Among the notable performances from Monday's pro days where LSU linebacker Deion Jones' 40-yard dash time and Alabama-turned-Toledo quarterback Phillip Ely showcasing his talents in front of NFL scouts.
It isn't too often that a linebacker's 40-yard dash time takes center stage, but that's exactly what happened at LSU's pro day on Monday in Baton Rouge, La.
A four-year player for the Tigers, linebacker Deion Jones ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, shaving off time from his 4.59-second run at last month's NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
"I was just shooting for 4.4 because that's what was on my mind," Jones said via LSUSports.net. "I needed that and I didn't get it at the combine, so it was personal. I just gave it my all and when I heard all my homeboys' reactions, I looked at it and was like wow I didn't expect that."
In 51 career games at LSU, Jones totaled 165 tackles (21 for loss) and five sacks along with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a fumble forced.
Jones had his best season as a senior, recording 100 tackles and all five of his career sacks in 12 games.
"I'm trying to find positives in all of it," Jones said of the draft process. "The training was rigorous the first couple of weeks of getting up early and getting used to how combines are going to be. It is a lot of adversity being up there all day, working out and running and speed and all that. It gave me a whole different focus you know."
Also participating in drills was senior defensive back Jalen Mills.
Mills ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds while working position-specific drills with coaches from the New Orleans Saints.
The six-foot, 191 pounder recorded 16 bench press reps of 225 pounds, a 37-inch vertical jump and a 123-inch broad jump at the Combine.
Mills participated in January's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., telling Redskins.com that his biggest strength as a player is his physical play.
"Just coming from LSU, our coach preaches that, being physical to the receiver or he's going to be physical to you," Mills said. "You have to initiate that first and I feel like I initiated that, and I mean it just carried over."
From the spotlight in Alabama to quiet Toldeo
Despite being one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2011, Phillip Ely never really could rise above the completion at quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
With A.J. McCarron entrenched as the starter and others in waiting behind him, Ely attempted just four passes during his career at Alabama, completing three of them for 42 yards and a touchdown.
After the 2012, he elected to transfer to Toledo. His first season with the Rockets was marred by a Week 2 knee injury. Finally in 2015 he got his first full chance to put his talents on display for the college football world, throwing for nearly 3,000 yards with 23 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions.
On Tuesday at Toldeo's pro day, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound quarterback, who was denied a sixth year of eligibility, tried to show that while his college career didn't go as planned, he's got all the skills needed to play in the NFL.
Ely went through a throwing session with receivers while recording a 35-inch vertical jump and a nine-foot one-inch broad jump.
"Guys said I did good, had a strong arm," Ely said. "They liked that I did a lot of stuff from under the gun. We were in shotgun so many times here at Toledo. It's good to show a little diversity."
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