Canes Host 2018 Pro Day
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
DAVIE Fla. – The drills are done. The times have been recorded. The dream is one step closer to reality.
The University of Miami football program held its annual Pro Day Wednesday, as 14 Hurricanes put their skills on display for all 32 NFL teams at the Miami Dolphins’ practice facility in Davie. Fla.
“There are a lot of people here for a reason,” Miami head coach Mark Richt said. “We do have a lot of talented guys. I think they appreciate how our guys look, how they act, how they go about their business. I think they know they’re being coached well and that they’re good people. They wouldn’t be here this far in their careers if they weren’t doing things right.”
K Michael Badgley, WR Braxton Berrios, OL Trevor Darling, DB Dee Delaney, DL/LB Trent Harris, TE Christopher Herndon IV, K Diego Marquez, WR Malik Mayweather, OL KC McDermott, DL RJ McIntosh, DL Anthony Moten, DL Kendrick Norton, DL Chad Thomas and RB Mark Walton went through the drills and workouts before professional scouts on Wednesday and each was looking to shine for NFL decision makers.
“That I can move,” Norton said. “That I’m agile for my size or really agile for anybody. Just to show them that I can move.”
“I showed I’ve got great hands,” Delaney said. ” A lot of DBs can’t catch and that’s one thing I have confidence in, my hands. That’s what sets me apart from other DBs.”
Miami’s defensive linemen got a unique experience when New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick led the group through a drill during positional work.
“I didn’t expect that,” McIntosh said. “It was a lot different having him out there trying to do drills with us. That pushed us to do even better. That was cool having him there with us.”
“It was an honor to do a drill with him leading the drill,” Thomas said. “It was a reaction drill and I was just doing my best at it and showing him that I could do it as fast as I can. He told me, ‘great job,’ so you know that’s going to stick with me for a long time.”
Pro Day was a unique opportunity for Hurricanes to come together and compete in front of scouts ahead of the NFL Draft. For some, it was a chance to improve off their performance at the NFL Combine, while others hoped to open some eyes for the first time.
“It’s a little similar to the combine, just condensed down to one day,” McDermott said. “For the guys that didn’t really do much at the combine, this is a huge day for them. Some scouts may not have seen a guy at the combine or an all-star game, this is their first time seeing them so they want to get to know them better and take them out to eat. It can be a stressful day, but I think we are all did well and handled it the right way.”
Nine Hurricanes were invited to the NFL Combine, but players like Darling and Harris used Wednesday’s pro day as an opportunity to catch the attention of pro teams.
“It definitely pushed me and I felt like I had a point to prove,” Darling said. “I just had to pick it up a notch because obviously I wasn’t being recognized.”
“I feel like I was moving pretty well,” Harris said. “I hit all the stuff I wanted to hit. I just wanted to go out there and compete with the D-line one more time. I feel relieved now. I felt like it was pretty good. Of course I hope I get drafted. A lot of teams have been talking to me. I don’t know what their intentions are, but I came out here and gave it my all today. We’ll see what happens.”
Several Canes were coming back from injury and looking to prove they were healthy and ready to contribute at the NFL level.
“I felt good finally being back out there, especially since my injury in November,” Herndon said. “I felt good out there. I felt smooth and I didn’t feel anything with my knee. I just felt confident again.”
Walton, who played just four games in 2017 before an ankle injury knocked him out for the remainder of the season, looked explosive in workouts and hoped he showed the scouts that he is back to being himself. The former All-ACC running back is not worried about where her goes in the draft, he just wants an opportunity to play.
“I just can control what I can control and that’s playing ball,” Walton said. “Wherever I go and whoever gets me is going to be blessed to get me. I’m a guy that loves football, to work hard, loves his teammates and everything about the game. I can’t control where I’m going to go, but one I go, I’m going to go.”
Berrios is another Cane coming back from injury. The senior wideout suffered a pectoral injury and could not run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Wednesday was an important day for him and he was happy with the result.
“I’ve been waiting,” Berrios said. “Obviously the combine went how it went and that was one of the most frustrating parts of it because I was so ready and so worked up to run there and show that many people those things. To come out here and do it finally, and I don’t know what it was exactly but the consensus was mid-4.4, it felt good.”
Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Lamar Miller, Sean Spence, David Njoku, Deon Bush, Tracy Howard, Rashawn Scott, Jamal Carter and Malcolm Lewis are just some of the many former players supporting the current crop of Canes looking to earn a spot at the next level.
“It’s great to have former players out here that have done this before like Jamal Carter and Njoku and all those guys,” Norton said. “They did it last year and it’s fun to have them here supporting us.”
While the players did their part on the field, scouts also talked to Richt and his staff about the Canes to get an insight on what the players are like. Richt was especially proud of the 14 players participating in the 2018 Pro Day.
“The bottom line is they’re all asking about a particular player and what I think about him,” Richt said. “There is not one guy out there that I can’t brag wholeheartedly about as a person and as a player. They’ve all been awesome for us.”
