Hey guys, just got back from the Texas Tech Pro Day and just wanted to share some thoughts…
-Really well-ran event today. We started promptly at 9 o’clock, moved from drill to drill very smoothly, and everything just looked really good and put together. The players each had custom-made (name + number) “combine” Under Armour shirts which they definitely didn’t have in years past.
-All the drills that I was able to video are located in this thread, however, I have no times yet for 40s or shuttles, sorry guys. I’ll get those updated as soon as possible.
-28 NFL teams were in attendance today. That is by far one of the largest pro days that Texas Tech has ever hosted. They had 25 teams represented last year but most of those were just regional scouts. This year there were QB coaches, national scouts, head coaches (Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was in attendance), offensive coordinators (the Ravens OC was supposed to be in attendance), Directors of college scouting and so on. There was a lot of NFL interest in today’s pro day from top to bottom and deep within a lot of these organizations.
-The Bears had multiple people within their organization in attendance as well as the Texans, 49ers, Seahawks, and the Giants. The 49ers had their GM, Director of Player Personnel, and Personnel Exec in Lubbock for workouts and a meeting with Mahomes.
Participants
-Outside of Mahomes, these were today’s pro day participants and my thoughts on each:
-Paul Banks III
Had a 32.5 inch vertical and a 9’7 broad jump. Looked pretty good in the 40 and agility drills (again, no times though) but as it stands now, nothing about him physically jumps out, same can be said when you turn on the film. Good to have him there participating today, though.
-Reginald Davis
Davis has all the physical tools athletically and this type of workout is where he shines. Had a 35-inch vertical jump and a 10’4 broad jump. I believe he might have also ran the fastest 40. None of that was surprising to me, though. There has never been any question about his athleticism. What really surprised me today, though, was how good he looked catching passes from Pat. Mahomes was slingin them today and Davis made some great catches and ran some nice, crisp routes. I think his receiver workout today turned some heads. When you turn on the film, you see a guy with potential, whose potential for four years never materialized. He might get a camp invite.
-Malik Jenkins
I would have really liked to know his ht/wt measurables. If he measured in at 6-1, 230 or so that changes how I would view his workout. He looked a little sluggish but showed some real power on the bench press and some of the other drills. His footwork and agility need some work and the scouts had to get on him a few times for not running through the drills as crisp as they would have liked. Not really sure what to think of Jenkins as his film looks much better than the workout he did today.
-Devin Lauderdale
Lauderdale was able to participate with the team for the pro day and really needed a “can’t miss” workout to show scouts that his talent outweighs his character issues, and I don’t think he did that today. He’s got the wheels and the agility, and his strength (that comes through when you watch him block) was also on display as he had 13 reps at 225. He caught the ball well in the receiver drills but Reginald Davis absolutely overshadowed him. Had some overthrows from Pat (which may or may not have been due to Lauderdale) and some drops, too. He has production (for the most part), is a really good blocker, but his off-field concerns might give teams pause as a FA type.
-Thierry Nguema
Nguema looks the part for sure, but he too, didn’t do anything spectacular today and there isn’t enough on film of him doing a whole lot, either. He is also injured a lot. Like I said, though, he absolutely looks the part, and I think he ran a pretty good 40 time. Looked good in DB drills but there just isn’t a whole lot there with Nguema. Glad he chose to participate with his teammates.
-Ondre Pipkins
I had a little bit of reference point with Pipkins because I saw Rika Levi go through the workout last year and they are pretty similar body-wise (BIG). Pipkins showed some good athleticism in the vertical jump and broad jump, but boy, was his bench press a major disappointment as he only pushed it up 22 times. One scout was saying that he was powerful but not explosive. His 40 and agility drills looked pretty good for a big man and he balled out in the defensive drills. One specific drill he displayed some of the craziest power I’ve seen as he was absolutely destroying the pylon…this is the video:
I thought that was awesome. He’s got the size and had some pretty good production/film to look at this season. Was having an extensive conversation with Jaguar and Redskin scouts when I was leaving, too. Not draftable but will definitely get a look which is awesome for a guy who was practically told to move along from Michigan due to injuries.
-Tyler Scalzi
My oh my. Have a day Tyler Scalzi. He wins the best looking award at the underwear Olympics as his body mimics that of Hercules. I always knew he was a meat head but man, he is chiseled. The funny thing is though, he had the best workout today by far of all the participants. I always knew he looked the part but man, he showed off some insane athleticism today and performed really really well in the drills. He led everyone in the vertical jump, broad jump, and bench press (repped 225 37 times!), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran a low 4.7/4.6 at 240 + pounds. Workout warrior.
