Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY ANDREW OWENS S ixteen former Irish players re- turned to campus March 20 to participate in Notre Dame's an- nual pro day festivities. All 32 NFL teams were represented at Loftus Sports Center, including two head coaches (Pittsburgh's Mike Tom- lin and Jacksonville's Gus Bradley) and three general managers (Jackson- ville's David Caldwell, Pittsburgh's Kevin Colbert and Buffalo's Doug Whaley). A number of other notable faces also attended the event, including former Notre Dame defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, former Pittsburgh Steel- ers and Miami Dolphins standout Joey Porter, former Notre Dame defensive tackle Mike Golic Sr., and George At- kinson Jr. The 16 former players on hand were quarterback Tommy Rees; run- ning back George Atkinson III; wide receivers TJ Jones and Robby Toma; tight end Troy Niklas; offensive line- men Zack Martin, Chris Watt and Mike Golic Jr.; defensive linemen Ste- phon Tuitt, Louis Nix III and Kona Schwenke; linebackers Prince Shembo, Carlo Calabrese and Dan Fox; corner- back Bennett Jackson; and kicker Nick Tausch. Niklas (core muscle injury) did not participate in any of the events after not running the 40-yard dash in India- napolis at the NFL Combine in Febru- ary. Tuitt wore a walking boot on his left foot after undergoing surgery to correct a stress fracture the week prior. Players that were satisfied with their 40-yard dash times from February did not run again. Jones pulled up with a hamstring injury midway through the passing drills. He did not return. Jackson also appeared to sustain a right hamstring injury during the second running of the 40-yard dash. He sat out the rest of the events. Here are news, notes and results from Notre Dame's pro day: • Rees completed 32 of 34 passes during the throwing and receiv- ing drills. Virtually all of his short, MAKING THEIR CASE Sixteen former Irish athletes went through one last talent evaluation before May's NFL Draft