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SALT LAKE CITY -- Sixteen NFL teams sent representatives to Utah's annual Pro Day, and according to Ute assistant head coach/defensive line coach John Pease, they came away impressed.
Scouts and coaches from the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders timed and tested around 20 former players at Utah's football facilities today.
The best 40 time was clocked by R.J. Stanford (4.4 seconds), while Aiona Key, Robert Johnson and David Reed crossed the line in 4.5 seconds. Stanford (37.5") and Key (35.5") also recorded the best vertical jumps.
Coaches from four teams—the Ravens, Seahawks, Steelers and Vikings—spent most of their time watching offensive lineman Zane Beadles. "They were extremely impressed with Zane," said Pease, who was a longtime NFL assistant before joining the Ute staff this past fall.
Pease also said the scouts liked "Johnson's range and Stanford's speed," and that a couple of linebacker coaches concentrated their energies on Stevenson Sylvester, Mike Wright and Koa Misi. Misi played defensive end for the Utes, but can also play linebacker.
Former Utes who participated included: Beadles, Johnson, Key, Misi, Reed, Stanford, Sylvester, Wright, Ray Stowers, Tyler Williams, Justin Jones, Ben Vroman, Deshawn Richard, Darrell Mack and Bo Hikila. Three players from other schools also attended.
