NFL scouts descend on Mount Pleasant for Pro Day
Mount Pleasant was the place to be on Monday morning, as representatives for 26 NFL descended on Central Michigan University. They were there to see 17 Chippewas and one Ferris State Bulldog work out at the CMU Indoor Athletic Complex.
A few former CMU standouts, including San Francisco 49er Joe Staley, Green Bay Packer Frank Zombo and the career leader in receiving yards and touchdowns at CMU, Bryan Anderson, were also in attendance, along with former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna.
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The event started at 8:00 a.m. with weigh-ins and measurements, which were announced by NFL scouts. The weight room was the next location with many coaches, scouts and current Chippewas encouraging their seniors to put up good results.
"The adrenaline was definitely high," said wide receiver Cody Wilson. "A little higher than a normal practice, but that's football, you have to control that."
Defensive lineman Nate Williams reportedly benched 225 pounds a substantial 34 times.
Inside the weight room, the players participated in the bench press, vertical jump and the broad jump.
The preparation for this event is very important to each player, as they try to catch the eyes of NFL scouts and little different types of training are needed for each drill (40-yard dash, three-cone drill and shuttle run).
"You do a lot more speed stuff," said defensive end Caesar Rodriguez. "You do a lot more ladders, more short shuttles, 40-yard sprints and gassers. You need to get your speed up."
As expected, a lot of the attention was on a projected top-five pick, left tackle Eric Fisher. Fisher did not participate in the weight room or run any timed drills. However, he did do the offensive line drills to showcase his talents to the scouts.
"I was happy with my [NFL] Combine results. I did a little 15-20 minute workout with the offensive line," Fisher said. "I just think I need to be consistent with my performance that I've had the last two months. That's the big thing that I try to concentrate on is my consistency."
The amount of scouts at CMU's Pro Day to see Fisher also helped the other players get a chance to show off their skills as well.
"[Fisher] brought in the whole world," defensive back Jahleel Addae said. "I thought it was good because it gave us all an opportunity to showcase our talents to everybody."
With CMU coming off their best season under head coach Dan Enos, these players will surely be missed, but should have a bright future ahead of them.
"What a great group of guys, they are good people and great men," Enos said. "A lot of them have already received their degrees and it was a lot of fun to watch them today. I know they are excited and we were excited to see them on this stage. I know we're going to miss them."
Participating PlayersDB Jahleel Addae
OL Eric Fisher
K/P Curtis Huge
DE Joe Kinville
DB Mark Lathers
DL Chris Reeves
OL Mike Repovz
OL Rocky Weaver
DL Nate Williams
WR Cody Wilson
RB Skyler Stoker (Ferris State University)
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