Boilermakers try to impress at Purdue's pro day

Purdue has had at least one former Boilermaker selected in every NFL Draft since 1998, a streak of 19 consecutive years.

It's hoping that stays alive this season, although it might take a player improving his stock enough to get up into the seven rounds of draft in late April. After Jake Replogle retired due to medical issues following his senior year, Purdue lost it's sure-fire selection. But others are possibilities to make the streak 20 straight. And they got an opportunity to impress NFL scouts at Purdue's pro day Tuesday in Mollenkopf.

There, about 30 scouts from every team put a dozen former Boilermakers — and a receiver from Marian University — through a range of tests, from the bench to the 40 to the vertical to the 3-cone and everything else, plus had them run position drills.

Receiver DeAngelo Yancey, who seemed to have an impressive day, says players want to keep the streak going.

“We talk about it all the time," he said. "We definitely don’t want to be the class that ends it."

Following is a look at the pro day performances of Yancey, Jason King and Jordan Roos:

DeAngelo Yancey knew he had something to prove.

And over 40 yards on Tuesday, he was determined to prove it.

Mission accomplished.

The former Purdue wide receiver ran a 4.46 — he said scouts clocked him as high as 4.38 and one as low as 4.5 but a majority in between — in the dash. And that caught the eye of the 30 or so NFL scouts in attendance.

“I knew I was going to come out and run fast, but I don’t think any of the scouts knew,” Yancey said. “I saw heads go up and hands start writing, so that’s good.”

The sprint alone probably helped Yancey tremendously; it appeared so, as several teams approached him after his positional workout, with a Dolphins’ scout having him do a 40-minute cognitive test.

“They like my size and speed combination,” said Yancey, a 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, of scouts, “so there’s been pretty good feedback. I’ll sit back, wait, stay in shape and see what happens.”

But Tuesday, needless to say, was a big day. Yancey, who caught 49 balls for 951 yards and 10 scores as a senior, played in the Shrine Game in January, catching the attention then of several teams. Many of them then noticed that Yancey was quicker than what he appeared on tape, he said.

At the pro day, he wanted to show that he had speed and explosiveness, making the 40-yard dash and the broad jump important. He wasn’t exactly confident of his jump distance, but said it was further than 10 feet.

“I feel I like did everything I could do,” said Yancey, who had been working out twice a day, seven days a week Fit Speed Athletic Performance in Weston, Fla. “Now, it’s up to those guys in the office.”

Jason King could have brought scouts into Mackey Arena to show them that a 6-4, 304-pounder can dunk a basketball.

But the offensive lineman chose more traditional ways to show off his athleticism. And he did so, jumping 31 inches in the vertical, which would have been second at last month's NFL Combine, an inch short of San Diego St.’s Nico Siragusa; and a broad jump of 108 inches, which would have been seventh.

He also thought he ran the 40 in about 5.1 seconds, plus pushed 35 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, two more than his goal and tied for first at the Combine with Utah’s Isaac Asiata.

“I wanted to show that I was athletic and I think I moved around really well in the drills,” King said, “but at the same time I also went in there and banged out 35 reps on the bench, so there’s some power too.”

But King had other goals, as well. He thinks he projects as a center in the NFL, so the offensive guard has been working to transition.

“I actually had to stop at the beginning of the (snapping) drill and say, ‘OK, sorry I’m a little nervous, I’ve been working on snapping, but it’s still new for me,’” said King, who worked out at Michael Johnson Performance, with former teammate Jordan Roos, near Dallas. “But I was able to get in there and show what I could do. I’m comfortable and it felt really good.”

Now, King, who played in the College Gridiron Showcase in January, will wait to see if he’s moved himself into the draft, or whether he could get a free agent deal. But either way, he thinks he’s put himself in the best position possible.

“(The NFL) would be a dream come true,” he said. “It’s what it’s all about. Obviously I played college football and enjoyed every second of it, through the ups and downs. It was still such a pleasure, such an honor to be a Boiler. The way I see it, I’ve never had an easy path when it comes to athletics. Going back to my home school (Arkansas) that didn’t offer me a scholarship, but it all works out. When it comes to draft day, or getting a call after, that’s not what’s big for me. It’s going to be me being the hard worker that I am just making that 53.”

The number stands out: 41.

Jordan Roos bench pressed 225 pounds 41 times on Tuesday, six more than the top finisher at the Combine. And Roos actually got 42 up, as well, but the technique wasn’t quite right, so scouts canceled it out.

Still, 41 is crazy.

“I think that shows my strength,” said Roos, an offensive guard, “and I felt like I was moving quickly and had a good change of direction today and did what I did when I was training. That’s why you go somewhere while you’re training, you stay motivated every day and it pays off.”

That was near Dallas for Roos, where he worked out with his buddy King. The two are a good pair, keeping each other motivated in different ways; Roos likes to lift, so he encourages King there; and King likes more of the agility training, so he pulls Roos there.

At Michael Johnson Performance, trainers tabulate averages over the last several years for the performers at the Combine, giving their clients a chance to see where they need to be. So Roos came into the Purdue pro day with several targets.

Those adjusted along the way, like resetting the bench mark after getting 39 last month and seeing that he could be move better than he had imagined.

“You’ve got to have some flash and something that sets you apart from the others,” he said. “You don’t want to be in the middle. That wasn’t my goal. But it was the benchmark, ‘This is what guys have done historically, so lets attack it and go on past it.’ I did that with the bench and was excited and some of the other things, I was above where I needed to be.”

The 6-4, 304-pounder changed his body over the last two months ago, gaining about 14 points while dropping three percent of body fat. (King did about the same). And it had him feeling good.

Now, he’s just hoping for a chance.

“For me, it’s about making it,” Roos said. “It doesn’t matter which road I take. I’ve been on a windy bumpy road for a long time, through high school getting offers to come play Division I football, there weren’t many teams who offered me. Purdue fell in love with me and gave me the opportunity to come here and play. Same with finding an agent, there wasn’t very many agents out here knocking on my door. It took one guy to say, ‘Hey, this is my guy.’ I went with him.

“And it’s the same with this process. If I get drafted, that’s awesome. It’s been my dream forever. But it’s about making it to the NFL, not just making it but staying in the NFL, and that’s been my goal and dream forever.”

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