Meyer, other Eagles excel before scouts
Though the lighting in the Eastern Washington University fieldhouse could best be described as subdued, there were some bright flashes Thursday afternoon.
Those would be the smiles of Erik Meyer, Jesse Hendrix and Isaiah Trufant, three of the six players who worked out for National Football League scouts on Eastern’s “pro timing day.”
Meyer, the All-American quarterback and Payton Award winner who attended the NFL Scouting Combine last month, threw well and improved his time in two drills.
Hendrix and Trufant put up impressive numbers for the 40-meter dash and vertical jump.
Wide receiver Eric Kimble and linebacker Joey Cwik, who projects as a fullback, were not particularly pleased with their performances but were not discouraged. They worked out for scouts from Seattle, Indianapolis, San Diego, the New York Jets and Giants, Oakland, Green Bay and Carolina.
“I thought they probably tested as well as any group since we’ve been here, which is a reflection of this senior class,” EWU running back coach Joe Wade, the Eagles’ liaison with the NFL, said.
Most attention was focused on Meyer, who first went through his paces at the combine in Indianapolis. He went through limited drills Thursday but he improved his vertical and broad jumps.
“I had to throw in the fieldhouse but you’ve got to make what you can out of it,” Meyer said. “I got to hook up with Eric Kimble one more time so that was pretty fun… . A lot of (NFL) guys came out, I don’t think last year there was that many. Having them come was an honor.”
What they saw was Trufant run a 4.31-second 40 and go 42½ inches on his vertical. Hendrix hit 4.1 and 39½.
“I’m real happy with what I did,” Trufant said. “I’m pretty fast, I wasn’t worked about that. I was worried about the jumps.”
The knock on both cornerbacks is their size – Trufant is listed at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, Hendrix, 5-9, 165 – but they said they just wanted a chance.
They’ll all get more chances as other teams are scheduled to pass through Cheney before now and the draft in late April.
Meyer welcomed the opportunity to throw more on Thursday since quarterbacks didn’t get to throw a lot at the combine and were working with unknown receivers. That was the only negative, he said.
“I ran the best I ever ran,” he said, noting his combine time of 4.67 was much better than the 5-plus he ran at last year’s pro day. “I came out of it feeling pretty good. I think I’ll get drafted.”
To prepare for the combine Meyer worked out at DisneyWorld with renowned trainer Tom Shaw. There were other highly regarded players there, including Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, a probable first-round draft choice, and Oregon State wide receiver Mike Haas, the Biletnikoff Award winner who shares the same agent, Scott Smith.
There were 23 quarterbacks invited to the combine and 20 worked out. Potential No. 1 picks Matt Leinart and Vince Young passed on the drills and a third was injured.
They went through six drills and with his improvement Thursday, Meyer was in the top seven of all six, according to Smith, who runs XAM Sports out of Madison, Wis.
“Based on his production on the field, the response from the scouts, how he’s performed on his drills, everything looks positive,” said Smith, who attended Thursday’s workout. “It’s so early in the process right now, we really won’t know until draft day. I focused on getting Erik ready for the combine and any individual workouts he has. If he maximizes those opportunities, he’s going to get drafted. What team, I have no idea, what round, I have no idea.”