Raciti flourishes at Pro Day workout
Defensive tackle has ‘ a blast’ while impressing scouts
SAN JOSE — Travis Raciti’s approach to San Jose State’s Pro Day workout in front of NFL scouts was no different from anything else he does.
“I go into everything with a chip on my shoulder,” Raciti said Wednesday. “Nothing in life’s ever been given to me. That’s how I approach everything I do. I thought it went real well today.”
The Spartans’ best bet to be taken in the NFL draft, beginning April 30, the 6- foot- 4, 288- pound defensive tackle delivered a solid, across- the- board performance. He did 27 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press, ran the 40- yard dash in 5.10 seconds and logged a 31 ½ - inch vertical leap.
Raciti, from Pleasant Hill, was a second- team all- Mountain West selection as a senior and earned first- team all- conference honors as a sophomore. The website NFLDraftScout. com rates him as the No. 27 prospect at his position.
Raciti seemed focused but at ease throughout the three hours of scrutiny in front of scouts from 23 teams in the NFL, Canadian and Arena leagues. “It was just another day in the office,” he said. “I had a blast.”
Projected as a late- round draft pick or free agent, Raciti said he has only one priority.
“I want to land with a team that wants me to be there,” he said. “I just need a shot. I just need a camp invite.”
If Raciti was the headliner among 15 Spartans at Pro Day, others also competed well.
Forrest Hightower, a safety from Concord, had the day’s best marks in three events: a 38- inch vertical jump, 10 feet, 2 inches in the standing broad jump and 4.29 seconds in the shuttle drill. Hightower still ranks as a long shot because he measures just under 5- 10.
Wide receiver Jabari Carr, a San Jose native who had 150 career receptions, did little to get the scouts’ attention. His 40 time was in the low- 4.7 range and his vertical was 33 inches.
But safety Akeem King, a self- described “late bloomer,” had a strong day. The 6- 1, 215- pounder, who became a starter as a senior, was clocked as fast as 4.35 in the 40, leaped 37 ½ inches and had 20 bench press reps.
One NFL scout, speaking anonymously, said teams are generally aware of King, based on his impressive measurables. King knew this was his opportunity to make a firsthand impression.
“I was so far under the radar, I just wanted to come out here and get my name known,” King said. “I got my foot in the door. More and more work from here.”