As I mentioned though, I also don’t think he dropped a pass today in the receiving drills. Pat was bringing the heat and Scalzi ran some real good routes and made some really good catches. Seam routes, corner routes, stop routes (all from the in-line tight end spot). I know for a fact that many scouts were super impressed…but when you turn on the film, there is literally nothing to see, so I don’t know how that will affect him. But his measurable and athleticism alone will get him a camp invite probably, especially since he personally went up to multiple scouts after his workout and asked if he could do some 15 yard deep snaps for them. If a team can get the light bulb to turn on for him on the field, he will have everything available to be a special teams contributor.
-Luke Stice
Luke Stice didn’t do too bad today, either. He isn’t the most athletic guy, so this type of event might really show his flaws, but he looked pretty good. Had a lot of missteps on the defensive drills and looked a little stiff at times (which we know all about) but also looked pretty powerful in some drills, too. He also ran both fullback drills and linebacker drills today which I think impressed some scouts, especially showing off some good hands at FB. We all know he has the heart and work ethic, he just needs a shot. I think today’s workout might get him that.
-Kris Williams
Williams needed to show off some major athleticism today to have any real chance, in my opinion. He had some okay production last season which put him on some radars as a special teams guy, but he needed a good workout to cement that. His 40 looked pretty darn good (interested what his size really is), and he showed off some power in the drills. But agility-wise he is a little behind, and I’m not sure what his position would be. Another guy who I’m glad could make it to the workout and show off a bit, but is just lacking a bit on film.
Lastly, Mahomes’ day:
-Mahomes had a scripted workout for the scouts today with a mix of timing routes, intermediate routes, and long ball routes. Surprisingly, he did a lot of the timing routes more than the deep balls (his specialty). When I think of arm strength, I think of bombing it 70 yards, but you kind of forget how important a strong arm is on the quick outs and the timing routes. He took snaps from under center and zipped tons of balls to the sidelines with quickness. I liked seeing that “strong arm” part, on the short throws.
He was money on the intermediate routes, but he kind of struggled a bit on the deep throws as there were a lot of overthrows. His arm strength was absolutely on display, though, and he took 95 percent of the snaps in the workout from under center and looked good doing so. He moved around well “in the pocket” and threw the ball accurately. The shining moment was ending the workout with his 75+ Hail Mary bomb into the end zone. He just does it all so effortlessly.
-Really well-ran event today. We started promptly at 9 o’clock, moved from drill to drill very smoothly, and everything just looked really good and put together. The players each had custom-made (name + number) “combine” Under Armour shirts which they definitely didn’t have in years past.
-All the drills that I was able to video are located in this thread, however, I have no times yet for 40s or shuttles, sorry guys. I’ll get those updated as soon as possible.
-28 NFL teams were in attendance today. That is by far one of the largest pro days that Texas Tech has ever hosted. They had 25 teams represented last year but most of those were just regional scouts. This year there were QB coaches, national scouts, head coaches (Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was in attendance), offensive coordinators (the Ravens OC was supposed to be in attendance), Directors of college scouting and so on. There was a lot of NFL interest in today’s pro day from top to bottom and deep within a lot of these organizations.
-The Bears had multiple people within their organization in attendance as well as the Texans, 49ers, Seahawks, and the Giants. The 49ers had their GM, Director of Player Personnel, and Personnel Exec in Lubbock for workouts and a meeting with Mahomes.
Participants
-Outside of Mahomes, these were today’s pro day participants and my thoughts on each:
-Paul Banks III
Had a 32.5 inch vertical and a 9’7 broad jump. Looked pretty good in the 40 and agility drills (again, no times though) but as it stands now, nothing about him physically jumps out, same can be said when you turn on the film. Good to have him there participating today, though.
-Reginald Davis
Davis has all the physical tools athletically and this type of workout is where he shines. Had a 35-inch vertical jump and a 10’4 broad jump. I believe he might have also ran the fastest 40. None of that was surprising to me, though. There has never been any question about his athleticism. What really surprised me today, though, was how good he looked catching passes from Pat. Mahomes was slingin them today and Davis made some great catches and ran some nice, crisp routes. I think his receiver workout today turned some heads. When you turn on the film, you see a guy with potential, whose potential for four years never materialized. He might get a camp invite.
-Malik Jenkins
I would have really liked to know his ht/wt measurables. If he measured in at 6-1, 230 or so that changes how I would view his workout. He looked a little sluggish but showed some real power on the bench press and some of the other drills. His footwork and agility need some work and the scouts had to get on him a few times for not running through the drills as crisp as they would have liked. Not really sure what to think of Jenkins as his film looks much better than the workout he did today.
