Fullback Willie Rose may have raised his stock the most during FAU's Pro Day on Thursday. (FAUOwlAccess.com photo)
One time to shine
> Pro Day: Most FAU seniors took their one shot at impressing NFL scouts during the Owls’ Pro Day on Thursday
Originally published on
3/4/2010
by
Marcus Nelson
> Video: Rose impresses at FAU's Pro Day
> Official numbers: How each player did at Pro Day
> Photo Gallery: Shots from around FAU Pro Day
> Pro Day Preview: Smith eager to show new release
> Pro Day Preview: Harmon, Matlock, Rose ready to go
BOCA RATON - Conditions weren’t perfect on Thursday for Florida Atlantic’s Pro Day.
Neither is the path to becoming the first Owl drafted for the 12 seniors who went through drills in front of NFL, CFL and UFL scouts.
Only two FAU players played in a post-season All-Star game and no players participated in the NFL Combine making Thursday’s workouts quite important to players like FAU fullback Willie Rose, whose only shot at impressing scouts is on Pro Day.
“That kind of fueled my fire and I guess that made me pick it up a notch and work even harder.” Rose said. “I wish I could have gotten that added exposure, but hopefully I made a name for myself in my one opportunity.”
It appears Rose did just that as he turned in a fast time of 4.53 in the 40-yard dash and bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times.
“You don’t work your butt off for six weeks for nothing,” Rose said. “In training I was consistently running low 4.6s. My goal was a 4.59.”
In perhaps a telling sign scouts liked what they saw, they asked Rose to participate in the 60-yard shuttle drills he originally wasn’t going to go through.
Rose hopes he may have earned a shot to work out for other teams.
“You just have to lay it on the line,” Rose said. “I’m happy."
Wide receiver Chris Bonner also had a lot to prove on Thursday, but was excited to get the chance.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but you just try to stay as relaxed as possible,” Bonner said. “You know what you put out is what they will see…Hopefully one person will see me out here and like what they see, because all it takes is one person.”
Quarterback Rusty Smith, who along with tight end Jason Harmon, spent a week working out for scouts when they practiced for the Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Game last month, may not have had as much to prove, but still was monitored the closest by the scouts.
Despite the steady, stiff 11-mile per hour wind that gusted to 20 mph most of the morning, Smith believes he did well in the drills as he becomes more comfortable with his new throwing motion.
“It feels pretty natural to me now,” Smith said. “I didn’t think about it all when I was out there. I was just throwing it.”
2010 FAU Pro Day results
WR Chris Bonner 6-2 1/4, 204
- Hand: 10 1/8
- Arm: 32 1/8
- Sit Rch: +3
- V-Tech: 16 1/2
- Broad jump: 10.00
- Vertical jump: 34 1/2
- Bench Press: 15
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.68-2.75-4.70, 1.67-2.76-4.75
- 20 shuttle: 4.52
- 60 shuttle: 11.73
- 3 cone drill: 7.02
WR Cortez Gent 6-0 1/4, 190
- Hand: 8 3/8
- Arm: 31 1/8
- Sit Reach: +5 1/2
- V-Tech: 4 1/2
- Broad jump: 9.00 / 9.06
- Vertical jump: 32
- Bench Press: 12
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.68-2.74-4.68, 1.72-2.80-4.86
