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Penn State Players Turn In Strong Pro Day Performances

Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on hand for Penn State’s annual pro day at Holuba Hall. It was a largely successful day for the 21 Nittany Lions who went through position drills, combine-style testing, and, in Saquon Barkley’s case, a whole lot of interviews.

Barkley reportedly woke up Tuesday morning intending to run routes, but when he learned no running backs coaches were in attendance, he opted to sit things out and let his teammates put on a show for the scouts.

Christian Campbell’s 41-inch vertical and Saeed Blacknall’s 4.39 40-yard dash were two of the day’s main highlights. Penn State incredibly had four players register leaps of 41 inches ahead of April’s draft. Barkley, Troy Apke, and Mike Gesicki did so a few weeks ago at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Campbell took the top spot in the broad jump with an 11’3″ — which would have been good for second among all cornerbacks at the combine (behind only Ohio State’s Denzel Ward). Blacknall finished with 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, tying West Virginia receiver Ka’Raun White’s first-place showing at the position in Indianapolis.

DaeSean Hamilton quelled any doubts of his straight-line speed with a 4.52 40-yard dash, while also running a clean route tree alongside Gesicki, Blacknall, Tom Pancoast, and Josh McPhearson.

Tom Bradley, who spent 36 years at Penn State, including his playing days from 1975-78, returned to Holuba Hall to evaluate Apke, Campbell, Marcus Allen, and Grant Haley as potential options for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bradley, a Johnston native, was hired as Pittsburgh’s defensive backs coach on Feb. 8 after spending three seasons as UCLA’s defensive coordinator.

In between chatting with scouts and shaking a several hands, Barkley made sure to offer plenty of encouragement to his teammates as they went through their respective drills. He even had some fun taking a few quarterback drops.

Defensive end Colin Castagna, who elected to forgo his final year of eligibility, led all Penn State players with 30 reps on the bench press. After appearing in 21 games, mostly on special teams, the former volleyball player turned some heads with a strong outing that also included a 4.76 40-yard dash and a 7.13 three-cone drill.

This year’s draft class has a chance to produce the most selections of any Penn State group since 1996, in which a whopping 10 Nittany Lions heard their name called. Last year, Chris Godwin was the only Penn State player picked.

The draft will take place April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

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About the Author

Ethan Kasales

Ethan’s a senior journalism major who grew up in Lemont, a few minutes from campus. When he’s not covering Penn State sports, you can usually find him golfing or teaching snowboarding at Tussey Mountain. Feel free to email him at [email protected].

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