(Clockwise from left) Willie Rose, Jason Harmon and David Matlock spent the past few weeks working out together preparing for FAU's Pro Day.
Trio ready for tryout
FAU's Harmon, Matlock and Rose hope a couple months at a Lakeland training facility will make them more appealing to NFL scouts.
Originally published on
3/2/2010
by
Chuck King
Jason Harmon, David Matlock and Willie Rose spent five years building FAU into a Division I-A program, so when it came to fulfilling their NFL dreams it seemed only natural to continue to stick together.
The trio has spent the last couple months preparing for Thursday’s FAU Pro Day training at Velocity Sports Performance in Lakeland hoping to add measurable skills that will impress the 20 or so scouts expected at the event.
“We all pretty much said it was going to be a lot of fun to go together as opposed to not knowing anyone else around you,” Harmon said.
The training allowed the players to focus on specific aspects where scouts hoped to see improvement. For Harmon, who played tight end for the Owls but is being told by most scouts that he projects as a wide receiver, first and foremost that meant speed.
Harmon had been clocked in the 4.5 range in the 40 prior to his April 2008 knee injury. He believes that speed is back - and then some. On Friday, the last day of his camp, Harmon ran a 4.5.
Now that he’s taken a few days off, Harmon thinks he can reach the 4.4 range.
“Our bodies really never had a break,” Harmon said. “Now my body is taking a break, so I will be able to run harder (on Thursday).”
Harmon also says he benefited greatly from having Rose around. Many scouting services project the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Harmon as a hybrid back, but to do so he’d have to improve his blocking techniques.
Blocking is one of Rose’s strengths. In turn, Harmon helped Rose, FAU’s fullback, with route running and pass catching.
“When it came to something that the other was more seasoned at we would ask each other for little hints,” said Rose, who’s boosted his weight to 238 while dropping his body fat from 16 to nine percent.
Rose hopes that being leaner will translate into speed. He hopes to run the 40 in 4.58 or better.
While Matlock went through the same training as Harmon and Rose, he’s looking so show off a different skill set.
Matlock, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound guard, was looking to increase strength and endurance.
The telling drills for Matlock on Thursday will be the 225-pound bench press and the agility drills. He hopes to do 30 repetitions on the bench press, and thinks he can run the 40 in the 4.8 range.
“I feel a lot better,” said Matlock, who was presented the Team Above Self award at last month’s football banquet after starting 50 consecutive games. “I’ve had a chance to get my body rest and get the right amount of work for some nicked-up body parts that I’ve had.”
About 15 FAU athletes will work out on Thursday. The process begins at A.m. Fans can watch players go through some drills on the FAU track starting at about 9 a.m. Admission is free.