The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Football Hosts Annual Pro Day
March 19 | Football
Twenty-four representatives from 14 National Football League
teams, as well as one from the Arena Football League 2 and the
Canadian Football League, converged on the University of Akron's
Stile Athletics Field House to evaluate 2007 Zip seniors in
preparation for the upcoming draft.
Working out for the pro scouts were Junaid
Abdullah, Jabari Arthur, Jared
Cecchetti, Reggie Corner, Kris
Kasparek, Parris McNeal, Chevin
Pace, Marcus Patterson, Nate
Robinson, Mike Schepp, Brion
Stokes, Davanzo Tate and Andre
Walker.
On hand were representatives from the world champion New York
Giants, Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots, Cincinnati
Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts,
Tampa Bay Buccanners, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals,
Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo
Bills and Miami Dolphins. Also represented was the Mahoning Valley
Thunder of the af2 and the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
The Giants had another representative present Wednesday as
receiver/kick returner and former UA standout Domenik Hixon was on
hand supporting his former teammates. Also back on campus was
former defensive end Jermaine Reid, who just finished his first
season playing for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Arthur and Robinson were the two Zips most scouts were on campus to
evaluate due to the duo each being selected for postseason all-star
games (Arthur in the Senior Bowl and Robinson in the East-West
Shrine Bowl). Arthur was coming off an All-American season, setting
UA records for season and career receptions. Robinson battled some
injuries this past season, but has been the under evaluation by
numerous NFL scouts since the summer due to his physical
attributes.
While those two were the marquee names, corner backs Tate and
Corner turned some heads Wednesday. Tate, who led the MAC in pass
breakups, had a 40-inch vertical jump, an 11-foot standing broad
jump and was a blur on his 40-yard dash, shuttle run and L-drill.
Corner, who led the MAC in interceptions, also had good times in
his running drills and showed good movement while doing defensive
back drills. By getting his seven picks in 2007, his ball skills
have also peaked the interest of the scouts.
Some other solid performances by other Zips were registered
throughout the day. That, combined with Akron's recent success in
placing players in professional football, could lead to UA having a
number of players in an NFL camp this spring.
The NFL Draft is April 26-27 in New York City.
