Brady at Pro Day

[johnnd05]

From the Sun-Times (link):

Quinn, meanwhile, finally gave NFL scouts, coaches, general managers and owners an up-close look at what he can do on the field. His only workout at the combine was bench-pressing 225 pounds 24 times, but he took part in a half-hour workout at Notre Dame's pro day, throwing a variety of passes with representatives from every team watching.

''We put him through every throw that any NFL organization would want to see,'' Irish coach Charlie Weis said. ''Now they have enough information to make a critical evaluation, if they didn't have enough on tape already.''

Quinn, who had fluid drained from his right knee at halftime against USC and aggravated the injury in the Sugar Bowl against LSU, didn't take part in any of the agility drills.​

And from the SB Trib (link):

Quinn looks the part of a top pick

ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Amid the sea of NFL scouts, general managers, coaches and -- yes -- even owners that crammed into the Loftus Center Sunday were two young quarterbacks, who also watched former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn's every move.

Demetrius Jones and Jimmy Clausen.

They are two players who not only will battle Zach Frazer, Evan Sharpley and each other over the next six months to be Quinn's successor, but have aspirations to follow the Irish four-year starter all the way to the bank someday.

What they saw Sunday in Notre Dame's indoor football practice facility seemed to confound the stream of reports that Quinn's draft fortunes had found a sinkhole.

Quinn, once upon a time the unquestioned top pick of April's NFL Draft, at least looked the part Sunday at the first of ND's two pro days. He threw approximately 65 passes to former teammates and connected on 60 of them. Only one of the five miscues did ND head coach Charlie Weis think was Quinn's fault.

"That was also the consensus of the pro guys that I talked to," said Weis, who spent much of his coaching career prior to coming to ND evaluating college QBs and tutoring NFL quarterbacks. "I thought Brady had a very good day."

Quinn, criticized by some draft analysts for skipping all but the bench press of the NFL Combine workouts last month in Indianapolis, threw to draft hopefuls Rhema McKnight, Darius Walker and Marcus Freeman as well as Matt Shelton, who exhausted his eligibility after the 2005 season but hopes to hook on as a free agent.

"The scouts got their money's worth," Weis said. "They weren't expecting to get as much as they got. Brady threw a lot more than he ever would have in a combine setting. He made all the moving pocket throws, all the dropback throws, the scramble throws, the three-step, five-step, seven-step, right and left."

"I think definitely (there's) still room for improvement," Quinn countered.

Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel, his Browns holding the third pick, and Minnesota coach Brad Childress, his Vikings picking seventh, were complimentary but not effusive in their evaluations of Quinn. And that's how the predraft game is played. If you don't have a poker face, you can't leverage your draft position.

Perhaps more telling was that the owners of those respective teams also found their way to South Bend Sunday. All 32 teams were represented in some form or fashion.

"There were about 100 pro guys here, including the Raiders," Weis pointed out.

Oakland holds the No. 1 overall pick at the moment, and draft analysts such as ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. expect them to select LSU junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell with that pick. Then again, USC running back Reggie Bush was the can't-miss No. 1 last year, and he went ... No. 2.

Kiper currently has Quinn going ninth overall to the Miami Dolphins. Some analysts even have projected the holder of 36 ND passing records falling out of the top 10 completely. Weis just chuckled.

"What do they know?" he said. "I know who I've been talking to. I don't talk to (the NFL Network's) Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper. I talk to (Cleveland GM) Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel and Brad Childress, and I talk to other coaches and other GMs. I'm not saying they (analysts) will be right or wrong. I'm just saying from the people I've been talking to, I'd be absolutely shocked if Brady's stock dropped. You never say never. But all he did today was help himself -- and he wasn't alone."

Other Irish players who attended the NFL Combine worked out as did some who were not invited to Indianapolis, such as defensive linemen Chris Frome and Travis Leitko, and cornerback Mike Richardson.

Defensive lineman Derek Landri, still recovering from a knee injury suffered Jan. 3 in the Sugar Bowl, plans to do all his physical testing at the March 22 pro day. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri and safety Chinedum Ndukwe were scratched from the 40-yard dash Sunday due to minor hamstring injuries they sustained at the combine. They plan to run March 22 as well.

As does Quinn. He will do all his physical testing on March 22. His only throwing, though, for NFL personnel between now and the draft (April 28-29) will be for teams that request individual workouts with him.

"I think the 40 is going to be a plus for him," Weis said. "He'll run one of the faster times of all the quarterbacks. The only question is will it be in the 4.6s or the 4.7s. There's a good chance it will be in the 4.6s.

