March 7
The annual pre-draft pro day schedule got underway with a bang earlier today with a workout at national champion Alabama. Needless to say all 32 teams were represented at the Tide workout with a total of 80 NFL personnel people in attendance. That included a half dozen General Managers including Bob Quinn of Detroit, Pittsburgh’s Kevin Colbert, Marty Hurney of Carolina, Rick Spielman of Minnesota, and Jon Robinson of Tennessee along with Washington team president Bruce Allen. Attendees also included 5 NFL head coaches including Bill Belichek of the Patriots, Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati, Detroit’s Matt Patricia, Mike Vrabel of Tennessee and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin.
Unfortunately, LB Rashaan Evans, the player most in attendance would have liked to have seen as he didn’t work out at the combine, again opted not to work out. Not clear why although there have been some rumblings about a second Alabama pro day later this month. SS Ronnie Harrison, who didn’t work out at the combine because of a hamstring issue, also did not run at the Tide pro day.
Among former Alabama players that did work out, DE Josh Frazier, who also didn’t run at the combine, had a 5.25 clocking today. Maybe the biggest surprise of the day came when C Bradley Bozeman measured in at 6-5, 296, over 30 pounds less than what he reportedly played at this past fall. Unfortunately, the weight loss didn’t do all that much for Bozeman’s pure footspeed as he was still clocked in a rather pedestrian time in the mid-5.4 range. Bozeman, though, did manage 27 reps in the bench press while he had an 8.5 long jump.
At the same time, a couple of other relatively unheralded UA players had decent days that could eran them premium free agent looks. DE Jamar King, for example, ran the 40 in 4.80 seconds at 6-4, 290, had 20 BP reps and had a 9-5’ long jump, while WR Cam Sims, who measured in at a full-sized 6-5, 215, had a 4.59 40 clocking, a 34” vertical and a 10-3 long jump.