- 20 shuttle: 4.64
- 60 shuttle: 12.10
- 3-cone drill: 7.04
TE-WR Jamari Grant 6-4, 216
- Hand: 9 3/4
- Arm: 33 3/8
- Sit Reach: +4 1/2
- V-Tech: 13 1/2
- Broad jump: 9.04
- Vertical jump: 32
- Bench Press: 8
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.69-2.71-4.62, 1.64-2.74-4.73
- 20 shuttle: 4.45
- 60 shuttle: 12.07
- 3-cone drill: 7.07
WR-HB Jason Harmon 6-2 1/4, 214
- Hand: 9 7/8
- Arm: 33 3/8
- Sit Reach: +6
- V-Tech: 8 1/2
- Broad jump: 10.00 / 10.00
- Vertical jump: 34 1/2
- Bench Press: 12
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.65-2.66-4.62, 1.69-2.73-4.68
- 20 shuttle: 4.49
- 60 shuttle: 11.62
- 3-cone drill: 7.07
WR Conshario Johnson 5-11 1/2, 187
- Hand: 9 1/8
- Arm: 32 1/4
- Sit Reach: +3 1/2
- V-Tech: 13 1/2
- Broad jump: 9.06
- Vertical jump: 30 1/2
- Bench Press: DNP
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.61-2.83-4.60, 1.67-2.81-4.74
- 20 shuttle: 4.49
- 60 shuttle: 12.30
- 3-cone drill: 7.13
OL David Matlock 6-1 7/8, 295
- Hand: 9 7/8
- Arm: 30 5/8
- Sit Reach: +3
- V-Tech: 13 1/2
- Broad jump: 8.06 1/2, 8.06
- Vertical jump: 32
- Bench Press: 23
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.73-2.98-5.04, 1.75-2.90-5.18
- 20 shuttle: 4.81
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.79
DB Erick McIntosh 5-10 1/8, 169
- Hand: 8 7/8
- Arm: 31 1/8
- Sit Reach: +3
- V-Tech: 13 1/2
- Broad jump: 9.03
- Vertical jump: 33 1/2
- Bench Press: DNP
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.66-2.67-4.45, 1.65-2.69-4.60
- 20 shuttle: 4.42
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.03
OL Kevin Miller 6-2 3/8, 318
- Hand: 9 3/8
- Arm: 33 7/8
- Sit Reach: +5 1/2
- V-Tech: 11
- Broad jump: 8.02-7.09
- Vertical jump: 27 1/2
- Bench Press: 28
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.84-3.07-5.29, 1.81-3.07, 5.45
- 20 shuttle: 4.93
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.99
FB William Rose 6-0 5/8, 236
- Hand: 9 5/8
- Arm: 30 3/4
- Sit Reach: +7
- V-Tech: 14
- Broad jump: 9.08 - 9.10 1/2
- Vertical jump: 34
- Bench Press: 21
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.62-2.69-4.53, 1.68-2.75-4.67
- 20 shuttle: 4.26
- 60 shuttle: 11.70
- 3-cone drill: 7.04
QB Rusty Smith 6-5, 224
- Hand: 9 1/2
- Arm: 31 1/2
- Sit Reach: +2
- V-Tech: 12
- Broad jump: 7-10 -8.04
- Vertical jump: 23
- Bench Press: DNP
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.71-2.90-4.83, 1.73-2.93-5.08
- 20 shuttle: 4.61
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.04
OL Carl Spitale 6-6 7/8, 327
- Hand: 9 3/4
- Arm: 32 3/4
- Sit Reach: +5
- V-Tech: 14 1/2
- Broad jump: 8.00 - 8.00
- Vertical jump: 27
- Bench Press: 22
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.86-3.05-5.22, 1.88-3.07-5.28
- 20 shuttle: 5.47
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.83
OL Lavoris Williams 6-3, 289
- Hand: 9 3/8
- Arm: 32 5/8
- Sit Reach: +3 1/2
- V-Tech: 15 1/2
- Broad jump: 7.11 - 8.05
- Vertical jump: 23
- Bench Press: 24
- 40 yard-dash (10-20-40): 1.93-3.20-5.39, 1.94-3.20-5.45
- 20 shuttle: 4.71
- 60 shuttle: DNP
- 3-cone drill: 7.83
NFL Teams Represented at FAU Pro Day
- Carolina
- Chicago
- Green Bay
- Indianapolis
- Jacksonville
- Miami
- New Orleans
- New York Giants
- Oakland
- Philadelphia
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Tennessee