"I think he's positioned himself well. He's heading back to Arizona to train until the 22nd. He's doing the right things. Whatever happens to him along the way, he has the maturity to handle it."​

Charlie's remarks about the analysts being a bunch of blowhards are priceless; if he's right that Cleveland is really interested in him, that is super exciting for Brady.

As for that "phantom knee injury" ... it makes me proud to be an alum and fan of a school where that kind of thing isn't used as a game-time excuse. I swear we didn't hear a word about that until the Senior Bowl, and even then it was kept under wraps. Brady is a TOUGH kid; sure hope he gets the cash he deserves ...

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Been reading all the articles myself. I'm impressed how Weis is so involved which should permeate through the current & future players as a sign that Weis can get them the best opportunity to make it to the league.

I love how Quinn is criticized for not participating in the Combine, while Russell not participating is a common occurrence for top draft picks. Based on the logic that draft analysts used this year, I guess Joe Daily(sp?) of UNC, Curtis Painter of Purdue & the kid from Navy should all be top draft picks when they graduate b/c of their performance vs. the vaunted ND defense. Give me a break!

Thanks for the articles.

 

[johnnd05]

Scout has an article that's not worth much, but it does have a couple of interesting nuggets (link).

On Brady's throwing arm:

Another possible downfall that scouts have is Quinn’s lack of accuracy down the field. Irish head coach Charlie Weis, who ran Sunday’s Pro Day, thinks otherwise.

“Did you see that?“ Weis asked about a throw Quinn made. “The last post was thrown about 70 yards right on the money. A lot of times when people talk about under thrown and over thrown it comes down to being in synch with your receivers when they're running routes. But a lot of times even on short and intermediate routes, what looks like an inaccurate throw might not be the throw, it might be where the receiver is. People always want to say, ‘Hey, I wish he'd have thrown it there.’ Maybe that's where the guy was supposed to be.”​

Well, yes, but can he throw it sixty yards from his KNEES?

On the personnel in attendance:

In addition to the owners of the Vikings and Browns in attendance, the head coaches were there as well. Cleveland’s Romeo Crennel and Minnesota’s Brad Childress saw the proceedings. The Browns might be focusing on Quinn and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, who impressed teams last week at the Combine with his great workout and 40-yard dash time. Crennel liked what he saw from Quinn on Sunday.

“He's a polished quarterback,” Crennel said, who was an assistant with Weis in New England. “He's smart. When you watch him on tape you can see he knows where to go with the ball. He will at times throw it away when he has to. So we think he's a good young prospect.”​

And on Brady's knee:

He’ll go back to Arizona and train for a few weeks before returning to campus for the second Notre dame Pro Day on March 22nd. At that session, he’ll participate in a 40-yard dash, shuttle run and vertical jump drill. Quinn wanted to give his right knee, after a bout with bursitis, more team to heal.​

They also note that Harris had 25 reps at 225, three more than he had at the Combine.

 

[GoshenGipper]

Irish Pro Day Video

Irish Pro Day Video

Quinn And Irish Impressive At Pro-Day (WSJV Ch. 28 - Fox)

 

[GoshenGipper]

Brady Quinn and Former Teamates Demonstrate Talents to NFL Scouts Video at link (WNDU Ch. 16 - NBC)

It was Pro Day at Notre Dame, as the players you have watched for the last three or four years tried to improve their draft stock.

Brady Quinn and several of his former teammates took to Loftus Center Field as they had hundreds of times in their Notre Dame career.

This time, it was dramatically different.

Just imagine, you are going to have to show your skills for the NFL scouts.

Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis talked about how the workout would be conducted.

Weis was the guy who held this workout, unlike the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Brady looked sharp today.

It was a spirited workout.

He went for about 15 to 20 minutes or so.

He threw to guys like Darius walker, Rhema McKnight and Ron Powlus.

A lot of teams are very interested in Quinn and his teammates.

Afterwards, NewsCenter 16 talked with Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis and asked them how the day went. “We whipped out a good amount of throws there in about 15 to 20 minutes time,” said Quinn. “We wouldn’t have minded slowing up a little bit, but I think we did pretty well. You’re throwing the ball to guys you are familiar with. You threw it to a guy before. You know, you are throwing routes that you are accustomed to throwing in your offense. Whenever you do these sorts of things, you always want to put your best foot forward. “

“When you are a first round draft choice, you are not just competing against quarter backs,” Weis explained, “you are competing against the top running backs, and the top line backers. Being in a controlled environment, you know, that was not an easy workout that he just went through. But in a controlled environment, at least you have a good feel for your receivers. Your coach is running it. So, there isn’t any miscommunication as far as what you are really trying to get done.”

The destination of these players will be determined at the NFL draft in New York City on April 28-29th, 2007.