Video Blog: Pro Day Workouts & Interviews

First off, I think our pal Brandon Spoon deserves an award for the great video work he's been doing for the site. I'd suggest a Peabody or a Pulitzer, though a Pabst Blue Ribbon will likely have to suffice.

In any case, he put together a great bit of video of the workouts and interviews from yesterday's Pro Day in Athens. Be sure to check it out...

Video Blog: Pro Day Workouts & Interviews

First off, I think our pal Brandon Spoon deserves an award for the great video work he's been doing for the site. I'd suggest a Peabody or a Pulitzer, though a Pabst Blue Ribbon will likely have to suffice.

In any case, he put together a great bit of video of the workouts and interviews from yesterday's Pro Day in Athens. Be sure to check it out...

Hot Reads (3/22)

I started this blog the last week of July of this past year. This post that you are currently reading will be my 802nd. I'm no mathamagician, but I believe that works out to about 25 posts per week. Add to that the dozen or so links posted each day, my stories for the Telegraph and Ledger-Enquirer, and the enormous quanitity of content from other resources that isn't shared on this blog, and it's a wonder a hardcore Georgia fan has time to shower or eat lunch each day. There's a lot of Dawg news out there.

That's really both the cost and the benefit of the age of the Internet. We have access to so much more information than we did before that it can become a bit overwhelming. But fear not, I'm here to help.

Starting today, I'm going to launch a new weekly feature tentatively titled "Hot Reads" in which, every Sunday, I'll take a look back at the top four or five storylines in Georgia athletics from the previous week and provide links to the essential reading material you may have missed. Consider a Cliff's Notes on the week that was. Will you still miss a few things along the way? Sure. But you didn't need to understand that the ship was a microcosm for society to get that Moby Dick was a pretty pesky fish (...mammal... whatever).

So, here's what you should have learned this week...

1.) Georgia's basketball program is in flux. First, Zac Swansey trashed his team. Then he and Troy Brewer were planning to transfer. Then Brewer wanted to stay. Then they were both officially leaving. And of course, there's still no coach, but there are plenty of rumors.

2.) Pro Day was a big hit. Tons of scouts and former players came to Athens to watch this year's draft-eligible Bulldogs workout. Matthew Stafford had a decent day and has remained calm despite the spotlight. Knowshon Moreno didn't improve on his 40 time much, but several of the other Georgia players managed to up their draft stock with strong performances.

3.) Spring practice got started. There's a lot on the line this spring, but the big storylines to start the spring involved Joe Cox taking over the offense -- which raised a bit of debate on whether he was more like D.J. Shockley or more like Joe Tereshinski -- and Caleb King getting his shot at running back. As it turns out, Cox's understudy, Logan Gray, had a big first day, and King's backup, Carlton Thomas, seems to have stolen the show, which you could have read earlier this week HERE, but more like found the stories yesterday HERE, HERE, HERE or HERE. Don't worry, I'm not bitter or anything.

4.) Atlanta wants to throw a cocktail party. The Atlanta Business Journal reported that the city was making efforts to bring the annual Georgia-Florida game to the A-T-L. Georgia AD Damon Evans said the whole thing was blown way out of proportion. Of course, some smart, pragmatic folks think it's a bad idea to move the game no matter what.

5.) Tony Dungy came to town. Dungy was in Athens with Mark Richt to promote an organization called All Pro Dad, which encourages fathers to spend more quality time with their kids. Dungy didn't talk much football, but he did mention a meeting with incoming UGA tight end Orson Charles. Later, Charles said it was that conversation that convinced him to become a Bulldog.

Pro Day Video: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford throws for scouts at Georgia's Pro Day.

(*video by Doug Stutsman)

Pro Day Video: Vertical Jump

Jeremy Lomax participates in the vertical jump at Georgia's Pro Day.

(*video by Doug Stutsman)

Pro Day Video: Bench Press

CJ Byrd and Ramarcus Brown bench press at Georgia's Pro Day.

(*video by Doug Stutsman)

Pro Day Video: 40-yard Dash

Asher Allen and CJ Byrd run the 40 at Georgia's Pro Day.

