Buffaloes football hosts annual NFL pro day

Tim Lynott presses down on pads during a drill for offensive linemen during the 2020 NFL Draft Pro Day. March 11, 2020 (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

Colorado football held its annual pro day Wednesday, March 11 with 25 pro teams in attendance. In total, 16 players worked out for the NFL scouts in order to try and boost their draft stock.

Participants included quarterback Steven Montez, fullback Beau Bisharat, wide receiver Tony Brown, tight end Jalen Harris, offensive linemen Tim Lynott, Arlington Hambright and Jack Shutack, snapper J.T. Bale, linebackers Davion Taylor and Alex Tchangam, cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. and former safety Daniel Talley.

Montez did not participate in the non-specialized drills such as vertical jump and bench press, but he did show the scouts that he has one of the best arms in the draft. He threw laser after laser, hitting wide receivers in the chest and proving his potential for the NFL.

“I just wanted to show my ability to throw the ball,” Montez said. “That was the focal point of me coming out here today. I think my numbers at the combine kind of spoke for themselves, so I didn’t want to come out here today and run the drills but I definitely did want to come out and throw, especially with my teammates. I thought it went really well.”

Nu’umotu Falo Jr. sprints during a drill to enhance his performance during the 2020 NFL Draft Pro Day. March 11, 2020 (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)

One of the players that stood out was linebacker Taylor. While many scouts and analysts believe that he is undersized at his position, standing only 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 225 pounds, he has turned heads with his speed. As former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis used to say, “speed kills,” and former track star Taylor proved that last Wednesday. He ran an unofficial 4.39 40-yard dash and had great closing speed in the specialized linebacker drills.

“A lot of teams at the combine see me at the inside wheel position which I’m really comfortable with because I did it at the senior bowl with the Bengals,” Taylor said. “I’m getting used to playing the inside position and I think with my size I will have to move to the wheel position and plus the NFL is changing with a lot of speed so I think I’ll fit perfectly.”

Another problem that could lower Taylor’s draft stock is his inexperience as he only started playing football competitively in junior college. After the day of drills, Taylor tried to dispel that misnomer by explaining the learning process he went through with Colorado’s defensive scheme from last season.

“With this defense, I had to learn so much playing the star position. But even on third down, I was moving to the inside position,” Taylor said. “There were so many different things and so many different concepts I had to learn and by me playing everywhere on the field just shows teams I can play anywhere on the field.”

Other standouts included Hambright, Brown and Tchangam. Hambright measured in at 6 feet 4 inches and weighing 307 pounds. He put up 29 reps on the bench press, had a 28.5-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.95 40-yard dash.

Wide receiver Brown had a good day showing off solid hands and crisp route running. Brown was able to improve his NFL Combine 40-yard dash by .17 seconds, clocking in with an unofficial 4.49. He also improved his vertical jump from the combine by 2.5 inches, recording a 36 inch vertical at his pro day. Brown trailed just Laviska Shenault Jr. in yards receiving and led Colorado in receiving touchdowns last season.

Outside linebacker Tchangam was not invited to the combine in Indianapolis but had a strong showing at his pro day, which included 27 reps on the bench press and a 4.48 40-yard dash time. Tchangam showed explosiveness that allowed him to record 3.5 sacks a season ago

Shenault Jr. did not participate at pro day due to an abdominal injury, having just received surgery in early March.