit and Springs were two of the fifteen 2017 Oregon seniors to participate in Thursday's workout, joined by alumni Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Dwayne Stanford, Matt Wogan and Dakota Prukop. Crosby and Freeman were the marquee names, and all eyes were on them during the position drills that followed the speed and strength testing. But their presence provided a platform from which other Ducks could take flight, and some did just that.
Offensive lineman Doug Brenner did 30 reps of the bench press at the standard weight of 225 points, leading all participants. Defensive back Ty Griffin combined 18 reps in the bench with a 39-inch vertical leap. Safety Tyree Robinson broad jumped 10 feet, 10 inches.
Crosby met with media after his workout, and just a few feet away stood Springs, huddled up with four NFL scouts suddenly interested in more information about the Texas native.
"I thought he should have gone to the combine," Crosby said. "To come out here and prove a lot of people wrong about his talent was awesome to see."
Springs said the lack of an all-star game or combine invitation motivated his training sessions in recent weeks. He'd been electronically timed in the 4.4-second range for the 40 in training, so he knew flirting with sub-4.4 was possible.
By running in the 4.4s and also completing 18 reps in the bench, Springs on Thursday paired speed with strength to an extent only one cornerback did at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
"It felt good," the loquacious honorable mention all-Pac-12 corner said. "I'm gonna go get me a steak or something to celebrate."
It was swearing off steaks and sweets that allowed for Benoit's fast time Thursday, he said. It took "three months sacrificing food and fun" to get trim enough to show out so well on Pro Day.
The smile on Benoit's face afterward made it clear the sacrifice was well worth it.
"To do as well as I did, I'm really happy about that," he said.
Springs' post-workout meeting with the quartet of scouts was followed by two others, both one-on-one. Though he'd had some contact with teams prior to Thursday, many still sought basic information, such as his hometown.
"I'm starting from zero," he said, "and just hoping to build from there."
On Thursday, he put down a pretty solid foundation.
The Oregon cornerback had 12 passes broken up as a sophomore in 2015, and another 19 last fall as a senior, both of which led the Pac-12 Conference. The analytics web site Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of 88.2 out of 100 in 2017, seventh nationally among FBS cornerbacks.
Still, there were questions about his long-term potential. Springs wasn't extended an invitation to a postseason all-star game, nor to the NFL Scouting Combine. Through the grapevine, Springs heard whispers it was another number that scouts doubted — his 40-yard dash time.
"They thought I was a 4.5, 4.6 guy," Springs said. "… All the teams told my agent, if you want to be a draft pick, you gotta run like one."
Springs did that Thursday, running himself onto the radar of NFL scouts and stealing the show at Oregon's annual Pro Day workout for draft prospects. With combine participants Tyrell Crosby, Royce Freeman and Tanner Carew on hand but limiting their activity to position drills, the stage was set for other UO alumni to grab the spotlight, and several did.
The fastest 40 of the day was by Springs, who was clocked under 4.5 seconds on both runs, and under 4.4 by some hand-held timers. Freeman's backup the last four years, Kani Benoit, also was clocked under 4.5 by some of the few dozen scouts on hand, both players blowing away their expectations for the pre-draft showcase.
"I'm extremely pleased," Benoit said. "(The NFL scouts) were excited. I got a lot of 'good jobs' and personal talks. We'll see where it leads."
Benoit and Springs were two of the fifteen 2017 Oregon seniors to participate in Thursday's workout, joined by alumni Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Dwayne Stanford, Matt Wogan and Dakota Prukop. Crosby and Freeman were the marquee names, and all eyes were on them during the position drills that followed the speed and strength testing. But their presence provided a platform from which other Ducks could take flight, and some did just that.
Offensive lineman Doug Brenner did 30 reps of the bench press at the standard weight of 225 points, leading all participants. Defensive back Ty Griffin combined 18 reps in the bench with a 39-inch vertical leap. Safety Tyree Robinson broad jumped 10 feet, 10 inches.
Crosby met with media after his workout, and just a few feet away stood Springs, huddled up with four NFL scouts suddenly interested in more information about the Texas native.
"I thought he should have gone to the combine," Crosby said. "To come out here and prove a lot of people wrong about his talent was awesome to see."
Springs said the lack of an all-star game or combine invitation motivated his training sessions in recent weeks. He'd been electronically timed in the 4.4-second range for the 40 in training, so he knew flirting with sub-4.4 was possible.
By running in the 4.4s and also completing 18 reps in the bench, Springs on Thursday paired speed with strength to an extent only one cornerback did at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
"It felt good," the loquacious honorable mention all-Pac-12 corner said. "I'm gonna go get me a steak or something to celebrate."
It was swearing off steaks and sweets that allowed for Benoit's fast time Thursday, he said. It took "three months sacrificing food and fun" to get trim enough to show out so well on Pro Day.
The smile on Benoit's face afterward made it clear the sacrifice was well worth it.
"To do as well as I did, I'm really happy about that," he said.
Springs' post-workout meeting with the quartet of scouts was followed by two others, both one-on-one. Though he'd had some contact with teams prior to Thursday, many still sought basic information, such as his hometown.
"I'm starting from zero," he said, "and just hoping to build from there."
On Thursday, he put down a pretty solid foundation.
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