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PROVO — A lot of NFL scouts came to BYU for Friday morning’s Pro Day workouts to see former Cougar linebacker Fred Warner.
Warner, though, was there to see his former teammates.
The ex-BYU defensive star who is projected as a mid-round prospect performed in defensive drills Friday, but eagerly cheered from the sideline for teammates Tanner Balderree, Kamel Greene, Micah Hannemann, Tuni Kanuch, Tejan Koroma, Hiva Lee, Jonny Linehan, Handsome Tanielu, Kesni Tausinga, Jonah Trinnaman and 2016 graduates Tomasi Laulile, Logan Taele and Travis Tuiloma through the annual "underwear Olympics" workouts that include the 40-yard dash, the vertical leap and the bench press.
“It’s just good being around these guys again,” Warner said. “We got pretty close this past season with how things went (with a 4-9 record), and it’s good to see them back having success out here.”
The 6-foot-3 San Marcos, California, native ran a 4.64 40-yard dash, added 21 reps on the bench press and clocked a 38.5-inch vertical jump with a 119-inch broad jump at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, which rated in the top 15 among linebackers. A four-year standout at BYU, Warner projects anywhere between the third and sixth rounds by current NFL draft analysts.
“I was pretty confident, and I thought I did well enough to where I could just focus on drills today,” Warner said.
There are no certainties in the NFL draft. But Warner is about as sure as BYU has produced in recent years.
And whichever team picks him up will be getting a winner, teammate Butch Pau'u said.
"One of the things that stands out about Fred is his leadership; he’ll come in as a rookie and bring something no other veteran has. He’s also in the film room every day," said Pau'u, who will be a senior at BYU in 2018. "When it comes to fundamentals, Fred is the master at it. He’s so smooth at running, at breaking on the ball, and he’s the first one to get there. He’s really a mix of linebacker and DB — and no one can block him, because he’s so good with his hands."
Trinnaman had one of the breakout performances of Pro Day. The 5-foot-11 wide receiver from Highland ran the 40-yard dash in an unofficial time of 4.30 seconds, with some scouts clocking him as low as 4.25 seconds.
For the former Snow College standout who spent two years at BYU to amass 626 receiving yards with one touchdown, showing off his speed was key to earning a chance at an NFL roster — whether through the draft or free agency.
“I just want to get better," Trinnaman said. “I’ll try to get faster, and now work on receiver skills — running routes, catching balls and getting back into the swing of it.
“People like my speed. I wanted to look fast today, show what I can do, and I feel like I did a pretty decent job.”
Trinnaman, a former American Fork High track standout, felt good enough about his speed before Friday — but even better when scouts from a couple of organizations asked him to take a personality test after Pro Day.
“I ran track a couple of years in high school, and it was a good day,” said Trinnaman, who met with the Chicago Bears over dinner Thursday night. “It was stressful, and I was really nervous. But I feel good after that performance, and it will just get better from here.”
His 4.30-second 40 would’ve rated among the fastest times among NFL-bound wide receivers at the Combine — though adjustments for tools and measurements usually put Pro Day results close to a second behind Combine results.
Trinnaman and tight end Balderree also showcased throwing drills with former Dixie State quarterback Malik Watson. Watson, who already has an interview with the Oakland Raiders scheduled, ran a 4.9-second 40 and added a 26.5-inch vertical leap as he participated at BYU’s quarterback-less Pro Day.
“I was a little nervous running routes, dropped two early,” Trinnaman said. “But I felt pretty good. I ended up happy.”
BYU offensive lineman Tejan Koroma put up 32 reps in the bench press, which would’ve ranked tied for the fourth-best among offensive linemen at the Combine.
Former Lone Peak standout Micah Hannemann clocked a 4.57 during one of his two 40-yard dash attempts. He hopes to join former BYU secondary teammates Kai Nacua (Cleveland Browns) and Michael Davis (L.A. Chargers) on an NFL roster.
“I had a bunch of guys tell me, ‘once you get to camp, go do your thing.’ That’s all I need,” said Hannemann, whose older brother Jacob is a pro baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization.
“Now that they are playing as free agents who got good playing time last year, it shows that dudes from BYU come out and work hard to find a spot on the team. It’s good for everyone coming out of BYU.”
