ASU Football: Pro day recap

Pro Day is a second chance for some players and the only chance for others. It allows NFL combine participants such as Will Sutton, Carl Bradford and Marion Grice another chance to impress NFL scouts while it was the only chance for players like Osahon Irabor, Alden Darby, Robert Nelson or Davon Coleman to have the spotlight, if only for a few minutes.

Bradford and Sutton both participated in position drills but Grice, who said he is, "100 percent" elected not to run again.

Grice will have his pro day at Sun Devil Stadium on Apr. 8, but admitted that he is a little worried that pushing his Pro Day back will limit his exposure with scouts and NFL teams.

"I just want to get picked, I just want to get a job offer" Grice said. "I just need to give myself more time to train."

Sutton unofficially lowered his 40-yard dash time from 5.36 at the NFL combine to somewhere unofficially in the 5.2 range but declined to speak to the media after the event.

The morning began in the weight room where players were measured in the vertical jump and bench press among other activities. Marlon Pollard and Alden Darby impressed with their vertical leaps measuring in at 36.5 and 33.5 inches respectively.

"I felt like I did good, I felt like I came here and did what I wanted to do," Darby said. "They (scouts) all loved me, they love my character, they love my work ethic and they know I can play so it's just a matter of who wants me."

Darby said he has upcoming visits with the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears adding that he would play wherever he is needed.

"I wanted to show them that I was fluid in my hips, that I have great ball skills and that I'm a great defensive back that's athletic," Darby said.

Darby's draft stock was aided by his performance in the East-West Shrine Game where he had two interceptions.

Players then moved onto the bench press where Davon Coleman led the way with 35 repetitions followed by Gannon Conway with 34 and Evan Finkenberg with 26.

"To be looked at by all 32 teams its kind of surreal," Coleman said. "I strive under pressure seeing all these teams, I just use it as motivation."

Coleman has a visit with the Dallas Cowboys on Apr. 16 and said he weighed in at 297 this morning, up 15 pounds from his playing weight.

Activities then moved outside onto the Sun Devil Stadium field. Carl Bradford did not participate in the weight room but did run a 40-yard dash and was active in position drills. He improved on his 40 time from the NFL Combine running a 4.64 Friday compared to a 4.76 in Indianapolis.

"They (scouts) loved the way I moved and the way I did the drills," Bradford said. " A lot of guys don't even get this opportunity so once I get it I'm grabbing it and going with it."

Bradford said he stands by his decision to leave school early and hopes to be drafted around the second round. He said he was evaluated "all across the board" at rush end, WILL and even fullback by the Dallas Cowboys.

"It's always a good opportunity, overall it was a good day,"  Irabor said. "Some of the scouts were walking up and telling me I had really good film...a lot of them were saying 'I can't believe you weren't at the combine'"

Finkenberg is also looking to get drafted and partook in the position drills and weight room activities. He said he's been working on playing guard, tackle and center because, "that's what they want at the next level, they want guys who can play all the different positions."

"I think it's always important to have a chip on your shoulder and keep working really hard," Finkenberg said. "You do the best you can out there and hopefully just kind of prove all these guys kind of wrong."

ASU begins its spring football practice on Tuesday Mar. 19 at 8:30 a.m. at the Kajikawa Practice Facility. The spring game will be on April 13 and broadcast by Pac-12 Network.

Notes

• Alonzo Agwuenu, Gannon Conway, Chris Coyle, Anthony Jones, Steffon Martin, Kevin Ozier, Darwin Rogers, Jake Sheffield, Grandville Taylor, Chris Young, Derek Hagan, Robert James, LeQuan Lewis, Ryan McFoy, Justin Tryon and Mike Willie also participated in pro day.
• Alden Darby did not lift because he tweaked a shoulder working out
• Outside of the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and bench press, players also did the three cone drill, 60-yard dash, 5-10-5 shuttle run, caught passes and showed off agility using dummies, agile bags and the ladder.
• Other bench press reps: Jake Sheffield-25, Steffon Martin-24, Darwin Rogers-23, Chris Coyle-16, Anthony Jones-16, Chris Young-15 and Kevin Ozier-10
• Anthony Jones and Robert Nelson were also impressive in vertical jump.
• Former ASU QB Andrew Walter, former punter Josh Hubner, Deveron Carr and Rashad Ross were also in attendance as onlookers.
• Chuck Pagano from the Indianapolis Colts was the only NFL head coach to show up.