Ohio State Pro Day

It was a beautiful day in Columbus and the stars were shining, what? Does that make sense? It sure does because the Buckeye hopefuls looking to get drafted were out in full force for the Ohio State Pro Day.

29 NFL teams sent scouts to watch some of the Buckeye's finest workout and increase their chances at having a Pro Career. Some of the bigger name athletes like James "Baby Animal" Laurinaitis, Chris "Beanie" Wells and Malcolm "CB/FS?" Jenkins really needed to show something in order to cement their first day status as they had shaky scouting combine workouts and may have seen their stock drop.

Starting with Laurinaitis, Baby Animal dropped his time in the forty yard dash down some at his Pro Day when he was officially timed at 4.72 and 4.75 respectively to go along with a 4.18 in the short shuttle and a 6.81 in the three-cone drill. He decided to keep the rest of his Combine numbers and then move on to position drills.

Malcolm Jenkins is trying to show people that he can be a cornerback in the NFL but he just doesn't have the long speed and he again disappointed with times of ranging between 4.55 and 4.58 after running as fast as 4.52 at the Combine. The rest of his numbers he kept but Malcolm has really done a lot to lower himself in the rankings as it looks more and more like he'll be a FS in the NFL.

Lastly, Chris Wells scorched the forty yard dash track as the big fella was seen to have been clocked in at 4.44 and as low as a 4.38! He kept the rest of his numbers and looked really fluid and explosive in the running back drills as well.

As for the remaining contingent of Buckeye hopefuls, ol' reliable Gil Brandt has provided us with some of stats.

LB Marcus Freeman (6-0 3/4, 239 pounds). He ran the 40 in 4.51 and 4.52 seconds, and he turned in times of 4.08 in the short shuttle and 6.66 in the three-cone drill.

WR Brian Robiskie (6-2 7/8, 205 pounds) Improved on his 40 time, running a 4.52 and a 4.54.

CB Donald Washington (6-0 1/8, 199 pounds) ran the 40 in 4.52 and 4.54 seconds and had times of 4.13 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.70 in the three-cone drill.

OT Alex Boone (6-7 1/4, 315 pounds) stood on his numbers from the combine.

QB Todd Boeckman (6-4 3/4, 240 pounds) ran 40-yard dash times of 4.78 and 4.75 on AstroTurf. He had a 31-inch vertical and a 9-foot, 3-inch broad jump with a 4.39 short shuttle and a 7.08 three-cone drill.

WR Brian Hartline (6-1 5/8, 193 pounds) stood on most of his numbers from the combine, but did run the 40 with times of 4.54 and 4.49.

-Matty

Prospect Update: Malcolm Jenkins pt. 2

Per SportingNews.com:

Just to follow up on the diary we had in SN Today, Malcolm Jenkins ran between 4.47-4.52 in the 40-yard dash on scouts' stopwatches at Ohio State's Pro Day this morning.

Getting in the 4.4s was a goal of Jenkins, who ran a 4.55 at the combine.

Jenkins added that he felt good about the day overall, particularly in the position drills he went through.

One change from yesterday's update on Jenkins' impending private workout with the Broncos -- Denver's still first on the list, but their meeting with the Thorpe Award recipient will now likely be moved up to the middle of next week, rather than being held Friday.

Prospect Update: Malcolm Jenkins

Per SportingNews.com:

Malcolm Jenkins has his pro day tomorrow, and final exams for his last on-campus quarter at Ohio State next week.

And once that's over with, Jenkins starts the process of dealing with individual teams. The Broncos will get the first chance to work him out privately, with plans to send officials to Columbus, Ohio, to put him through the paces next Friday. Denver holds the 12th pick in the April draft.

For more on Jenkins' journey to draft day, check out the fifth installment of his diary in Friday's edition of Sporting News Today.

Malcom Jenkins: CB or FS?

The talks about former Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins playing free safety in the NFL have been abundant, but none more prevalent then recently after Jenkins combine workout where he ran mid 4.5 and looked less than impressive in his ball skill drills.

NFL.com staffer Vic Carucci wrote "Actually, the origin of the Jenkins-to-safety talk is easy to trace. When NFL talent evaluators watched his game videotape, they saw him run slower than they would prefer for a cornerback. Jenkins confirmed their observations by running the 40 yard dash in the range of 4.52 and 4.58 seconds during the NFL Scouting Combine A sub-4.5 time generally is the norm for a cornerback to be chosen in the upper tier of the draft."

Jenkins is a physical specimen but he really does lack the speed essential for man to man cover corners, he could potentially play corner in a cover 2 system where there are safeties over top to prevent him from getting beaten deep, but considering his skills, strength and physicality, NFL Draft Analyst Mike Mayock think Malcolm Jenkins could be a Pro Bowl Free Safety, maybe even right out of the gate. Something for this prospect to ponder indeed.

-Matty