(*video by Doug Stutsman)

Pro Day Video: Broad Jump

Jeremy Lomax and Mohamed Massaquoi participate in the broad jump at UGA's Pro Day.

(*video by Doug Stutsman)

Official Pro Day Measurables

Player	Ht	Wt	Vert	Broad	225	10	20	40	20 shut	60 shut	L drill
Allen	5-9	195	IND	IND	IND	155	257	4.39	IND	IND	IND
Brown	5-11	179	35	10-4	13	156	259	4.41	DNP	DNP	DNP
Byrd	6-2	202	41	10-4	19	156	256	4.38	4.07	11.69	6.76
Chandler	6-5	270	31	9-2	DNP	178	287	4.92	4.69	DNP	7.47
Ellerbe	6-1	237	IND	IND	DNP	164	268	4.62	4.17	IND	6.93
Goodman	6-2.5	189	35	10-9	DNP	163	259	4.53	4.10	11.71	6.97
Harris	6-2.5	205	39	10-6	12	160	265	4.54	4.25	11.12	6.95
Irvin	6-3	302	25	8-7	24	181	296	4.97	4.63	DNP	7.45
Lomax	6-4	251	35	9-6	DNP	169	288	4.80	4.52	DNP	7.29
Massaquoi	6-1.5	207	IND	10-7	DNP	157	262	4.50	4.12	11.36	6.87
Moreno	5-10.5	210	IND	IND	IND	158	268	4.58	IND	IND	IND
Southerland	6-0	245	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Stafford	6-2.5	225	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Wynn	6-3	272	29	9-5	21	169	284	4.87	4.50	DNP	4.27

NOTES:
* These measurements are all courtesy of Keith Gray of the UGA S&C staff. Each scout will use their own stuff so not sure what's "official" but these are definitely as close as you'll get.
* Don't ask me what the heck "20," "60," and "L Drill" are. Perhaps if someone knows they can leave it in the comments.
* IND denotes player used combine score rather than Pro Day
* Only better results included for weights and run times
* Brown injured hamstring DNP in second 40 time and shuttle runs
* Chandler DNP in bench press due to a shoulder injury
* Ellerbe DNP in bench due to a right pectoral injury
* Moreno's first 40 was a 4.60

Pro Day Notes: Solid Day For Stafford

After Matthew Stafford passed on passing at the NFL combine last month, the hype grew steadily as myriad scouts and fans waited to see his arm on display at today's Georgia Pro Day. As it turned out, it was a pretty typical performance for the former Bulldogs quarterback.

Stafford missed a few throws, was a touch too long on some and left his receivers waiting an extra half-second on others, but in between he managed to impress observers enough that the reviews still came out glowing.

"That arm is different," Georgia strength and conditioning coach Dave Van Halanger said. "I was talking to a guy who is a vice president of one of the team, and he said, 'Wow, we don't even have that in our league.'"

Another scout told Mark Richt he saw Stafford make throws he had never seen another quarterback at make at that level, and while officials from all 32 NFL teams took in the show, it will be up to the Detroit Lions to decide if Stafford will be at the top of this year's draft class.

The Lions had several team officials there to watch Stafford throw, including general manager Martin Mayhew, who played at Florida State under Van Halanger in his college days.

Mayhew was among the many who were impressed with Stafford's performance, and he'll get another up-close-and-personal view later this month. Stafford will hold his only private workout for an NFL team in front of Lions officials in Athens on March 31.

For now, however, Stafford said he wasn't too concerned about draft day. Of course, that didn't mean the rest of the Georgia staff didn't have their hopes set high.

"We've had guys like Knowshon (Moreno) that are great players and are going to get drafted in the top 10, but I've never been around a No. 1 pick, and I've been around a lot of great players," he said. "It's pretty special."

Special isn't exactly how Stafford described his day. He would have like to have put on a pristine performance that put any criticism of his sometimes erratic arm to bed, but he was nevertheless pleased with what he did accomplish.

"I felt like I was throwing it pretty good," he said. "I didn't complete every ball, which you'd like to do, but that's tough to do when you're throwing 50."

