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Ten of Weber State’s football players left it all out on the field of the Marquart Field House as they showcased their skills by participating in athletic drills in front of dozens of NFL scouts on Friday afternoon.
Scouts from Denver, New York, Atlanta, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Detroit, Arizona, Oakland and many others were on deck to watch the Wildcats participate in the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, shuttle run and other various drills.
“We had a great turn out this year,” head coach Jay Hill said. “We had a lot of scouts and it was exciting to have all of the players out here watching and trying to get an idea of what this is all about.”
Despite having a busy week, including getting married on Wednesday, Salt Lake City native Tre’von Johnson put up some impressive numbers and received compliments from many scouts.
“I thought I ran well today,” Johnson said. “I wanted some of my other drills to be a little better; my footwork was kind of bad today. Overall, I think I did pretty good. The scouts didn’t think I could run as fast as I did, so I think I showed well in my 40.”
Johnson was impressive on the bench, putting up 19 reps, second highest of all the Wildcats. Johnson also ran the 40-yard dash in an unofficial 4.51.
“I just wanted to get out there and run,” Johnson said. “It is a really stressful atmosphere but you just have to block that out and go out there and do what you need to do.”
Johnson finished his career at Weber State by playing in 46 games, recording 258 career tackles. Johnson was selected to play in the 2017 National Football League Players Association Collegiate Bowl.
Johnson and his agent have been in conversation with teams like the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I am expecting to do some visits soon,” Johnson said. “I got my numbers out there and now all I can do it is wait."
Another Wildcat who stood out from the rest was offensive lineman Cameron Young from Cove, Texas.
Young felt confident with his bench test, his professional agility tests and his 40-yard dash.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 315-pound lineman blew bench press out of the water as he put up 31 reps. Young posted an unofficial 5.25 and a 5.19 in the 40-yard dash.
“Today I felt pretty solid,” Young said. “There are some minor things I can work on to get better. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with what I did today.”
Young received remarks and praise from the NFL scouts from the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings.
Other athletes that stood out were fullback Cory Thomson and running back Emmanuel Pooler. Thomson had a 10-foot broad jump and an unofficial 40-yard dash time of 4.59. Pooler posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.64 and put up 18 bench reps.
While 10 of the Wildcats were showcasing their skills to the NFL scouts, many other members of the Weber State football team stuck around to support and encourage their teammates.
“It was awesome to have so many of our teammates come out and support us,” Young said. “We’ve started a culture here at Weber State and it’s amazing to see our family grow and support each other.”
After seeing his players develop over the years and showcase their talents today, Hill is confident that some of his guys will have what it takes to make it in the National Football League.
“These are some talented guys who have played some good football,” Hill said. “No one knows for sure when it comes to the NFL because there are so many factors: your film, your junior and senior year, and how you did today. However, there are some good players in this group and I think a few of them could make the jump to the NFL.” Cydnee is a sports intern at KSL.com. She is a senior at Weber State University, studying communications, multimedia journalism and technical editing. Stay up-to-date with Cydnee by following her on twitter @TheCydneeGreen.
