With representatives of just about every single NFL team on board, several Bulldog football alumni competed in Pro Day, an event that players use to flash their talents and measurables to scouts leading up to the NFL Draft.
Among the 13 Bulldogs participating, those receiving the most attention were wideout Josh Harper, safety Derron Smith and defensive lineman Tyeler Davison, who were all part of last season’s senior class.
Harper boosts stats
Heading into Pro Day, Harper wanted to prove that he was faster than the time of 4.64 that he ran in his 40-yard dash at the combine.
The wide receiver did just that as he shaved time off his 40 and also improved his vertical leap, another aspect of his game the former Bulldog wanted to clean up.
“My main goal was to improve on my 40 time that I posted at the combine, and I did that,” Harper said. “I also wanted to jump higher. I accomplished my goals, so I feel pretty good.”
Harper did not get an official time for his 40-yard dash but said he heard different numbers from personnel present in the neighborhoods of 4.46, 4.48, 4.49 and 4.50.
Harper, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, said as he will be surrounded by family at his home in Stockton on Draft Day, one of the most important days of his life.
“I’m just going to be at home with my family waiting for that call,” Harper said. “Then when I do, everyone’s going to be real excited for me, and it’s going to be one of the happiest moments of my life”
Derron Smith bounces back after missing combine
A hernia injury forced Smith to miss the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month.
Not being able to participate irritated the former All-Conference defensive back, but with the Pro Day being pushed back, it gave him additional time to rehab and an opportunity to come out and showcase his true abilities.
“I already knew that this was going to be a big day for me with having surgery, rehabbing and not being able to perform at the combine,” Smith said. “Harper got to choose what he wanted to improve on.
“But for guys like me, we had to do everything. It was a little more tiring, and my legs were dead by the end of the position work. But it’s part of the grind and part of the process.”
Smith said he is at about “90-95 percent” healthwise. He will continue to rehab until he gets back to full strength. Despite not being at full strength, Smith still feels confident in his Pro Day performance.
“I think I had a solid day,” he said. “Obviously everybody probably feels that they could do a little bit better, but I feel like I had a solid day. So we’ll go from here and see what’s next.”
Tyeler Davison displays versatility
Davison lined up at both defensive end and inside at tackle and nose guard during his time with the Bulldogs. His versatility could play a key role in the way he is evaluated by professional scouts.
“I definitely feel like I could play both,” Davison said. “But since I played three years at nose guard, I’m definitely a little bit more natural there because I’ve been playing there for so long. I feel like most teams see me as an interior guy, either as a nose in a 3-4 or maybe as a strong side end in a 3-4 that goes inside most of the time or one of the inside guys in a 4-3.”
Davison, who recorded 61 tackles and 8.5 sacks in 2014 for the Bulldogs, will head back to his home state of Arizona, where he will continue to work out in order to improve his draft stock.
Fresno natives Tevin McDonald and Lance Orender also participated in Fresno State’s Pro Day. McDonald played his high school football at Edison High and collegiately at UCLA and Eastern Washington. He is the son of former NFL safety Tim McDonald, who served as the Bulldogs’ defensive backs coach in 2012.
Orender prepped at Buchanan High School in Clovis. Upon graduating, he enrolled at Fresno City College before transferring to New Mexico Highlands University.
The 2015 NFL Draft will run from April 30-May 2 at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, with both ESPN and NFL Network broadcasting the event.