At one point, Stafford overthrew a deep route to Kenneth Harris and swatted his leg in disgust. It was about the only sign of emotion the quarterback showed throughout the process, and even that was short-lived.

"I hit that 1,000 times when I was here," Stafford said. "It's no big deal though. They've seen it 100 times on film."

SECOND TIME'S A CHARM

While Stafford's Pro Day performance did little to change the conventional wisdom of scouts, his fellow underclassman Asher Allen may have worked his way back into the first day of next month's draft.

After Allen ran a disappointing 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper said the cornerback had little chance to be taken in the first two rounds of the draft. So Allen set out to improve the number, working with Georgia trainers to dissect his run and shave some time off the final mark.

That's exactly what he did Thursday, turning in an impressive 4.33 on his second run and turning a few heads of scouts in the process.

"First thing on my mind was my 40," Allen said. "I wanted to run a 4.35 or under, and I did that. A lot of teams just questioned the speed – something that people who know me have no question about – but I think I did a good job with that."

A LONG DAY

Pro Day brought out more than 40 scouts and NFL officials and dozens of former players, but the production was all brought about through some immense effort by Dave Van Halanger and his strength and conditioning staff.

After it was all over Thursday afternoon, however, Van Halanger said it wasn't the work he put in to setting up the event that had him exhausted. It was watching his former players work so hard to achieve their dreams.

"It's a full day, and it is a great day," Van Halanger said. "When I leave here, I'm mentally exhausted. I'm pulling for those kids when they're on the bench, and then you see their mother and father, and they're so jacked to have their kid there. You know how important it is, and you want them to do great. So every time they do something, you're holding your breath, and when it's all over you can say, whoa, that was a good day."

NO SALES PITCH NEEDED

Mark Richt spent plenty of time Thursday shaking hands and chatting up the NFL scouts on hand for the Pro Day festivities, but he said he didn't make any grand sales pitches to try to convince teams to take his players high in the draft. All he did, he said, was tell the truth.

"The one thing about these guys is, you look around and what can you say bad about them?" Richt said. "They're all high character guys, they're great team guys, they've played well, and all I've got to do is tell the truth and it's a good advertisement for them."

IT'S PRIME TIME

There were plenty of big names on hand for Pro Day from former Bulldogs Tim Jennings and Verron Haynes to Atlanta Falcons' coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, but the one celeb who stole the show was former NFL star Deion Sanders.

Sanders was in Athens to watch longtime friend Ramarcus Brown work out, but he also spent some time hobnobbing with Richt and Van Halanger, who both coached at Florida State when Sanders was a star player there in the mid-1980s.

The visit from Sanders brought back a lot of good memories for Van Halanger, who counts the former Falcons cornerback as one of the most impressive players he has coached.

"He was brash, he was high spirited, but he was the best," Van Halanger said. "There wasn't anybody better."

On Sanders' pro day, Van Halanger said he ran a fairly impressive 40 time in track shoes, but wasn't satisfied with how much he had impressed the scouts. He ended up borrowing a pair of sneakers from another player and turned in a 4.21. It was the same kind of competitiveness Van Halanger said he saw in the Georgia players performing for scouts Thursday.

"It was good to see Deion," Van Halanger said. "You never forget the fun you had with those guys. A lot of winning, and a lot of tradition, just like we have here."

AROUND THE HORN

Knowshon Moreno didn't manage to improve on his combine 40 times, turning in official times of 4.58 and 4.64... Ramarcus Brown pulled up lame after his first 40 run after tweaking his hamstring... Defensive end Jeremy Lomax followed Brown's lead and suffered a minor hamstring injury during his workout, too... Demiko Goodman turned in a 4.35 in his 40 and jumped 10 feet, 9 inches in the broad jump, impressing scouts... Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe ran his 40 with a broken toe, according to TotalUGA.com, but still turned in a time of 4.6... Georgia plans to release complete times and measurements Friday morning... I hope to have some video from the day up soon, although it's taking a bit longer than I'd hoped to upload.

NOTE: If you haven't already, check out our minute-by-minute coverage of Pro Day at our Twitter site HERE.