Plenty of NFL eyes at Bama pro day
Alabama’s continuing pipeline of talent to the NFL was on display again Wednesday as the Crimson Tide held their annual pro day inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.
All 32 NFL teams sent representatives to Tuscaloosa, with the sizable contingent including New England coach Bill Belichick, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and new Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel. Alabama had 19 players attend pro day, with 13 going through at least some of the drills.
“We certainly have a strong group of players out there who accomplished a lot,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban told reporters. “They’ve been great ambassadors for the University of Alabama, not only in the way they competed on the field but by the way they represented the university. We’re very proud of them, and we wish them the very best.”
Wednesday’s audience also included three former college head coaches — Bret Bielema of Arkansas, Butch Jones of Tennessee and Rich Rodriguez of Arizona. Jones was wearing an Alabama pullover and has been in discussions with Saban about becoming an offensive analyst, but Saban said Wednesday that no official hiring had occurred.
Jones went 34-27 as coach of the Volunteers, including an 0-5 record against Saban’s Tide by the average score of 38-12.
“I don’t know where that is,” Saban said. “We have issues that we have to go through to be able to hire somebody from another school. I haven’t gotten a report on where that is right now. We are interested in him being a part of our staff.
“He has a lot of experience, and we’ve always had a lot of respect for him when we had to play against them.”
Alabama led all colleges with 14 player invitations to last weekend’s NFL combine in Indianapolis, and several of its representatives did not disappoint. Former defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds and had 14 repetitions of
225 pounds on the bench press, while former defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne ran a 4.91 at 6-foot-2 and 311 pounds.
Neither Fitzpatrick nor Payne worked out Wednesday after doing so in Indianapolis, which was also the case with defensive backs Anthony Averett, Tony Brown and Ronnie Harrison. Inside linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton didn’t participate due to his continued recovery from the fractured right kneecap suffered in last November’s win over LSU.
Wednesday was more of an opportunity for those who didn’t receive combine invitations, such as offensive linemen Bradley Bozeman and J.C. Hassenauer, receiver Cam Sims and defensive lineman Jamar King. Bozeman started at center the past two seasons, earning Associated Press All-America second-team honors as a senior, and said NFL scouts are providing positive feedback.
“They think I can play at the next level for sure,” Bozeman told reporters, “but they just don’t know exactly where I’m going to play. They have their doubts about my athleticism, but I think I make up for that in my on-field ability and all the intangibles I bring to the field.”
Alabama had its most productive NFL draft last spring, with 10 players taken in the first 112 overall selections. The 10 picks matched the Crimson Tide’s previous high from the 1945 draft.
In 2017, Alabama had four first-round picks — cornerback Marlon Humphrey, defensive end Jonathan Allen, tight end O.J. Howard and inside linebacker Reuben Foster — for the third time this decade.
The Tide have four firstround projections in the latest mock draft on NFL.com, which pegs Fitzpatrick fourth overall to Cleveland, Payne 19th to Dallas, linebacker Rashaan Evans 21st overall to Buffalo and receiver Calvin Ridley 24th overall to Carolina.
“Our number-one goal is to help these guys develop a career off the field by graduating from school but also develop a career on the field to see if they can play at the next level,” Saban said. “The more guys we have who succeed at a high level is obviously a benefit to recruiting any player who has the aspirations of playing in the NFL some day.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.