The standout in today's drills was Georgia DE David Pollack. He was probably the best overall in all the timed drills.
There were 14 tight ends in total. Nine ran, four were medically excused, and one chose not to run.
The best time was by Notre Dame's Jerome Collins, who posted times of 4.65 and 4.66. And all of the tight ends ran a 4.90 or under, including Iowa's Tony Jackson (4.68, 4.75) and Colorado State's Joel Dreessen (4.75, 4.71). Three of the most promising tight ends in the 2005 draft class -- Virginia's Heath Miller, Stanford's Alex Smith, and Kevin Everett of Miami (Fla.) -- did not run because of injuries.
Smith did participate in the strength drill -- he bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times. Oklahoma's Dan Cody had 32 lifts, and Lehigh's Adam Bergen had 25.
In other news, we learned that Rams left tackle Orlando Pace has changed agents, leaving the Poston brothers for Kennard McGuire. Not exactly a groundbreaking 40-yard dash time, but a bit of significant news nonetheless.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN -- GROUP 1
The first group of defensive linemen, which includes both tackles and ends together, ran very well, posting good times.
There were 25 players in the group. Of the 25, 18 ran, two were excused, and five didn't take part in the 40-yard dash on the advice of their agents.
Iowa's Jonathan Babineaux, a 286-pounder, posted times of 4.81 and 4.87. Conversely, Trent Cole of Cincinnati really needs to run and work out, but he was one of the guys that didn't do anything.
Jonathan Goddard, a small but productive player from Marshall, ran a 4.72. The biggest surprise as far as how well he ran was Jovan Haye of Vanderbilt, who ran a 4.78.
One defensive tackle, Luis Castillo of Northwestern (6-3 3/8, 303), ran a 4.78 and had 32 bench presses.
Boston College's Tim Bulman lifted the bar 35 times.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN -- GROUP 2
There were 26 guys in the second group of defensive linemen -- 20 ran, five had medical clearances and one didn't run by his own choice.
The fastest time of the group was posted by Jonathan Welsh of Wisconsin (6-3 1/4, 244), who ran a 4.53 and 4.59. Fellow Wisconsin teammate Erasus James (6-4 1/8, 266), a probable first-rounder, ran 4.78. James later had a really good broad jump of 10 feet, 2 inches.
David McMillan (6-3, 262) from Kansas ran a 4.60, while two probable first-round picks -- Georgia's David Pollack (6-2 1/8, 265) and Iowa's Matt Roth (6-33/4, 278) -- were clocked at 4.80. Utah DT Sione Pouha (6-63/4, 325) ran a 4.99.
DEFENSIVE BACKS SHOW THEIR STRENGTH
Rice's Terry Holley bench-pressed 225 pounds 24 times. Florida State's Bryant McFadden, Virginia's Marquis Weeks and Michigan State's Jason Harmon each recorded 23 lifts. Nebraska corner Fabian Washington benched 19 times.
Wisconsin's Jim Leonhard, who had his foot in a cast due to a stress fracture he incurred last season, had 19 lifts. Leonhard hails from Tony, Wis., which has a population of 115 people. Tony is in the northwestern part of the state, about two hours from the Minnesota state line. Leonhard attended Flambeau High, which has 250 students.
Before his senior season, he attended the Wisconsin football camp, and the coaches there convinced him to enroll at Wisconsin and attempt to walk on the football team. He made it, and wound up making the All-Big Ten team three times. Leonhard, who returned punts the past three seasons, is getting attention from secondary coaches and special-teams coaches.
