Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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intermediate and deep passes were accurate. His 31-inch vertical leap is better than the results posted by for- mer Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and former Louisville signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater at the NFL Com- bine. With Jones sidelined for half of the drill, Atkinson and Toma both im- pressed with their pass-catching abil- ity. Toma is hoping to catch on with a team after the Arizona Cardinals cut him deep into camp last August. Atkinson struggled in Notre Dame's passing game during his three-year career. • Watt recorded a 5.39 in the 40- yard dash in his first try. He did not participate in the second attempt be- cause of a right quad issue. He did not run at the NFL Combine due to his recovery from a PCL tear in No- vember. • The only drill either of the head coaches (Tomlin) helped oversee was a defensive line event. The Pittsburgh Steelers are rumored to be interested in Nix as a potential selection in the first round. • Each of the assistant coaches made an appearance at the pro day. New quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur, for- merly with the Washington Redskins, helped tutor Rees during the week to help showcase his talent the right way. • The 40-yard dash results were: Ca- labrese 4.86, Fox 4.59, Jackson 4.40, Nix 5.36, Rees 5.09, Schwenke 4.88 and Watt 5.39. Fox's mark would have been the third best among linebackers at the NFL Combine. • Measurables for non-NFL Com- bine players: Calabrese (6-1, 236), Fox (6-2 5 ⁄8, 233 pounds), Rees (6-1½, 210), Schwenke (6-4¼, 285) and Tausch (5-11 7 ⁄8, 194). STEPHON TUITT UNDERGOES SURGERY All Tuitt could do at Notre Dame's pro day was observe and offer his for- mer teammates encouragement while recovering from the stress fracture procedure. "I wanted to work out with my teammates, [but] I already had [a pro day]," Tuitt said. "It's their time." When Tuitt was at the NFL Com- bine in Indianapolis in late February, doctors discovered the stress fracture — unknown at the time to Tuitt, who says he felt no pain — and would not clear him to participate in drills. The following week, prior to the proce- dure, he held his own pro day at Mon- roe (Ga.) High School and impressed scouts with a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash while checking in at 303 pounds. "I feel really good about it. It was a good performance," Tuitt said. "I was surprised [by the stress fracture]. Very surprised. I had no idea. I had trained for six weeks before that not knowing anything [about it]. "To get some news like that put me down, but it's just another turn- around. I had a pro day and ended up doing good with everybody." Tuitt dropped four pounds despite an immobile foot and weighed in at 299 pounds March 20. He speculated that the recovery time would last one month. He did not expect to run any other drills for scouts before the NFL Draft begins May 8. He has been in- vited by the NFL to attend the festivi- ties in New York.