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Risers and Sliders

Movers, shakers from early March's Pro Day workouts


By Tony Pauline, Special to SI.com, TFYDraft.com
Within days of the completion of the NFL combine, scouts from around the league began criss-crossing the country to evaluate pro-day workouts. Throughout March, players will test for NFL teams at their respective schools. Here's a look at how the first week went.
Risers

Andre Woodson, QB -- Kentucky
Woodson turned in a solid performance under a microscope in Lexington. He ran the 40 in 4.86 seconds and looked physically imposing. Woodson threw the ball well and was accurate with his passes. Scouts said it was obvious the Kentucky signal-caller has been working on his throwing mechanics since the Senior Bowl. He was late with a few passes and also underthrew a number of deep passes. But overall, Woodson came away with solid grades.
David Roach, Safety -- TCU
The TCU safety rested on his combine times but stood out in the position drills. Scouts on-hand said Roach turned in one of the most impressive safety workouts they had ever witnessed. He is now being given consideration at cornerback, and a number of teams came away thinking this one-time middle-round choice could slide into the third round.
Paul Hubbard, WR -- Wisconsin
Hubbard significantly improved on his combine performance. He scorched the track with 40 times that clocked between 4.38 to 4.45 seconds, a full .15 faster than his runs in the RCA Dome. His vertical jump was also at least six inches better. Hubbard kept the momentum going by turning in a terrific pass-catching workout.
Ryan Clady, OT -- Boise State
The Boise State junior did not participate at the combine but turned in a first-round performance at his pro day. Clady ran times of 5.20 seconds after tipping the scales at 311 pounds. His three-cone time of 7.05 seconds eclipsed that of any offensive linemen at the combine by almost a half-second. He also looked good in position drills.
Martellus Bennett, TE -- Texas A&M
Bennett stood on most of his combine times and participated in the pass-catching workout, where he looked outstanding. He caught the deep ball well and was fluid in making all the downfield receptions.
Tracy Porter, CB -- Indiana
The Hoosier cornerback was considerably faster during his pro-day workout. He clocked 4.45 seconds in the RCA Dome, but some watches had Porter as fast as 4.33 seconds in Bloomington.
David Vobora, LB -- Idaho
Vobora was yet another who improved on his combine performance. His vertical jump of 35.5 inches was 6.5 inches better than his leap at the RCA Dome. He ran his 40 in the 4.58 range, almost two-tenths faster than his combine time.
Jalen Parmele, RB -- Toledo
Parmele is still struggling with a hamstring injury, which slowed him at the combine (even though he ran impressively). He improved his vertical jump significantly at Toledo -- jumping 42 inches, eight better than his Indianapolis performance.
Sliders

Calais Campbell, Defensive End -- Miami (Fla.)
Campbell chose not to compete on the bench press, which surprised many after his poor performance at the combine (16 repetitions). He tried to better his 40 time, yet ran an uninspired 5.06 seconds.
Kenny Phillips, Safety -- Miami (Fla.)
Philips decided not to run as he and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, decided to stick with the 40 times from the combine, which averaged in the 4.5 area.
Notes

• Linebacker Beau Belle, a top 75 pick in April's draft, is still suffering lingering effects from the knee injury he sustained during the Senior Bowl. He was unable to run at the combine or the UNLV workout earlier this week, but hopes to workout by the end of March. The same holds true for wideout Luke Swan. The Wisconsin receiver underwent surgery in mid-October to repair a torn hamstring. He is considered one of the better pure-possession receivers in the draft. On Wednesday, he performed some stationary pass-catching drills for scouts and hopes to complete a full workout on March 31.
• Martin Rucker is another pass-catcher on the shelf with hamstring woes. He did not participate at the combine or Thursday's pro day in Missouri because of the ailment. Rucker hopes he'll be ready to go during the Tigers' second pro day March 20.
SI.com - NFL - Tony Pauline: Risers, sliders from Pro Day workouts - Friday March 7, 2008 12:53PM

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

D_it_up

Hubbard could be a steal if he is around in round 3. That could be a good downfield receiver that can replace Devery and learn behind Patten for a year or two. Impressive workout.

beauchristopher

Ryan Clady is going to be good at the next level.