Blue White Illustrated

Penn State held its annual pro day Tues- day for 11 former Nittany Lions hoping to get a shot at continuing their playing ca- reers in the NFL. There were on-field workouts at Hol- uba Hall in the morning in front of dozens of National Foot- ball League scouts and coaches – including Chip Kelly and Mike Tomlin of the Eagles and Steelers, respectively – as well as weigh-ins, measurable tests, and individual team meet- ings. The participants included Allen Robin- son, John Urschel, DaQuan Jones, Glenn Carson, Adam Gress, Matt Lehman, Garry Gilliam, Malcolm Willis, Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, Alex Butter - worth and Brandon Felder. Following the workouts, some partici- pants were available in Holuba Hall's lobby area and inside for media inter- views. Here's a look at Blue White Illustrated's news and notes from the day: WR|ALLEN ROBINSON Events: "I did my vertical, broad jump and three-cone shuttle, and I did the 40. My vertical I jumped 42, my broad jump was a 10-11, three-cone was 6.53, and then on my 40, I've heard anywhere from 4.42 to 4.47 range, and some 4.5s. So I think I had a pretty productive day today." Size: "They measured me at around 6-2 and some change, but I think my head was pushed down a little bit. I think I'm about 6-3. But I weighed in at about 208. A lot of people don't know, but at the Com- bine I weighed in at 220, the next day I was 211. On 40 day, I wasn't 220-222, I was about the same weight I am now." Notes: Even with his improved 40 num- bers, Robinson didn't seem particularly concerned or excited following his workout Tuesday. Taking passes from his cousin, 14-year Canadian Football League veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn, Robinson re- ported having good chemistry, and he came out of the on-field workout well. DT|DAQUAN JONES Events: "I did the 5-10-5, today. That's about it. I wasn't feeling well today. I was a little bit under the weather and am re- covering from a cold, so I didn't want to stress it too much and I put up good num- bers (at the Combine) so I just took it easy. But I did the 5-10-5 and felt good at it." Size: "6-4, 324. I was 322 (in Indianapo- lis). Two-pound gain. It's nothing bad. I've been training my ass off, doing MMA stuff, working with these guys and getting in the weight room. I feel healthy. I feel great." Notes: Jones was suffering from a bit of a head cold, as evidenced by his frequent sniffles following his workout while con- ducting interviews. He said that he felt good about his Combine numbers. Jones said he isn't paying attention to the draft evaluations, or even team communica- tions at this point and seems pretty com- fortable with the whole process. On top of that, Jones and others talked about how important the "body is a temple" philoso- phy that O'Brien taught the past two years has been, and how much they're individ- ually taking it to heart in preparation for careers in the NFL. LB|GLEN CARSON Events: "I think I peaked at a couple. I think I ran a low 4.7 40, a 4.25 shuttle, and a 6.99 cone drill. I'm pretty happy with those numbers. I slipped a little bit in the shuttle. I think I could have gotten a 4.0 flat, and I was hoping to maybe get in the 4.6s in the 40, but overall I can't complain with how I did today. I got 30 reps on bench. So I was happy with that. That was my goal. The closest I got to that was 29 with 220." Notes: Carson was pumped by his num- bers and was clearly pretty jazzed at hav- ing come out of the day on the plus side. One interesting thing Carson noted was just how much his football IQ improved working under O'Brien and that system, and how it has and will continue to play to his benefit when dealing with NFL teams. He mentioned being drafted, so clearly Carson's hopes are that he im- pressed enough scouts on Tuesday to earn a draft selection in May. OT|GARY GILLIAM Events: Bench press - "Pretty good. I could have done better I had 19 or 20, I believe. That's where I've gotta improve on upper-body strength. 40 - "Sub-5, I know that much." Size: "6-6, 306." Notes: One of the things people are most interested in with Gilliam seems to be why he's pursuing the NFL when he had been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA for medical hardship to continue his career at Penn State. Said Gilliam, "I got my degrees. I had triple majors, finished two of them, almost finished the third. I got out healthy, so there was no point in trying to push an extra season and I'm already 23. I would have been 24 playing another season. So your risk of injury gets a little bit higher. I'm healthy so I figured I'd take my shot now." Gilliam looks to be in great shape, so it will be interesting to see what type of shot he might get at the next level. OT|ADAM GRESS Events/Size: "I did everything today. I did all the events. 225, all the field drills, 40-yard dash, and all the jumps. They got me at 6-7, 309.8... but they gave me 309. I got 22 reps on the bench press. My vert was 28 1/2. And my broad jump was 8-8. Those were all actually above what I expected. They're above what I had done previously during training. I think a little bit of excite- ment, a little bit of adrenaline kicked in and pushed me a little further today." Notes: Gress is another guy with some impressive measurables, even in his bench reps weren't necessarily standout com- pared to a horse like Carson. He said he's been working out in Pittsburgh and will continue to train in hopes that he'll be con- tacted by some teams for individual work- outs and, if everything goes well, a look by some teams as a potential free agent. A P R I L 9 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 11 Penn State hosts pro day Eleven former Nittany Lions test skills in front of scouts before May's NFL draft N F L N A T E   B A U E R   | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ROBINSON

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