Pro Day in Boise, Idaho

Yesterday was a day where former Boise State players, both graduating seniors and a handful from previous years, got the chance to showcase their athletic abilities in front of NFL scouts and even one head coach—Indianapolis head man, Chuck Pagano. The one Boise State player this year that declared for the draft with eligibility remaining did not participate in drills: Running back, Jeremy McNichols. While he was in attendance and providing moral support to his former teammates, he did not do any testing. He is recovering from surgery on a torn labrum that he underwent after a very solid performance at the NFL combine a few weeks ago.

Stage 1: Inside The Bronco Weight Room

Bench Press

One of the prime events at any kind of mass audition for NFL jobs is the bench press test. The weight used is the same, across all position groups: 225 lbs. Players are tested to see how many repetitions (reps) they can complete with the exercise. While obviously not a great indicator of pure strength, it can be a valuable gauge of muscular endurance at moderate resistance. Even with that said, some of the numbers were surprising.

Results:

Chaz Anderson 19 reps; Travis Averill 23; Raymond Ford 4; Chanceller James 21; Sam McCaskill 14; Jonathan Moxey 17; Thomas Sperbeck 10; Tanner Vallejo 19; Ben Weaver 16; Mario Yakoo 18.

The biggest surprise was Chaz Anderson cranking out 19 reps while weighing less than 200 lbs. Also, to be fair to Raymond Ford, he could have done more reps but was basically disqualified when he hit the hooks with the bar on accident.

Vertical Jump

This is a test that measures an athlete’s explosiveness, as well as their ability to (legally) get high when they need to.

Results:

Anderson 35.5 inches; Averill 24.5; Ford 32.5; James 31; McCaskill 33.5; Moxey 33; Sperbeck 32; Weaver 29.5; Yakoo 25

Stage 2: Inside The Caven-Williams Sports Complex

40 yard dash

Pretty self explanatory. This tests an athlete on their straight line speed for 40 yards.

Results (starting with fastest time):

WR Thomas Sperbeck, 4.47 seconds; CB Raymond Ford and CB Jonathan Moxey, 4.53; WR Chaz Anderson and S Chanceller James, 4.54; LB Ben Weaver, 4.8; DE Sam McCaskill, 4.85; OL Travis Averill, 5.31; OL Mario Yakoo, 5.34.

WR Thomas Sperbeck—4.47:

WR Chaz Anderson—4.54:

S Chanceller James—4.54:

LB Ben Weaver—4.8:

Assorted other drills (presented alphabetically):

60-yard shuttle: Anderson 11.3; Ford 11.48; James 11.68; McCaskill 11.77; Moxey 11.39; Sperbeck, 11.06; Vallejo 12.12; Weaver 11.62.

Pro agility: Anderson 4.15; Averill 4.6; Ford 4.09; James 4.22; McCaskill 4.28; Moxey 4.11; Sperbeck 4.03; Vallejo 4.22; Weaver 4.16; Yakoo 4.65.

L-drill: Anderson 6.95; Averill 7.61; Ford 6.98; James 7.00; McCaskill 7.28; Moxey 6.88; Sperbeck 6.73; Weaver 7.06; Yakoo 7.81

Broad jump: Anderson 9-foot-11; Averill 8-4; Ford 9-11; James 10-1; McCaskill 9-10; Moxey 10-1; Sperbeck 9-4; Weaver 9-1; Yakoo 8-4

LB Ben Weaver running a drill (a significantly bulked up Thomas Sperbeck makes a cameo)

WR Thomas Sperbeck runs a curl route

WR Chaz Anderson runs a curl route

Stage 3: Interviews With Prospects

Some of the pro day participants (and McNichols) were kind enough to come talk to us at the end of the event about their preparation and prospects.

K Tyler Rausa

OL, Mario Yakoo

WR Thomas Sperbeck

LB Tanner Vallejo

RB Jeremy McNichols

In the interviews, among many other things, we learned that Yakoo has an upcoming workout with the Chargers, Vallejo is convinced he’ll remain a linebacker at the next level (speculation has been made about possible position fluidity between linebacker and safety), and Jeremy McNichols has actually been injured for a year and a half. So...just to unpack that, the entire time The McWeapon was tightly cradling the ball (rarely fumbled) and savagely stiff-arming defenders en route to 2,183 all purpose yards and 27 total TDs last season, he was doing so with a TORN FREAKING LABRUM IN HIS RIGHT SHOULDER!

My goodness.

Yesterday was a rush but it’s in the books now, and we would like to wish nothing but the very best of luck to all the Broncos chasing NFL dreams. Thank you for all you did for our program, and we’ll be looking for you on Sundays. In the meantime...

Go Broncos!