Arizona State hosted its Pro Day today as 13 members of the 2023 team represented themselves in hopes of bettering their chances of making it to the next level. The small group of Sun Devils participated in the weight room and field activities as members of all 32 NFL teams looked upon them, as well as representatives of the CFL and UFL.
Promptly starting the day at 8 a.m., all 13 members of the Pro Day class took their height and weight measurements before getting ready for the first test of the day: the Bench Press. All but two of the thirteen participated in the bench press before moving on to the broad jump and the vertical jump. Some players felt great, while others were ready to get to the field.
“Bench, I was looking to get 21, and I hit that, so that’s good,” linebacker Tre Brown said. “My broad jump, I kept consecutively getting like 9’ 6”, 9 7”, today I popped a 9’ 9”... man, it’s been nothing short of a blessing to go in and actually hit those marks.”
“The gym session wasn’t my best,” safety Chris Edmonds said. “But I knew when I got on the field that’s where I was going to make my money and show the scouts what I can do.”
For the 11 players who participated in the weight room portions, the only measurements and counts that were given to the media out loud were the bench press totals and the vertical jump numbers. Broadjump was not made available. The only two non-participants were punter Josh Carlson and placekicker Dario Longhetto.
Here are the counts for the vertical jump and bench press:
Vertical Jump:
LB Tre Brown: 31.5”
S Chris Edmonds: 32”
CB Dee Ford: 33”
OL Aaron Frost: 22.5”
DL Dashaun Mallory: 30”
OL Joey Ramos: 27”
WR Gio Sanders: 34.5”
TE Messiah Swinson: 28”
DB Alphonso Taylor: 33”
CB Ro Torrence: 32.5”
Bench Press:
LB Tre Brown: 21
S Chris Edmonds: 9
CB Dee Ford: 12
OL Aaron Frost: 22
DL Dashaun Mallory: 19
OL Joey Ramos: 24
WR Gio Sanders: 9
TE Messiah Swinson: 15
DB Alphonso Taylor: 16
CB Ro Torrence: 12
LS Slater Zellers: 17
As the Pro Day moved to the Kajikawa practice facility across Rural Rd., The 40-yard dash, “L” drill, 5-10-5 Shuttle Run, and position drills would take place. The infamous 40-yard dash took precedence as the defensive backs clocked in the best times of the day.
“I feel like I handled business for sure,” Edmonds stated. “Especially with my 40-yard dash and all that stuff, so I feel pretty good about that.”
Like the weight room, everyone except Carlson and Longhetto participated in the 40-yard dash. Times were taken by hand by the media, and no official times were given as press time. That said, Edmonds was the fastest of the day, hovering around a low 4.4. Fellow defensive back Dee Ford clocked in around 4.4-4.5 as other defensive back and NFL Combine participant Ro Torrence ran around 4.6.
Other notable players whose times are available were wide receiver Gio Sanders, who ran around 4.5, and tight end Messiah Swinson, who ran around 4.7. The player who ran faster than expected was defensive lineman DaShaun Mallory, who kept the weight off not only to run a five-second forty but also to sustain overall quickness.
“Being able to showcase what I can do in my weight class…today, I feel a point of emphasis on the drills,” Mallory said. “Being able to run and go through the L drill, the 5-10-5, stuff like that. I really wanted to showcase my speed today.”
It was safe to say a lot of players felt a lot more comfortable on the field versus the weight room, as natural football instincts were a common topic among the players after Pro Day. That comfortability seemed to give the players the confidence they needed to perform, in turn leading to some conversations from scouts.
“My lateral speed and my lateral quickness showed a lot to some of the scouts,” Brown said. I’ve heard scouts say that I can move really well, so that’s good to hear.”
“I’m not too sure with everything going on but my agent will be contacting the Carolina Panthers so, I just got that card and hopefully some more people or some more teams lined up and we’ll take it from there.”
A good performance gets interest, but that was not the only thing at hand when it came to this opportunity for the Sun Devils. In conversations with scouts, it was the character and personal interactions that were an emphasis for Mallory and Torrence especially.
“They just like me being myself,” Torrence said. “Just showing them who I am when I’m not on the field or when I’m off the field or just around other people. So I was just showing them who I really am, who Ro Torrence is.”
“What I’m hearing from a lot of scouts today or lately, guys like my mentality,” Mallory said. “The scouts love what I can bring to the table and love what I can do for a team. They love the mindset I can bring to a room, and they also love my knowledge of the game.”
Only time will tell what will happen with the now former Sun Devils, but nonetheless, Wednesday was an opportunity for most that not a lot are able to achieve. Torrence a once junior college player has meetings with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings today.
Other players may have to navigate, like Brown with the Panthers’ interest today, or look to the CFL, as Sanders mentioned in his later presser. The college graduates will likely in any case take a similar approach to Mallory in the coming days before they continue their fight to play in the business called football.
“Honestly, probably lay down, man,” Mallory said. “Probably lay down, take a couple of days off, and honestly get back to it.”
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