Rutgers hosts Pro Day

-Courtesy of Rutgers University

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 26, 2008) – Thirty scouts from 20 NFL teams attended the Rutgers Pro Combine Wednesday at the Hale Center and Indoor Practice Bubble in Piscataway. The scouts watched 12 former Scarlet Knights from the 2007 squad take part in the combine, along with four other former Scarlet Knights from past seasons.

Among the group of 2007 Scarlet Knights were: Jean Beljour, Marcus Daniels, Gaudhi DeSedas, Mike Fladell, Eric Foster, Ron Girault, Jeremy Ito, Brandon Renkart, Ray Rice, Pedro Sosa, James Townsend and Jeremy Zuttah. Sosa was the only individual not to take part in any testing due to a knee injury.

The players went through a variety of drills, including the 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench press, broad jump, vertical jump, three-cone drill, flexibility tests and individual position testing.

Rice and Zuttah elected to only perform in certain events after going through the entire combine process in Indianapolis in February at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Foster was only able to make it through three events before a pulled hamstring in the 40-yard dash ended his day prematurely. He did have the best day of any Scarlet Knight in the bench press, lifting 225 pounds 29 times.

Rice showed excellent hands during individual position testing for the scouts, including a one-handed grab down the sideline. He also had a 39.5-inch vertical jump and 4.17 20-yard shuttle time.

Girault had a strong all-around day, including 25 reps of 225, 39.5-inch vertical jump and a 4.46 40-yard dash.

Renkart also showed his skills for the scouts, including a 36-inch vertical, 4.59 40-yard dash and 4.10 20-yard shuttle time.

Some of the top marks of the day belonged to James Townsend. He had the best vertical jump (41.5 inches), 40-yard dash (4.39), and tied for the top 20-yard shuttle time with Renkart at 4.10.

Ito showed his kicking skills off for the scouts, connecting on 9-of-11 field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder. He showed excellent distance and placement on kickoffs as well.