Representatives from all 32 NFL teams, including New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, were present for Auburn's pro day, where a prospect switching positions was a top attraction and an unheralded player grabbed the attention.
Quarterback-turned-cornerback Nick Marshall (6-foot-1 5/8, 217 pounds) had a busy day, working out on both offense and defense. In his customary role for the Tigers, he threw passes to teammates and had some nice throws. In his projected NFL role, Marshall didn't look out of place at all and very athletic going through defensive back drills. Marshall stood on his numbers from the combine, where he was a top performer among the quarterbacks in every workout.
Running back Cameron Artis-Payne (5-9 3/4, 212) stood on his combine numbers. He had a good positional workout, catching the ball well out of the backfield. Artis-Payne was a junior-college transfer from Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif. The 2014 season was his only one as a full-time starter for Auburn, but he posted the third-best rushing season in school history with 1,608 yards.
Wide receiver Sammie Coates (6-1 7/8, 212) also stood on his numbers from the combine, where he was a top performer among receivers in bench press, vertical jump, broad jump and 20-yard short shuttle. Coates is a strong guy, and he caught the ball well during the positional workout. The biggest knock on Coates is the dropped passes, but on pass plays of more than 20 yards he caught 10 of 11 passes.
Center Reese Dismukes (6-3 1/4, 289) stood on his combine numbers and went through a good positional workout. Dismukes was a good college player; he won the 2014 Rimington Trophy, which is given to college football's top center. I'm not sure how much bigger he is going to get, however.
Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson (6-4 5/8, 315) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.99 and 5.01 seconds, and then looked good in his positional drills. He looked strong and maneuvered over the bags real good. Every team is looking for defensive linemen, and a prospect this big and tall will draw a lot of attention.
Defensive tackle Gabe Wright (6-3, 296) had a good positional workout. He stood on his numbers from the combine, where he was a top performer among defensive linemen on the bench press.
Free safety Jermaine Whitehead (5-11 1/8, 195) ran the 40 in 4.48 and 4.50 seconds, and then stood on the rest of his numbers from the combine, where he was a top performer among safeties in the broad jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard short shuttle.
Running back Corey Grant (5-8 7/8, 201) ran the 40 in impressive times of 4.28 and 4.30 seconds. He had a 37-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-7 broad jump. Grant also performed 22 lifts of 225 pounds on the bench press. Grant's eye-opening pro day performance will earn him a look from an NFL team and will likely be a priority free-agent pickup following the 2015 NFL Draft.
A total of 22 players worked out at Auburn's pro day, which took place indoors on FieldTurf. The representatives from the NFL teams were fed a very nice barbecue lunch.
Follow Gil Brandt on Twitter _@GilBrandt_.
