Pro Day: Floyd shines for scouts

Published 6:25 pm Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd hauls in a pass from former quarterback Jimmy Clausen Tuesday afternoon. (Daily Star Photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ)

NOTRE DAME — A pair of Notre Dame seniors were among those on display Tuesday at the Fighting Irish’s annual Pro Day.

Wide receiver Michael Floyd, who is projected as a top 10 pick in the upcoming National Football League draft, and safety Harrison Smith were under the watchful eyes of plenty of scouts and a pair of head coaches.

The Chicago Bears had more than just Lovie Smith in attendance at the Loftus Center. General Manager Phil Emery and wide receivers coach Darryl Drake were also on hand as well as assistant defensive back coach Gill Byrd.

The Bears currently sit at No. 19 on the draft board and would more than likely have to trade up to get Floyd.

Floyd did nothing to diminish his status after turning in an outstanding workout at the NFL Combine back in February. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Floyd caught passes from a familiar signal caller as former teammate Jimmy Clausen was on hand.

“He did really well,” Clause said of Floyd’s workout. “When you have guys like Mike and Jonas (Gray) to throw to it makes my job a lot easier. I talked to Mike and he wanted me to come back and throw for his pro day. It was a good opportunity for me to come back and get back with Mike and Jonas and some of the guys and sling it around a bit.”

“It went well,” Floyd said. “I did what I could do. I did all the routes. I asked what the coaches wanted to see and I did my best. I’m in a great position to reach my goal and play in the NFL. Hopefully put in a good position to be picked by a team.”

Notre Dame football Pro Day notes and results

• Nine former Notre Dame football players worked out at the annual Notre Dame Football Pro Day today at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex and Loftus Sports Center.

• Height and weight measurements, vertical jump, broad jump and bench press were all conducted at Haggar Fitness Complex within the complex.

• The 40-yard dash, pro agility (20-yard shuttle), 60-yard shuttle, three-cone drill and position-specific drills all occurred on Meyo Field at Loftus Sports Center.

• Players worked out in front of representatives from 27 of 32 NFL teams.  Two general managers, two head coaches, multiple coordinators and position coaches plus several scouts were in attendance.

• Robert Blanton, Taylor Dever, Darius Fleming, Michael Floyd, Gary Gray, Jonas Gray, Trevor Robinson, David Ruffer and Harrison Smith all participated in the Pro Day. Gary Gray was the only player to take part in all drills.

• Blanton posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.53 seconds. That time by Blanton would have ranked as the fourth-fastest 40-yard time by a safety at the NFL Combine this year. Among cornerbacks, Blanton’s 4.53 time would have tied for 12th. Of note is that the top two cornerbacks on most NFL mock drafts — LSU’s Morris Claiborne and Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick — ran similar times to Blanton at the NFL Combine. Claiborne ran the 10th fastest time at the Combine (4.50) while Kirkpatrick was right behind him and barely ahead of Blanton at 4.51 seconds.

•  Dever’s broad jump distance of 8-foot-9 would have tied him for sixth at the NFL Combine. Dever, who attended the NFL Combine, improved his times in the 40-yard dash (from 5.46 at the Combine to 5.34) and pro agility (from 4.90 to 4.71).

•  Fleming posted two very quick times and helped his draft stock at the Pro Day. Fleming’s 40-yard dash time of 4.54 seconds would have ranked third among all linebackers at the NFL Combine and his 11.58 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle would have been the fourth-fastest among linebackers at the Combine.  Fleming at the NFL Combine ranked in the top seven in bench press, pro agility (20-yard shuttle) and the three-cone drill.

•  Gray improved his bench press numbers from 20 at the NFL Combine to 22 today.  Even more impressive was the fact Gray ran and cut on the practice field while catching passes, despite being less than five months removed from knee surgery.

•  Robinson made the most of his opportunity as he recorded numbers that would have placed him among offensive linemen in the top 10 in four different categories. Robinson would have been the only offensive lineman at the NFL Combine to have  ranked in the top 10 in vertical jump (30 inches; t-8th), broad jump (8-9; t-6th), bench press (31; t-8th) and 40-yard dash (5.22; 8th).

•  Ruffer made 13 of 15 field goals and many of his kickoffs landed in the end zone.

•  Smith’s 60-yard shuttle time of 11.52 seconds would have been the fastest time by a safety at the NFL Combine.

• NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock attended the Pro Day and offered his thoughts: “I think the two guys that really helped themselves in terms of 40 times and measurables are Blanton and Fleming. They both ran in the mid-4.5. I’ve been a believer for a long time.”

• Mayock on the draft prospects of Michael Floyd: “In my book he is (the best receiver in the Draft). If you take the off-the-field stuff away from Michael Floyd and just watch the tape, I think he compares very, very favorably to Justin Blackmon. In my opinion, I think Jacksonville at No. 7 starts his interest. I don’t think he gets past 16 with the Jets. I think there are some teams like Chicago hanging down there at 19 that would love to have Michael Floyd.”

• Mayock on the draft prospects of Harrison Smith: “I think Mark Barron, the safety from Alabama, is in the top 20. Harrison should be the next safety. I see him late first round, but probably the top half of the second round. He’s 6-foot-2, 215 pounds with great movement skills. Somebody’s going to get a steal with Harrison Smith.”