-Devin Lauderdale
Lauderdale was able to participate with the team for the pro day and really needed a “can’t miss” workout to show scouts that his talent outweighs his character issues, and I don’t think he did that today. He’s got the wheels and the agility, and his strength (that comes through when you watch him block) was also on display as he had 13 reps at 225. He caught the ball well in the receiver drills but Reginald Davis absolutely overshadowed him. Had some overthrows from Pat (which may or may not have been due to Lauderdale) and some drops, too. He has production (for the most part), is a really good blocker, but his off-field concerns might give teams pause as a FA type.
-Thierry Nguema
Nguema looks the part for sure, but he too, didn’t do anything spectacular today and there isn’t enough on film of him doing a whole lot, either. He is also injured a lot. Like I said, though, he absolutely looks the part, and I think he ran a pretty good 40 time. Looked good in DB drills but there just isn’t a whole lot there with Nguema. Glad he chose to participate with his teammates.
-Ondre Pipkins
I had a little bit of reference point with Pipkins because I saw Rika Levi go through the workout last year and they are pretty similar body-wise (BIG). Pipkins showed some good athleticism in the vertical jump and broad jump, but boy, was his bench press a major disappointment as he only pushed it up 22 times. One scout was saying that he was powerful but not explosive. His 40 and agility drills looked pretty good for a big man and he balled out in the defensive drills. One specific drill he displayed some of the craziest power I’ve seen as he was absolutely destroying the pylon…this is the video:
I thought that was awesome. He’s got the size and had some pretty good production/film to look at this season. Was having an extensive conversation with Jaguar and Redskin scouts when I was leaving, too. Not draftable but will definitely get a look which is awesome for a guy who was practically told to move along from Michigan due to injuries.
-Tyler Scalzi
My oh my. Have a day Tyler Scalzi. He wins the best looking award at the underwear Olympics as his body mimics that of Hercules. I always knew he was a meat head but man, he is chiseled. The funny thing is though, he had the best workout today by far of all the participants. I always knew he looked the part but man, he showed off some insane athleticism today and performed really really well in the drills. He led everyone in the vertical jump, broad jump, and bench press (repped 225 37 times!), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran a low 4.7/4.6 at 240 + pounds. Workout warrior.
As I mentioned though, I also don’t think he dropped a pass today in the receiving drills. Pat was bringing the heat and Scalzi ran some real good routes and made some really good catches. Seam routes, corner routes, stop routes (all from the in-line tight end spot). I know for a fact that many scouts were super impressed…but when you turn on the film, there is literally nothing to see, so I don’t know how that will affect him. But his measurable and athleticism alone will get him a camp invite probably, especially since he personally went up to multiple scouts after his workout and asked if he could do some 15 yard deep snaps for them. If a team can get the light bulb to turn on for him on the field, he will have everything available to be a special teams contributor.
-Luke Stice
Luke Stice didn’t do too bad today, either. He isn’t the most athletic guy, so this type of event might really show his flaws, but he looked pretty good. Had a lot of missteps on the defensive drills and looked a little stiff at times (which we know all about) but also looked pretty powerful in some drills, too. He also ran both fullback drills and linebacker drills today which I think impressed some scouts, especially showing off some good hands at FB. We all know he has the heart and work ethic, he just needs a shot. I think today’s workout might get him that.
-Kris Williams
Williams needed to show off some major athleticism today to have any real chance, in my opinion. He had some okay production last season which put him on some radars as a special teams guy, but he needed a good workout to cement that. His 40 looked pretty darn good (interested what his size really is), and he showed off some power in the drills. But agility-wise he is a little behind, and I’m not sure what his position would be. Another guy who I’m glad could make it to the workout and show off a bit, but is just lacking a bit on film.
Lastly, Mahomes’ day:
-Mahomes had a scripted workout for the scouts today with a mix of timing routes, intermediate routes, and long ball routes. Surprisingly, he did a lot of the timing routes more than the deep balls (his specialty). When I think of arm strength, I think of bombing it 70 yards, but you kind of forget how important a strong arm is on the quick outs and the timing routes. He took snaps from under center and zipped tons of balls to the sidelines with quickness. I liked seeing that “strong arm” part, on the short throws.
He was money on the intermediate routes, but he kind of struggled a bit on the deep throws as there were a lot of overthrows. His arm strength was absolutely on display, though, and he took 95 percent of the snaps in the workout from under center and looked good doing so. He moved around well “in the pocket” and threw the ball accurately. The shining moment was ending the workout with his 75+ Hail Mary bomb into the end zone. He just does it all so effortlessly.
