Izzy sizzles at Ptt pro day; other work out notes … All but one team was represented at the Pittsburgh pro day earlier today, but in something of an upset, neither Steelers’ GM Omar Khan nor head coach Mike Tomlin, who have been to just about every other major pro day this year, weren’t. Of course, they had a bit of an excuse in that they were still at the league meeting in Phoenix. And the Steelers were well-represented at the Panthers pro day with two senior personnel people, including their assistant G.M., as well as four position coaches.What they saw was a really good outing from Panthers’ RB Izzy Abanikanda, who did not work out at the combine. Abanikanda, a 217-pounder, had a 41-inch vertical and a 10-8 LJ, both of which would have been among the leaders at the position at the combine. He also timed a solid 4.41 clocking in his first run, and reportedly followed it up with something closer to 4.3 (and was reported to be as low as 4.27. In the end school credited him with an unofficial clocking of 4.34. Again, it can be a little hard to make sense of all that but figure he ran somewhere in the 4.35-4.45 range, which is still very good for a RB and is certainly not going to hurt his final grade. Meanwhile, star Pitt DT Calijah Kancey stood on his remarkable 4.67 combine 40 clocking with a super quick 1.64 split, but added to his legacy with a 33.5-inch vertical and reported shuttle times of 4.33 in the SS and 6.82 in the 3-cone, both of which would have left the rest of the positional field in the dust at the combine. LB SirVocea Dennis, who also did not workout at the combine also had an impressive workout as he reportedly posted a 41.5-inch vertical and a 40 time in the 4.65-4.70 range.
A lot of scouts were kind of expecting that LSU WR Kayshon Boutte would give it another go at the Tigers’ pro day after he posted some very pedestrian numbers at the combine. But he didn’t. instead he chose to stand on his 4.50 combine 40 time along with a dismal 29-inch vertical. The biggest crowd of the day may have been at the Maryland pro day where 31 teams were represented (the Chiefs reportly got snowed in KC) by over 60 total scouting personnel. Not surprising given that the Terps have their best draft class in years including CB Devonte Banks, OT Jaelyn Duncan and DB Jakorian Bennett. There was also a pretty good crowd at the Arkansas pro day where LB Drew Sanders, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position for the upcoming draft, worked out after sitting out the combine. The 6-4.5, 235 pound Sanders had very athletic leaps of 37-inches in the vertical and 10-8 in the LJ, but was reportedly disappointed with his 40 time, which was reported as an unofficial 4.59 clocking which likely translates into something in the 4.65-4.70 range, although his shuttle times of 7.15 in the 3C and 4.38 in the SS were solid enough for a LB. For the record, Hogs’ 6-8 OT Dalton Wagner, who also didn’t run at the combine, was credited with an unofficial time of 5.25. Only about 20 teams were at the Washington pro day and several of those were hoping to see Huskies G/T Jaxson Kirkland work out. However, while he did positional drills, he didn’t run after not working out at the combine. Meanwhile, a couple of Huskies that got snubbed by the combine may have earned second looks from more than one NFL team. All-Conference DE Jeremiah Martin, who had 8.5 sacks last fall, had a respectable 35.5″ vertical and was credited with a 4.65 40 clocking running at 267 pounds. At the same time, CB Jordan Perryman, a former FCS All-American at UC-Davis, but barely played last year at UDub because of injuries posted 37.5-inch vertical and was credited with an unofficial 40-clocking of 4.39.
