March 20, 2008

Football: Seniors Strut Talents For NFL Scouts at Annual Pro Day

    Youngstown – Six senior members of the 2007 Youngstown State football team improved their professional football chances during a workout in front of seven NFL Scouts on Thursday morning at Stambaugh Stadium.

     Participating in the Pro Day workouts were safety Vince Gliatta, tight end Louis Irizarry, safety Dorian Chenault, linebacker James Terry, linebacker Jeremiah Wright and defensive end Maurice Smith.

    The players went through numerous drills testing strength, speed, quickness and agility as numbers were collected in the vertical jump, standing broad jump, bench press reps and 40-yard dash. Each player was also weighed and measured for the scouts.
    Chenault was the top performer in the vertical jump, board jump and 40-yard dash, with an impressive time of 4.4 seconds. Terry was the leader in the 3-Cone Run while Gliatta led the way in the short shuttle at 4.28 seconds.

   NFL teams in attendance were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.

    The Youngstown State football program plays host to NFL scouts from almost every team throughout the year. Scouts are able to watch practice, attend meetings, watch hours of video and meet with players both during the season and in the offseason.

   The annual NFL Draft is set for April 26-27 in New York City. After the two draft days, players are eligible to sign free-agent contracts. Each of the past two seasons (Marcus Mason in 2007 and Kyle Smith in 2006) YSU has had a player sign a free-agent contract.

    The last Penguin taken in the NFL Draft was Harry Deligianis who was selected in fourth round by Jacksonville in 1998.

    On Friday, a private session for the 2008 Penguin seniors will be conducted with a Blesto Scout from the NFL. Individual timings and workouts with professional scouts will continue leading up to the draft.