With the draft fast approaching and the scouting combine in the rearview mirror, a handful of Oregon football alumni took the field at the Moshofsky Center on Thursday afternoon in an effort to impress a contingent of NFL scouts.
The big names taking the turf were LaMichael James, Darron Thomas, David Paulson and Cliff Harris. But several other former Ducks — including Mark Asper, Anthony Gildon, Josh Kaddu, Eddie Pleasant and Lavasier Tuinei — were also on hand to show the NFL what they had to offer. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_OEM_ID=500&Q_SEASON=2011@@
As a tightly packed group of scouts looked on with watchful eyes, skill players participated in the shuttle run, three-cone drill and 40-yard dash, among other drills. While many players walked off the field unaware of their recorded times, everyone in attendance could sense the importance surrounding the sacred football rituals.
“This whole process is life-changing, a process to do something better with myself and my life,” Harris said. “I ain’t necessarily heard any of (the feedback), I’m just trying to control what I can control.”
Usually filled with the joyous bass of up-tempo hip-hop, the Moshofsky Center was shrouded in a blanket of silence on Thursday as players put months of hard work on the line in front of potential future employers.
Some players surely had more to prove than others. However, with a crowd of media, family members and teammates packing the sideline, most of the participants arrived anxious to impress.
Paulson said he came to Eugene hoping to improve his 40-meter time. The sure-handed tight end hopes NFL teams see him as a downfield threat at the next level. He said he was clocked between 4.66 and 4.71 in his two attempts in the 40.
“Scouts kind of see me as a move guy, not exactly the traditional tight end,” Paulson said. “So I think running a better time is going to help me control that goal.”
James, the Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist, took the field with tempered expectations after a so-so showing in the 40 at the combine in Indianapolis. Despite his lack of urgency, James’ best time of 4.29 was impressive, even if it was hand-timed by Oregon’s running backs coach, Gary Campbell.
“I just wanted to run again, even if I didn’t lower it,” James said. “I’ll probably never run another 40 again. I feel like I did great things at the combine.
“They just told me don’t really push it. They’ve already seen things, and they have feelings, so they just told me to come out here and have fun. It’s not really a stressful situation for me. I’m just having fun.”
Harris, on the other hand, wasn’t being told to hold back. After being dismissed from the program earlier this season, Harris knew he needed to display the athleticism and ball skills that made him an All-American punt returner and first-team All-Pac-10 cornerback in 2010.
“I feel like, with my past, I have a lot to prove just in general,” Harris said. “Just to show everybody that history won’t repeat itself. I feel like everybody got something to prove. It’s a job interview.”
Asked about his potential character issues, Harris said the subject has come up in interviews with NFL teams. But with a newly toned 181-pound frame and a fresh mindset, Harris sounded confident that his unlawful missteps were a thing of the past.
“I just tell them that I made a couple mistakes,” Harris said. “I was young. I’m just learning how to become a professional. That’s what it comes down to.”
Harris claimed he had put on more than 20 pounds of muscle since beginning training with St. Vincent’s Sports Performance in Indianapolis. But after the drills were completed, the Fresno, Calif., native looked winded and admitted as much.
“It got pretty hot in here,” Harris said. “I’m not out of shape; it got pretty hot. When I went out the door, I went and threw up, to be honest. I couldn’t breathe. It was just a great day, a great feeling. They worked us out pretty good.”
Regardless of their standing, most of the players in attendance expressed relief that the intensive predraft process was coming to a close.
“I am so happy that it is over,” James said. “I want to be normal for a little bit, a little while. I want to go hang out with my friends, eat some fried chicken — because I like chicken a lot — and drink some sweet tea.”
“It’s kind of a weird situation,” Paulson admitted. “The combine, Pro Day — all the emphasis on these drills, and it’s not really football. It’s going to be nice to get back into training just for football.”