Bowman performs well at Pro Day workout
Another Pro Day in Lincoln came and went Wednesday. If you’re taking attendance, mark Maurice Purify down as present.
If you’re looking for the star of the show, take a look at 5-foot-7 Danny Woodhead: His 40-yard dash time was clocked by some NFL scouts as fast as 4.33 seconds. His vertical jump was 38½ inches. His modesty was even better.
“There’s no hard feelings,” said the North Platte native who was never offered a scholarship by Nebraska and became a star running back at Chadron State.
If you’re wanting a tale of persistence, Zack Bowman might be your guy.
As the roughly 15 scouts hurried out of Hawks Championship Center to catch flights Wednesday afternoon, Bowman lingered behind, a smile greeting some local reporters.
Good reason for it, too. The cornerback had already done his hurrying. His 40 time was between :04.32 and :04.40 — depending on who was working the stop watch. Bowman also had a vertical leap of 32 inches, not unbelievable for a corner, but an improvement from what he did at the recent NFL Combine.
Two major knee surgeries have destroyed football careers before, but apparently not Bowman’s. He is still moving fast enough to possibly make his NFL ambitions into a reality.
Scouts have questioned his mobility. Bowman knew they would.
“I felt like I moved around out there good today,” Bowman said. “(The scouts) gave me a lot of confidence, told me I looked good and they’d be in touch. I felt like that was the big thing that they were looking for: How I was going to move, my speed coming out of my breaks.”
At 6-2 and 200 pounds, Bowman was a hot prospect after coming on strong at the end of the 2005 season, particularly with his play in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan.
Injuries followed. His stock dropped. His senior year wasn’t anything splendid.
But Bowman’s offseason performances have put him in a strong position to get drafted.
He’s become a mystery case: Scouts like his talent but worry that he’s injury-prone.
“I’ve heard stuff here and there, but you really don’t know,” Bowman said. “So I’m just keeping in the playing mind and seeing how things go.”
Of course, many Husker fans were most interested to see if Purify would participate at Wednesday’s audition for NFL scouts.
There was question as to whether the receiver would be allowed to work out after being at a weekend party where he, former NU offensive lineman Carl Nicks and two current Huskers were ticketed by Lincoln police.
On Tuesday, Husker coach Bo Pelini said Nicks was banned from participating in Pro Day, citing not only the weekend incident but also behavior in the past that he felt set a bad example. Pelini said Purify might also be banned.
But Purify called Husker receivers coach Ted Gilmore on Wednesday morning and was told it was OK for him to show up.
And Purify apparently performed well. The receiver said he ran the 40 in :04.44 and had a vertical jump of 36½ inches. (Reporters are not allowed to watch.) That’s an improvement from the NFL Combine, where he had a 40 time of :04.53 and a vertical jump of 28½ inches.
Players were running on an artificial surface Wednesday that lends to slightly faster times. “A 4.4 is still a 4.4,” Purify said.
About the incident over the weekend, in which Purify was ticketed for being an inmate of a disorderly house, the receiver and police offered different accounts.
According to officer Katie Flood, police arrived to that party to find the music could be heard from the sidewalk and more than 75 people inside the house, empty beer cans littering the place.
Flood said police cited 10 partygoers who remained after officers told everyone to leave, including Purify and Nicks, who was arrested.
“It was way overblown,” Purify said. “There were not 75 people (at the party). People upstairs got to leave. We were down there in the movie theater room. We can’t hear what’s going on upstairs.”
Purify is already on probation for incidents last summer.
Other Huskers known to be present at Pro Day were Steve Octavien, Bo Ruud, Sam Keller, Corey McKeon, Cortney Grixby, Tierre Green, Frantz Hardy, Ben Eisenhart and Brett Byford.
Grixby apparently had a vertical leap of 41 inches and Octavien bench-pressed 225 pounds 29 times — both exceptional in those categories.
Guys were really driving each other to be at their best, Bowman said.
“It’s not pressure, it’s just competition,” he said. “I wanted to push these guys along just like they wanted to push me.”
Briefly
On Tuesday, Husker coach Bo Pelini told reporters he has suspended several players and dismissed one from the team.
He didn’t name who was dismissed, but a source says the player is senior placekicker Daniel Lee, because of disciplinary reasons.
Lee transferred to Nebraska from Vanderbilt before last season. He had to sit out the season because of NCAA transfer rules. Lee played sparingly in his time with the Commodores.
