The NFL scouting combine is the first big test for college prospects as they prepare to enter the draft and the next step on that path for many players is their own personal, on-campus pro day workouts for scouts and teams.
Many players have been saving their workouts for those pro days, like USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley, while others need to use the workouts to help improve their draft stock after the combine, including names like Mike Gillisee, Dion Jordan, Geno Smith, Jarvis Jones and Luke Joeckel, who has a good chance of going number one overall to the Chiefs.
Kansas City is in a very favorable position after trading for Alex Smith on the 49ers, as they now are not forced into selecting a quarterback with the number one overall pick, as many in the sport suspected they would do after having poor play from Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn last season. Now that they no longer need a quarterback, they can focus on other areas.
New Chiefs head coach Andy Reid likely felt that the crop of quarterbacks, including Smith, Barkley and Ryan Nassib, were not sure things like Robert Griffin and Andrew luck last year, meaning that he might not want to use a top pick on one of them.
The pro day workouts will gave Reid and the Chiefs a chance to look closer at many other players they may have liked at the combine, including Joeckel, who has been consistently rated as one of the top offensive lineman in the draft.
The biggest pro day workout is for Barkley, who decided not to throw or workout for teams at the combine. The quarterback dealt with a shoulder issue last season and decided to let it heal more before working out for scouts. His day may be the most important one held, as he was likely a top five pick last year before returning for his senior season.
The New York Jets met one-on-one with Barkley at the combine and they could be players for the quarterback after dealing with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow last season. Barkley would be the second USC quarterback on the roster, as he took over for Sanchez with the Trojans.
While Barkley still put up big numbers and set many career USC passing records, his interceptions rose and he also dealt with a shoulder issue after being hurt against UCLA. Teams will get their first chance to see Barkley and his Trojan teammates on March 27 at USC.
HERE is a full schedule of the most notable pro days coming up, courtesy of ESPN.com:
| Date | School(s) | Player(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1 | Purdue, Texas El-Paso | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Kawaan Short, Purdue (23) | |
| March 4 | Alabama-Birmingham, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Troy | ||
| March 5 | Auburn, Buffalo, Harding, Jackson State, Northwestern, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tuskegee, Youngstown State | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Corey Lemonier, Auburn (52) | |
| March 6 | Alabama A&M, Duquesne, Eastern Washington, Kent State, Mississippi State, North Alabama, Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Texas Tech, Wisconsin | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Johnthan Banks, Miss. St. (31),Travis Frederick, Wisc. (43), Montee Ball, Wisc. (64) | |
| March 7 | Arizona, Arkansas-Monticello, Clemson, Furman, Idaho, Illinois, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Syracuse, Texas Christian, Washington State | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Sheldon Richardson, Missouri (12),Justin Pugh, Syr. (38), Ryan Nassib, Syr. (56), DeAndre Hopkins, Clem. (65), Andre Ellington, Clem. (74) | |
| March 8 | Arizona State, Cornell, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Missouri State, Montana, Mount Union, Ohio State, Southern Mississippi, TCU, Texas A&M, Wofford | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M (1),Damontre Moore, Texas A&M (10), Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State (26), John Cyrpien, FIU (72) | |
| March 11 | California (Pa.), Central Michigan, Penn State | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Eric Fisher, Central Mich. (4) | |
