STILLWATER – There was excitement in the football facilities on Friday afternoon, but this time not for the team that Eric Morris will lead onto the field this fall. Friday was Pro Day for 15 members of last season’s Cowboy football team.
The participants got the chance to speak with and workout for scouts from nearly every NFL team in a last bid to improve draft stock and increase chances of a professional career.
I was in attendance for most of the festivities but had to leave before quarterback Drew Mestemaker took the field at the Sherman Smith Training Center to throw passes to last year’s receiving corps. So I cannot give analysis on who stood out in that aspect of the day.
No official times were given for the 40-yard-dash so any times reported were the best times from each individual participant which I recorded myself from the field.
Several Cowboys posted around the 4.5 second mark by my stopwatch with defensive back Kenneth Harris recording a 4.3 in his second attempt. Sam Jackson V had a best time of 4.48 and Cam Smith was 4.49.
Harris also impressed in the weight room. He recorded a high jump of 39.5 inches and a broad jump of 10.9 feet. His most talked about weight room accomplishment will certainly be his strength test. Harris delivered 22 reps on the bench press while his teammates and longtime strength coach Gary Calcagno stood by to loudly cheer him on. His 22 reps would have been second most among his position at the NFL Combine.
Linebacker Brandon Rawls was also being raved about by the scouts as they left the weight room. Rawls recorded the highest jump of any player in attendance. His best jump measured 41 inches and had all the NFL personnel immediately making notes in their books and smiling at each other.
That jump would have been the highest at the Combine among linebackers.
Fans seemed most interested in how running back Trent Howland would measure. Howland was not used in every game last season for the Cowboys but showed impressive skills when his number was called. Because of his more powerful frame Howland was used primarily in short-yard situations and goal line sets, but he also burst onto the scene against Baylor where he recorded 16 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Howland started turning heads as soon as he stepped onto the scale during initial weigh-ins. He is now officially listed at 265 pounds to really prove his power-back reputation. Howland’s measurables in the weight room were OK. He had a high jump 32.5 inches and a broad jump of 9.3 feet to go along with 19 reps on the bench. When it was time to run his best time in the 40-yard-dash was 4.52 seconds which may seem slightly slow for a running back but is not surprising for a back of Howland’s size.
Size was also on display from offensive lineman Bob Schick. The Virginia Tech transfer who was a veteran presence upfront for the Cowboys weighed in at 308 pounds when he walked into the room. He recorded 19 reps on the bench and and 8.5 foot broad jump after joking with the scouts that they should start looking for him to land at about the 13-foot mark.
Schick’s run time was not as impressive as those recorded by lineman at the Combine. Nine players at the position ran below five seconds in Indianapolis. Schick’s best time was 5.67 seconds which will not make him look as favorable.
With Pro Day now in the past all 15 Cowboy participants will have to wait until April to see if they impressed scouts enough to be drafted. The NFL Draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, PA.
