CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Clemson Pro Day: Sights and Sounds
Dodd had a great session in front of NFL scouts Thursday

Clemson Pro Day: Sights and Sounds


by - Senior Writer -

CLEMSON – The National Football League descended on Clemson Thursday morning.

Several former players worked out for NFL coaches, scouts and executives at the Tigers’ annual Pro Day, which was held at the indoor practice facility. The Bengals’ Marvin Lewis, the Colts’ Chuck Pagano, the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin and the Bills’ Rex Ryan were NFL coaches in attendance.

Arizona Cardinals linebackers coach and Clemson great Levon Kirkland was also on hand.

Wide receiver Charone Peake was the standout in the 40-yard dash, running a blistering 4.36 in his first run and a 4.38 in his second run. We heard some stopwatches might have even had him in the 4.2 range.

Some other numbers and notes. All times are unofficial

*Offensive lineman Joe Gore did 28 reps of 225 pounds at the bench press, 4.87 40-yard dash time, 27.5-inch vertical jump, 9'1" broad jump, 5-10-5 time of 4.65 and a 3-cone drill time of 7.59.

*Offensive lineman Roderick Byars did 22 reps of 225 pounds at the bench press, ran a 5.12 40-yard dash, 24.5-inch vertical jump, 8'9" broad jump, 4.73 time in the 5-10-5 drill and a 7.77 time in the 3 Cone drill.

*Longsnapper Jim Brown ran a 5.20 40-yard dash, 8'2" broad jump, 12.86 in the pro agility drill, 4.75 in the 5-10-5 drill and a 7.70 time in the 3-cone drill.

*Defensive end Shaq Lawson said that he has already met with 22 NFL teams today and will fly out this week to do a ESPN Sports Science episode.

*Tomlin had an extended conversation with Alexander following a cone drill.

*Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney held an extended conversation with the Bengals’ Marvin Lewis.

*Alexander was late coming out for interviews because Pagano spent about 15 minutes talking to Alexander about football and life.

*Dodd told us that teams that run a 3-4 defense have inquired about whether he can play outside linebacker, and that today was about proving he has the footwork and speed to do so. He says he was pleased with his results, but currently checks in at 275 pounds. He said he would need to get in the 260 range to play linebacker.

*Bills head coach Rex Ryan was there with his brother Rob, who is the current defensive coordinator for Buffalo. Rob was wearing a Bills windsuit but was sporting a “BYOG” cap.

*I spoke to three different personnel as they left, and they told me that Alexander’s stock is rising.

*Dodd told me he got an invite to be in the “Green Room” at the draft and with his stock soaring, he might be there.

*There were plenty of former Tigers on hand – Tajh Boyd, Vic Beasley, Chris Chancellor, Jonathan Meeks, Justin Miller, Antoine McClain, Woody Dantzler, Malliciah Goodman, Michael Hamlin, Rod McDowell, Tony Steward, Rashaad Jackson, Dalton Freeman, Bashaud Breeland and Garry Peters.

*I talked to Beasley for a minute, and he said the sight of so many NFL personnel at Clemson's Pro Day shows just how far the program has come. He then said that if the Falcons were to draft Shaq Lawson, it would be a nightmare for opposing offenses.

"Who are you going to block? You double-team me he is going to get loose," Beasley said. "You double-team him and you leave me free to get to the quarterback."

*Results of the 225-pound bench press (reps)

Travis Blanks 14

T.J. Green 18

Rod Byers 22

C.J. Davidson 19

Kevin Dodd 22

Joe Gore 28

Eric Mac Lain 22

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