Football | March 6
DeKalb, Ill. – Eighteen former Northern Illinois University Huskies took part in NIU's 2019 Pro Day Wednesday in front of scouts representing 20 different National Football League teams.
The 18 participating Huskies included 13 2018 NIU seniors and five former players participated in a variety of activities, from bench press and vertical and broad jumps, to the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill and 20- and 60-yard shuttle runs. Following the measurements, testing and drills, the group moved on to position-specific drills, all directed by the NFL scouts in attendance.
NIU offensive tackle
Max Scharping and defensive end turned linebacker
Sutton Smith, fresh off their performances at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last week, were in attendance. Having run, jumped and performed drills at the combine on Sunday, Smith elected to sit out the Huskie Pro Day but took the opportunity to reconnect with his Huskie teammates, as well as take part in media interviews. Scharping participated in the offensive line drills along with his former NIU O-line teammate,
Luke Shively, but skipped the testing portion, including the 40-yard dash.
Of those who did take part in the testing events, Shively, defensive end
Josh Corcoran and tailback
Jaden Huff recorded the top marks in the bench press, each lifting 225 pounds 23 times. Wide receivers
Ezra Saffold (a 2017 NIU senior) and
Jauan Wesley posted the fastest 40 times at 4.44 and 4.46 seconds, respectively, while Saffold (39 inches) and cornerback
Albert Smalls (35.5) performed the highest vertical leaps. Wesley (10-5), Saffold (10-2) and Smalls (10-1) topped the lists in the broad jump. Cornerback
Jalen Embry impressed in the three-cone drills (6.97 seconds), as well as the 20 (4.07) and 60 (11.38) second shuttles.
Position drills featured everything from the offensive linemen displaying their footwork, defensive linemen coming off the line of scrimmage, to defensive backs back-pedaling and wide receivers catching passes (from former Western Illinois QB Sean McGuire as NIU did not have any participating quarterbacks).
NIU's football coaching staff, including head coach
Thomas Hammock, attended, as did many players on the current Huskie team as they watched their former teammates go through the Pro Day process.
Scouts from 20 NFL teams were in attendance for all or part of the day, with a couple of teams sending multiple staffers. Teams represented were: Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.
With Pro Day complete, attention now turns to the 2019 season as the Huskies take the field for the first time under new head coach Hammock on March 23 for the first day of spring football practice. Spring practice will conclude on April 20 with the Huskie Bowl.
-- NIU --
