Representatives from 28 NFL teams -- including defensive line and linebackers coaches from the Seattle Seahawks -- were present at UCLA's pro day on Tuesday, when seven players worked out outdoors on FieldTurf.
Quarterback Brett Hundley (6-foot-3 1/8, 227 pounds) did a scripted workout run by UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. Hundley has a good arm and was very accurate. Hundley is athletic; he was a top performer among quarterbacks in each drill he participated in at the NFL Scouting Combine, including a record time in the 20-yard shuttle for a quarterback at the combine. His impressive workout at the pro day helped his draft status, and the quarterback has a good chance to be a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Hundley wasn't the only Bruins player to give his draft stock a solid boost at the pro day.
Defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa (6-3 1/4, 262) now looks like he could get drafted in the picks Nos. 25-40 range (late first round or early second). Odighizuwa worked out for 20-plus minutes for the Seahawks' defensive line coach. Then, he went to go work out with the linebackers. Odighizuwa is a very good athlete -- he was a top performer among defensive linemen at the NFL Scouting Combine in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle, and the top performer among defensive linemen in the vertical jump and broad jump.
Odighizuwa has good power, and is probably better going forward than dropping into space (as an outside linebacker). So, he will be considered a hand-in-the-ground pass rusher.
Inside linebacker Eric Kendricks (6-0 1/8, 235) went through some drills despite a nagging hamstring that flared up at the combine. Kendricks did the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.17 seconds and the three-cone in 7.16 seconds. He also performed 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. He didn't run the 60-yard long shuttle, but UCLA coach Jim Mora indicated that if a team is worried about drafting Kendricks because he didn't run the long shuttle then they'll miss out on a really good player.
Cornerback Anthony Jefferson (6-0 7/8, 195) ran the 40 in 4.64 and 4.62 seconds. He had a 20-yard short shuttle time of 4.5 seconds and a three-cone time of 7.01 seconds. Jefferson demonstrated that he's a really smooth athlete in the positional drills.
Defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy (6-4 3/4, 337) stood on his numbers from the combine and only did positional drills.
Running back Jordan James (5-8 1/2, 195) ran the 40 in 4.42 and 4.44 seconds. He had a 34 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-11 broad jump. He did the three-cone in 7.19 seconds and the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.45 seconds. He performed 18 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. James was a backup running back for the Bruins (13 games, but one start), but he has very good speed and explosion. That could intrigue an NFL team enough to bring him into camp as a rookie free agent.
Follow Gil Brandt on Twitter _@GilBrandt_.
