Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Ducks Shine On Pro Day Stage
03/14/19 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon's four NFL Scouting Combine participants were joined by several more UO football alums at Thursday's workout for pro scouts.
The speed of Tony Brooks-James was on display for NFL scouts Thursday. So was the explosiveness of Dillon Mitchell, the length and burst of Justin Hollins and Jalen Jelks, and the versatility of Ugochukwu Amadi.
Representatives of 31 NFL teams were on hand Thursday for Oregon's annual Pro Day workout, and saw those Ducks display their natural abilities. What the scouts saw as well was the fruits of their careers with the Ducks, the work with coaches that helped them reach their current status: standing on the precipice of professional careers.
"You take pride in the process that helped get them here," UO coach Mario Cristobal said after Thursday's workout in the Moshofsky Center. "And then, here, the pride is in just watching them have an opportunity to fulfill this great opportunity, to go and have a chance at their dreams."
All four of Oregon's participants in last month's NFL Scouting Combine were on hand and participated Thursday. Edge rushers Hollins and Jelks did position drills, while Amadi and Mitchell participated in shuttle runs as well as the positions drills; former UO quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was in town to throw passes for the receivers and defensive backs.
The defensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Game, Hollins has seen his draft prospects skyrocket in recent weeks. He called Thursday's Pro Day "a chance to put the icing on the cake," as well as a chance to return to the campus where he developed from a three-star recruit into a pro prospect.
"I've developed a lot," Hollins said, reflecting on a five-year career that saw him play as a true freshman in the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship game. "Obviously I put on weight, and I've grown as a person, grown as a man. I wouldn't trade it for the world. My time here was a wonderful blessing, and I'm just thankful for it."
Hollins and Jelks thrived the past two seasons in a front seven coordinated by UO associate head coach Joe Salave'a. They were supported on the back end by Amadi, who joined assistant head coach Keith Heyward's safety group midway through the 2017 season, and thrived in the nickel position as a senior.
When he was first tried at nickel, Amadi said, "I just felt it was another way for me to get on the field." But then he saw how well it took advantage of his varied skills, including rushing the passer, stopping the run or covering out of the slot.
And then, just in the last few days, he saw the contracts being signed by NFL free agents who play the same role. Justin Coleman to the Detroit Lions, for four years and $36 million. Tyrann Mathieu to the Kansas City Chiefs, for three years and $42 million.
Now, Amadi said, "I feel like this defense I played in helped establish what I may play in the NFL. Right now, the sky's the limit for me."
The scouts on hand Thursday also got a look at UO prospects who weren't invited to the combine. Kano Dillon showed off his rare combination of size and athleticism, and was in the middle of a large huddle of NFL personnel following the workout. Jimmie Swain, a UO senior in 2017, returned to campus after putting off Pro Day for a year, and raced 40 yards in 4.58 seconds. His fellow inside linebacker Kaulana Apelu bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times.
And then there was running back Tony Brooks-James, who also didn't get an invitation to the combine, and thus "had a chip on my shoulder I had to brush off today."
Scouts are notoriously tight-lipped about the data they collect at Pro Day. One willing to share his times had Brooks-James at 4.45 seconds in the 40, but multiple unofficial stopwatches timed him a hair under 4.40 seconds. "TBJ" also blazed through the 20-yard shuttle in 4.17 seconds, and recorded a broad jump of 10 feet, 7 inches. He showed off impressive hands as well, in passing drills with Adams and along with 2017 senior Charles Nelson.
Was he pleased with how well he brushed that chip off his shoulder?
"Money," Brooks-James said simply. "Money."
Cristobal, taking in Pro Day on a day that fell between spring practices on Oregon's calendar, watched over all of it like a proud papa.
"Just to watch what they continue to develop into, and know that their best football's ahead of them, it's awesome," Cristobal said. "It really is."
Representatives of 31 NFL teams were on hand Thursday for Oregon's annual Pro Day workout, and saw those Ducks display their natural abilities. What the scouts saw as well was the fruits of their careers with the Ducks, the work with coaches that helped them reach their current status: standing on the precipice of professional careers.
"You take pride in the process that helped get them here," UO coach Mario Cristobal said after Thursday's workout in the Moshofsky Center. "And then, here, the pride is in just watching them have an opportunity to fulfill this great opportunity, to go and have a chance at their dreams."
All four of Oregon's participants in last month's NFL Scouting Combine were on hand and participated Thursday. Edge rushers Hollins and Jelks did position drills, while Amadi and Mitchell participated in shuttle runs as well as the positions drills; former UO quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was in town to throw passes for the receivers and defensive backs.
The defensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Game, Hollins has seen his draft prospects skyrocket in recent weeks. He called Thursday's Pro Day "a chance to put the icing on the cake," as well as a chance to return to the campus where he developed from a three-star recruit into a pro prospect.
"I've developed a lot," Hollins said, reflecting on a five-year career that saw him play as a true freshman in the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship game. "Obviously I put on weight, and I've grown as a person, grown as a man. I wouldn't trade it for the world. My time here was a wonderful blessing, and I'm just thankful for it."
Hollins and Jelks thrived the past two seasons in a front seven coordinated by UO associate head coach Joe Salave'a. They were supported on the back end by Amadi, who joined assistant head coach Keith Heyward's safety group midway through the 2017 season, and thrived in the nickel position as a senior.
When he was first tried at nickel, Amadi said, "I just felt it was another way for me to get on the field." But then he saw how well it took advantage of his varied skills, including rushing the passer, stopping the run or covering out of the slot.
And then, just in the last few days, he saw the contracts being signed by NFL free agents who play the same role. Justin Coleman to the Detroit Lions, for four years and $36 million. Tyrann Mathieu to the Kansas City Chiefs, for three years and $42 million.
Now, Amadi said, "I feel like this defense I played in helped establish what I may play in the NFL. Right now, the sky's the limit for me."
The scouts on hand Thursday also got a look at UO prospects who weren't invited to the combine. Kano Dillon showed off his rare combination of size and athleticism, and was in the middle of a large huddle of NFL personnel following the workout. Jimmie Swain, a UO senior in 2017, returned to campus after putting off Pro Day for a year, and raced 40 yards in 4.58 seconds. His fellow inside linebacker Kaulana Apelu bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times.
And then there was running back Tony Brooks-James, who also didn't get an invitation to the combine, and thus "had a chip on my shoulder I had to brush off today."
Scouts are notoriously tight-lipped about the data they collect at Pro Day. One willing to share his times had Brooks-James at 4.45 seconds in the 40, but multiple unofficial stopwatches timed him a hair under 4.40 seconds. "TBJ" also blazed through the 20-yard shuttle in 4.17 seconds, and recorded a broad jump of 10 feet, 7 inches. He showed off impressive hands as well, in passing drills with Adams and along with 2017 senior Charles Nelson.
Was he pleased with how well he brushed that chip off his shoulder?
"Money," Brooks-James said simply. "Money."
Cristobal, taking in Pro Day on a day that fell between spring practices on Oregon's calendar, watched over all of it like a proud papa.
"Just to watch what they continue to develop into, and know that their best football's ahead of them, it's awesome," Cristobal said. "It really is."