| March 12 | Delaware State, Florida, Jacksonville State, Kansas State, Lehigh, Monmouth, Oklahoma State, Portland State, Towson, UCLA | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Sharrif Floyd, Fla. (4), Matt Elam, Fla. (48), Arthur Brown, KSU (53), Jordan Reed, Fla. (55), Datone Jones, UCLA (58); Jelani Jenkins, Fla. (79), Mike Gillislee, Fla. (93), Tony Jefferson, Okla. (94), Kenny Stills, Okla. (99) | |
| March 13 | Alabama, Central Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Washington | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Chance Warmack, Ala. (2), Lane Johnson, Okla. (13), D.J. Fluker, Ala. (21), Ed Lacy, Ala. (32), Jesse Williams, Ala. (35), Aaron Dobson, Marshall (57), Landry Jones, Okla. (59),Travis Kelce, Cin. (63),Barrett Jones, Ala. (87); Le'veon Bell, Mich. St. (90),Jelani Jenkins, Fla. (79), Mike Gillislee, Fla. (93) | |
| March 14 | Arkansas State, California, Fort Valley State, Georgia Tech, Grambling State, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tulsa, UNLV, West Alabama, West Virginia, Wyoming | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Dion Jordan, Ore. (7), Keenan Allen, Cal (21), Tavon Austin, WVU (24), Geno Smith, WVU (27), Kyle Long, Ore. (62), Kiko Alonso, Ore. (69)Marc Anthony, Cal (77), Brian Schwenke, Cal (92) | |
| March 15 | Arkansas, Georgia State, Kansas, Oregon State, San Jose State | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Tyler Wilson, Ark. (39), Markus Wheaton, Ore. St. (76) | |
| March 18 | Air Force, Albany State (Ga.), Houston, Howard, Idaho State, Indiana, Memphis, Montana State, Valdosta State, Villanova, Virginia Union, Wake Forest | ||
| March 19 | Florida A&M, Florida State, Louisville, Richmond (with Liberty), Sam Houston State, San Diego State, Virginia | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Bjoern Werner, FSU (9), Cornellius "Tank" Carradine, FSU (37), Menelik Watson, FSU (47),Gavin Escobar, S.D. St. (50), Oday Aboushi, Vir. (73),Xavier Rhodes (80), Brandon Jenkins, FSU (82) | |
| March 20 | Ball State, Baylor, Central Florida, North Carolina State, Ohio, Sacramento State, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia Tech | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Star Lotulelei, Utah (3), Cordarrelle Patterson, Tenn. (18), Justin Hunter, Tenn. (36), Mike Glennon, NC St. (41), Terrance Williams, Baylor (49),Tyler Bray, Tenn. (67), Dallas Thomas, Tenn. (70),David Amerson, NC St. (97) | |
| March 21 | Boise State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Old Dominion, Stanford, Stony Brook, Temple, William & Mary | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Alec Ogletree, UGa. (16), Jarvins Jones, UGa. (17), Zach Ertz, Stan. (29), Johnathan Jenkins, UGa. (30), Larry Warford, Kent. (51), Jamar Taylor, Boise St. (71), Shawn Williams, UGa. (81),Cornelius Washington, UGa. (91), Bacarri Rambo, UGa. (96) | |
| March 22 | Missouri Western, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt | ||
| March 25 | Duke, Iowa, Middle Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin | ||
| March 26 | Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, North Carolina, North Carolina Central, Notre Dame, Texas | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas (8),Jonathan Cooper, UNC (11), Sylvester Williams, UNC (15), Manti Te'o, Notre Dame (20), Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame (34), Quinton Patton, La. Tech (42), Kevin Reddick, UNC (83), Brennan Williams, UNC (84), Alex Okafor, Texas (88), Giovani Bernard, UNC (100) | |
| March 27 | Connecticut, LSU, South Carolina, SMU, USC | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Barkevious Mingo, LSU (14), Blidi Wreh-Wilson, UConn (25), Sam Montgomery, LSU (28),Kevin Minter, LSU (33), Matt Barkley, USC (44), Robert Woods, USC (60), Eric Reid, LSU (66), Bennie Logan, LSU (68), Margus Hunt, SMU, (78), D.J. Swearinger, So. Car. (86), Sio Moore, UConn (89), DeVonte Holloman, So. Car. (95) | |
| March 28 | BYU, Central Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Yale | Scouts Inc. Top 100: Ezekiel Ansah, BYU (19) | |
| March 29 | Southeast Missouri State | ||
| April 2 | Columbia |
