STANFORD, Calif. - With 60 representatives from all throughout the NFL on hand, the annual Stanford NFL Pro Timing Day was held Thursday at cold and rainy Siebel Practice Field.
The inclement weather didn't prevent nine former Cardinal student-athletes from making favorable impressions during the two-hour session televised live on ESPN3 by Stanford products Troy Clardy '97, Todd Husak '00 and Tank Williams '02.
Quarterback/long snapper Ryan Burns, linebacker Peter Kalambayi, fullback Daniel Marx, defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, tight end Dalton Schultz, defensive back Justin Reid, defensive back Quenton Meeks and long snapper C.J. Keller participated. Defensive lineman Eric Cotton and offensive lineman David Bright are still rehabbing from injury.
All but Marx, Burns, Cotton and Keller worked out for pro coaches and scouts at the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
The NFL Draft is April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The day consisted of classroom testing, weight room evaluations, on-field agility drills and football-specific position drills.
In the morning, select players were tested for vertical leap, broad jump and bench press. Schultz improved on his bench performance in Indianapolis by going from 15 to 20 reps.
On the field, select participants were timed in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, three-cone agility and position-specific drills. Meeks ran a 4.49 in the 40-yard dash and also improved in the three-cone agility drill.
Schultz could be the latest in a long line of Stanford tight ends to find his way to the NFL. Zach Ertz of Philadelphia caught the winning touchdown against New England in the most recent Super Bowl, while former Cardinal standouts Coby Fleener, Jim Dray, Levine Toilolo, Ryan Hewitt and Austin Hooper have all made their marks.
Schultz, when asked if their success creates more credibility for Cardinal tight ends, responded with a resounding "Yes."
"At the same time, it also puts a ton of pressure on everybody that comes afterwards to uphold that standard," Schultz continued. "I don't think I should be mentioned in the same breath as Zach Ertz and Coby Fleener and those guys, but I do everything possible to live up to the standard that they've set."
How did Schultz rate his showing Thursday?
"It was great," he said. "I felt like showed them the best version of myself."
Schultz felt more comfortable working out on home turf, especially with Burns, his old roommate.
"It takes a lot off your mental load," said Schultz.
Asked how he will deal with the next five weeks before draft day, he said, "Handle it like I do everything else … with a lot of hard work. I'll be around here working out with Coach (Shannon) Turley, staying in shape."
As a senior in 2016, Burns started seven games at quarterback for the Cardinal and compiled a 4-3 record. He saw limited duty this season behind Keller Chyrst and K.J. Costello, and still has dreams of playing in the NFL.
At the advice of special teams coach Pete Alamar and Turley, Burns began practicing as a long snapper two months ago to increase his versatility. On Thursday, he snapped, threw passes and also caught passes to show the scouts tight end is an option.
"I thought it was pretty good overall," Burns said. "It wasn't perfect by any means. There were a lot of things that I wish I did a little better."
The 6-5, 230-pound Burns has never snapped before.
"I was just exploring my options and they thought it was a great option," he said of Alamar and Turley. "I didn't think I did well enough at quarterback to only be a quarterback. So I'm just doing my best to show I have value at other places as well."
Burns wasn't sure who would watch him long snap, but was pleasantly surprised.
"We were talking before and saying we would be lucky if we got three eyes on me snapping," he said. "And it seemed like almost every coach had a stop watch out. It's huge exposure here and so many great guys have come through here to attract attention."
Several former players attended to lend support including Devon Cajuste, Blake Martinez and Aziz Shittu. The latter plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and earned a Super Bowl ring this season.
Among the interested onlookers was former Cardinal quarterback and safety John Lynch '93, now general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. He starred in football and baseball at Stanford, then become a force in the NFL at strong safety, earning nine trips to the Pro Bowl.
"This is taking me back 25 years," Lynch said. "We used to run in that little building. This (artificial turf) field used to be grass."
Lynch was asked to compare Reid with his older brother, Eric, who has spent the last five years with 49ers and is now a free agent.
"They're similar in that they're both very athletic," he said. "Justin has tremendous versatility to his game. He's played corner, he's played nickel, he's played safety, and he's played them all well."
Eric Reid, who played at LSU and watched many of younger brother Justin's games, warmed him up yesterday.
Justin had pre-draft visits scheduled later in the day with Carolina, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle.
"The highlight was seeing Meeks run his 40," Reid said. "And I felt good about my breaks."
Phillips made a great impression at the NFL Combine, leading all defensive lineman with 42 bench press repetitions. As a senior, he posted 103 tackles with 17 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Phillips had the best run stoppage percentage of any interior lineman in the country.
On Thursday, he came out to support his former teammates, and especially enjoyed watching Burns work as a long snapper.
"I think he looked good out there," said Phillips. "If I was a kick returner, I might be a little scared seeing him coming down the field."
To ensure a dry surface for the 40-yard dash and agility drills, Stanford erected a 170-by-40-foot tent.
"Looking at the forecast, if it was going to be dicey and wet, we wanted to have something to cover the end of the 40," said Keith Juricich, assistant athletic director for operations and events. "On Monday, we assessed the situation, saw the storm was going to get worse and decided to cover the entire 40."
Working with a tent rental company, Juricich arranged for it to be put up Wednesday and the process took 10-14 people five hours.
"Watching other pro days yesterday that were in the rain, they didn't have any coverage," he said. "Some schools have indoor facilities, but I think this is the first title anybody has improvised at this length to get this covered for pro day."
Quotable ... "It was a little weird at first. Everybody is surrounding you and it's dead quiet." - Ryan Burns