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or at 473-7439.
If you’re looking for the star of the show, take a look at 5-foot-7 Danny Woodhead: His 40-yard dash time was clocked by some NFL scouts as fast as 4.33 seconds. His vertical jump was 38½ inches. His modesty was even better.
“There’s no hard feelings,” said the North Platte native who was never offered a scholarship by Nebraska and became a star running back at Chadron State.
If you’re wanting a tale of persistence, Zack Bowman might be your guy.
As the roughly 15 scouts hurried out of Hawks Championship Center to catch flights Wednesday afternoon, Bowman lingered behind, a smile greeting some local reporters.
Good reason for it, too. The cornerback had already done his hurrying. His 40 time was between :04.32 and :04.40 — depending on who was working the stop watch. Bowman also had a vertical leap of 32 inches, not unbelievable for a corner, but an improvement from what he did at the recent NFL Combine.
Two major knee surgeries have destroyed football careers before, but apparently not Bowman’s. He is still moving fast enough to possibly make his NFL ambitions into a reality.
Scouts have questioned his mobility. Bowman knew they would.
“I felt like I moved around out there good today,” Bowman said. “(The scouts) gave me a lot of confidence, told me I looked good and they’d be in touch. I felt like that was the big thing that they were looking for: How I was going to move, my speed coming out of my breaks.”
At 6-2 and 200 pounds, Bowman was a hot prospect after coming on strong at the end of the 2005 season, particularly with his play in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan.
Injuries followed. His stock dropped. His senior year wasn’t anything splendid.
But Bowman’s offseason performances have put him in a strong position to get drafted.
He’s become a mystery case: Scouts like his talent but worry that he’s injury-prone.
“I’ve heard stuff here and there, but you really don’t know,” Bowman said. “So I’m just keeping in the playing mind and seeing how things go.”
Of course, many Husker fans were most interested to see if Purify would participate at Wednesday’s audition for NFL scouts.
There was question as to whether the receiver would be allowed to work out after being at a weekend party where he, former NU offensive lineman Carl Nicks and two current Huskers were ticketed by Lincoln police.
On Tuesday, Husker coach Bo Pelini said Nicks was banned from participating in Pro Day, citing not only the weekend incident but also behavior in the past that he felt set a bad example. Pelini said Purify might also be banned.
But Purify called Husker receivers coach Ted Gilmore on Wednesday morning and was told it was OK for him to show up.
And Purify apparently performed well. The receiver said he ran the 40 in :04.44 and had a vertical jump of 36½ inches. (Reporters are not allowed to watch.) That’s an improvement from the NFL Combine, where he had a 40 time of :04.53 and a vertical jump of 28½ inches.
Players were running on an artificial surface Wednesday that lends to slightly faster times. “A 4.4 is still a 4.4,” Purify said.
About the incident over the weekend, in which Purify was ticketed for being an inmate of a disorderly house, the receiver and police offered different accounts.
According to officer Katie Flood, police arrived to that party to find the music could be heard from the sidewalk and more than 75 people inside the house, empty beer cans littering the place.
Flood said police cited 10 partygoers who remained after officers told everyone to leave, including Purify and Nicks, who was arrested.
“It was way overblown,” Purify said. “There were not 75 people (at the party). People upstairs got to leave. We were down there in the movie theater room. We can’t hear what’s going on upstairs.”
Purify is already on probation for incidents last summer.
Other Huskers known to be present at Pro Day were Steve Octavien, Bo Ruud, Sam Keller, Corey McKeon, Cortney Grixby, Tierre Green, Frantz Hardy, Ben Eisenhart and Brett Byford.
Grixby apparently had a vertical leap of 41 inches and Octavien bench-pressed 225 pounds 29 times — both exceptional in those categories.
Guys were really driving each other to be at their best, Bowman said.
“It’s not pressure, it’s just competition,” he said. “I wanted to push these guys along just like they wanted to push me.”
Briefly
On Tuesday, Husker coach Bo Pelini told reporters he has suspended several players and dismissed one from the team.
He didn’t name who was dismissed, but a source says the player is senior placekicker Daniel Lee, because of disciplinary reasons.
Lee transferred to Nebraska from Vanderbilt before last season. He had to sit out the season because of NCAA transfer rules. Lee played sparingly in his time with the Commodores.
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or at 473-7439.
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