Portland State Football hosted its biggest Pro Day in history on this past Wednesday as 17 athletes worked out for NFL scouts. The majority were Viking football players who concluded their playing careers last fall. The 14 NFL scouts presentwas the most ever for a Pro Day at Portland State.
The NFL Pro Day consisted of physical tests that allow the Scouts at the Camp and others reading the results to make a comparison of the players physicality and ability to play in the NFL.
Those tests include the bench press, 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuffle drill, L-cone drill, broad jump and vertical jump. Some of the athletes at the event were very impressive and are:
- Former Viking wide receiver and kick returner Aaron Woods (2008-09) who had the fastest 40 yard dash, recording a 4.39 second burst.
- Wide receiver Antwun Baker looked terrific throughout and had a 4.44 second 40 time.
- Linebacker Ryan Rau hit a 10'3" broad jump and 28 reps on the 225 pound bench.
- Safety Deshawn Shead was beastly at all events and really impressed with a 38 inch vert and a 10'1" broad jump.
But the day belonged to Myles Wade, the former All American from Central Catholic, who absolutly destroyed the event. He weighed in at a massive 311 pounds and was absolutly cut for a big man. His number were as follows:
- Vertical Jump 35.5"; His personal best.
- Broad Jump: 9'1"; slightly off his best of 9'3"
- 225 Pound Bench: 42 reps; tied with his best
- 40 yard dash: 5.06 and 5.11
- 20 yard shuttle: 4.68
Now what is really intriguing and should be for anyone tracking the NFL Draft or the overalll process is that Wade, who was rated as one of the top 2 or 3 DT in the Nation by Rivals.com in 2007, could or maybe should be a top 5 DT draft choice in this years draft. But the fact that he disappeared off the of the radar when he failed to qualify at Oregon and had to go the JC route has not helped. Then when he left Texas Tech after two years and a very controversial coaching change to play his 5th year at Portland State is causing him to remain off the radar.
Here is why we say that. We looked at these scores and Wade as a player and athlete. He was dominating in most situations he was put into on the field and as a Nose Tackle he was double teamed regularly as his ability to wreak havoc other wise was known. That makes the Nose tackle spot one of the hardest positions to stand out at. But everyone knows the kid can play with the best of them.
Official Results from the 2012 NFL Draft
Bench Press
FULL RESULTS: http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#year=2012&workout=BENCH_PRESS&position=DL
Wades 42 yesterday puts him at #2 Overall for 2012
Vertical Jump
FULL RESULTS
These athletes averaged 275 pounds and none of them were over 300 pounds; Wade is at 311 right now. He would be Tied for the #2 spot and #1 for athletes over 300 pounds.
For Broad Jump Wade would be in the Top 20 and in the Top 2 or 3 overall for athletes over 300 pounds: Source Here
Wade would also be in the top 3 athletes over 300 pounds for 40 yard dash with a 5.11 average yesterday in the Rain at Stott Center. Source Here
Now the list goes on here but it is no wonder Wade is gaining attention and was a top performer at the Houston Regional Combine. That earned him an invite to the Super regional event in Detroit on March 30th. If his scores hold up there or increase he could be projected to move into the Draft which by all rights he should be.
Myles Wade may have been the victim of circumstance or adversity in life but he is running, lifting, and jumping his way back to the position he was headed for this entire time. The fact that he has one year done on his masters degree and a great career path for his future either way only make this a better example of hard work paying off. We will see where things end up soon enough but right now Myles is heading in a really godo direction.
Here is more information on the NFL Regional Combines.
Here is a list of the official drills athletes need to compete in at the Combines.
Editors Note: Interestingly Myles Wade played against Ndamukong Suh in Portland in HIgh School when Suh was a Junior and Senior at Grant High School and Wade was a freshmen and Sophomore at Portland's Benson High. They had some great battles back then. The two remain friendly and communicate often.
Suh was the #1 rated D'Tackle in the 2010 Draft and went #1 overall. Here are his results from his NFL Combine appearance.
Combine Invite: Yes Height: 6'3.7" Weight: 307 40 Yrd Dash: 5.03 20 Yrd Dash: 2.81 10 Yrd Dash: 1.69 |
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 32 Vertical Jump: 35 1/2 Broad Jump: 08'09" 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.44 3-Cone Drill: 7.21 40 Time Range: 5.03-5.24 |
While he and Wade are different sort of players in terms of how they are used on the field the similarities are striking and the test scores are very similar with Wade besting Suh on Broad Jump and significantly on Bench and Suh having a faster 20 yard shuttle (Wade was 4.6) and a slightly faster 40 time. The Portland duo tied on the vertical.
The #1 DT In the Nation projected to go #10 in the first round of the Draft is LSU star Michael Brokers. The 6'6" 320 pounder is a beast. Here are here scores for comparison from the NFL combine this year.
40 Yard Dash: | 5.36 seconds |
20 Yard Dash: | N/A seconds |
10 Yard Dash: | N/A seconds |
Bench Press: | 19 reps (225 lb) |
Vertical Leap: | 26.0 inches |
Broad Jump: | 105 inches |
Shuttle: | 4.81 |
Three Cone: |
7.46
|
Here is a look at the 42 reps Wade posted yesterday. Impressive indeed.