Correspondence from Pro Day in Berkeley
BERKELEY, CA - As Malik McMorris walked over to the assorted media after Thursday's Pro Day, he joked that he thought he was done with all of us. Not so fast my friend.
McMorris was one of 13 players to participate in Cal's 2019 Pro Day, the first in four years not to be showered in rain. Scouts from, by my count, 24 NFL teams and 1 CFL team (the Edmonton Eskimos), attended the pro day to take a look at what the former Bears had to offer.
Cal's players came in from training across the west coast, as Patrick Laird worked up in Bellevue, Washington with Ford Sports Performance, while guys like Jordan Kunaszyk, Ian Bunting, and Moe Ways worked in SoCal (with Xos and STARS respectively). Others, like McMorris, still have classes to finish up before earning their degree.
Some Key Marks from the Day:
Rusty Becker - 30" vertical jump, 9'3" broad jump
Kamryn Bennett - 21 reps on bench press (225 pounds)
Ian Bunting - 10'1" broad jump
Patrick Laird - 4.56 40-yard dash, 6.84 3 cone drill, 11.36 60-yard shuttle (Laird's 20-shuttle was announced as a 3.96 late Thursday evening)
Malik McMorris - weighed in at 270 (listed on 2018 roster at 290, 2017 roster at 285, 2016 roster at 310, 2015 roster at 300)
Patrick Mekari - 23 reps on bench press (225 pounds)
Chris Palmer - 23 reps on bench press (225 pounds)
Moe Ways - 4.58 40-yard dash, 35" vertical jump, 18 reps on bench press (225 pounds)
Notes and Quotes
- Tracy Ford, owner of Ford Sports Performance (who runs one of the top 7 on 7 teams in the country), posted a before and after picture of Laird that seemed difficult to believe this morning
"I was just checking my phone, I have 85 text messages today," Laird said, "my mom texted me with the screenshot, she said 'is this for real?' I guess she didn't believe I could transform my body."
But Laird did, running a 20 yard shuttle that would've been tops among running backs at the NFL combine, a 40 time that would've put him at 11th, and a 3 cone drill that would've been the best at the combine.
Laird also had success in the 60 yard shuttle, which only four backs ran at the combine. Laird beat the fastest of them, Boise State's Alex Mattison, by .33 seconds.
"I call that the 'walk-on drill,'" Laird said, "over the summer you do your 60-yard shuttle, it's part of our conditioning, and if you want to play and you're a walk-on, you have to kill it in the conditioning."
The San Luis Obispo native didn't bench today due to fracturing his collarbone in the Bears' Cheez-It Bowl loss to TCU, but has been cleared to work on his upper body moving forward.
- Jordan Kunaszyk didn't have any of his numbers put up by the Cal staff, but from my eavesdropping, one scout had Kunaszyk at 4.28 in the 20 yard shuttle, which would have tied him for 11th at the combine with BYU's Sione Takitaki
- Kunaszyk, along with Alex Funches got a lot of attention from Carolina Panthers LB coach Steve Russ, who was coached by Cal defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, while they were at the Air Force Academy
- Moe Ways ran a notably faster 40 time than expected, he'd been preparing for Pro Day down in Anaheim, noting that it's been a different feeling as he's focused in for the combine
"You're a professional, and football is your job," Ways said, "you don't have to balance midterms and finals and papers, it's just straight football. You can really take your time, take care of your body, to get extra work, it's a great adjustment. I'm glad to be at a point where I can call football my job."
- Pat Mekari and Kam Bennett both worked out at center, a position that neither played, but both would likely find value at. Mekari noted that he played a bit of center in practice as a true freshman at Cal, but not in a game since high school.
- NFL scouts and observers had Malik McMorris run through the entire route tree, and he noted in the aftermath of the day that "good teams have fullbacks." As noted earlier, he's down to a svelte 270 lbs while finishing the last 19 credits of his degree over the spring and summer.
- Bunting's broad jump of 10'1" would've tied him for fourth among combine participants. He noted that he's set to do a handful of local Pro Days for the Raiders, 49ers, and Chicago Bears
- Every Cal coach was in attendance today, as well as a number of current players on their break from school today.
"It's a blast, I got back on Monday, and as soon as I got in the locker room, everyone was like 'ha ha, JK's back!'" Kunaszyk said "and I just haven't stopped smiling since I got back to what I call home. I love Berkeley, I love this football program, I love this university, so to be back in my natural habitat, it feels amazing."