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Pro Day notes
Pro Day notes
More from YSU’s WATTS
Giving it his all: Kyle Bryant said he wasn’t nervous before Wednesday’s workout, but admitted he threw up beforehand. “I don’t know what it was,” he said. “It might have been that Willie Beamon effect.” Beamon — the quarterback in “Any Given Sunday” — routinely threw up in the huddle. “It’s not uncommon,” Bryant said of his throwing up. “In the early morning I tend to have a real strict appetite, so maybe it was the extra bite of a muffin that did it.”
In God’s hands: Senior CB Dale Peterman, an Ursuline High graduate, bested the other Penguins in the 40-yard dash (4.69-4.75), the broad jump (120 inches) and the vertical leap (34.5 inches), although he was hoping to jump at least 38 inches, even on a swollen ankle. “He said 34 and I was like, ‘Are you sure?’” he said, smiling. “Bring a [basketball] rim over here and I’ll show you how high I can jump.” Peterman admitted he was nervous throughout but said it was an exciting day. “It felt good to give it my all,” he said. “Seeing the scouts put a lot of adrenaline in me. I’m just going to stay conditioned and pray for the best. It’s in God’s hands. I don’t know what the scouts wrote down or what they were talking about. Whether I get to the NFL or not, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to play football for as many years as I did.”
Preaching patience: Punter/kicker Nick Liste, who worked with former YSU and NFL standout Jeff Wilkins on Wednesday, was the only one to work outside, doing a variety of punts to go with kickoffs and field goals. He thinks that versatility could help him get into an NFL camp. “The more you can do, the more value you have,” said Liste, a Niles High graduate who earned first team all-conference honors last fall. “I feel like any way they can save money or even bring in a guy to rest the starting guy’s legs, sometimes that’s all it is. Just getting in there and getting your name out there.” Liste was a three-sport athlete in high school — he also ran track and played soccer — and put up good numbers in the individual drills. Since NFL teams only carry one kicker and one punter — and since those guys tend to stick around — Liste said he knows it takes time to break through. “Sometimes it takes a couple years to get in,” he said.