Walker Rhodes of Optimum Scouting was LIVE at the Tennessee-Chattanooga Pro Day. Here are his notes from the workout of NFL Draft prospects BJ Coleman and Tim Benford. Follow him at @notsolegato on Twitter.
For many draft prospects, their school’s pro day is little more than a formality. They’ve shown what they can do at the combine, teams have plenty of film on them, and there really aren’t too many questions that are left unanswered. A pro day in most cases is just another chance to teams to get an in person look at a prospect.
For Chattanooga quarterback BJ Coleman and Tennessee Tech wide receiver Tim Benford, their work out Monday morning in Chattanooga was much more than a formality. After both dealt with injuries that kept them out of fully participating at the combine, their workouts Monday were the only chance they’d have to perform in front of multiple NFL teams before the Draft at the end of the month.
Representatives from teams including Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Miami, Minnesota, New England, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Seattle, San Diego and Tennessee were all in attendance for the workout. It was certainly a more pressure packed scenario than the typical pro day. Were Coleman and Benford able to perform?
Benford was a relative unknown until a strong showing in practices leading up to the Shrine game in January. He showed a good burst and consistent hands, but some there were some concerns about just how fast his top speed was. Fortunately he was able to run a 4.48 forty yard dash at his workouts at Tennessee Tech, so he could focus solely on catching passes from Coleman on Monday.
Benford had a solid showing in Chattanooga. His route running looked improved, as more often than not his cuts were crisp and precise. He did a good job of catching the ball away from his body and showed a good chemistry with Coleman. He did nothing to hurt his stock, and looks like a safe bet for a team that runs a West Coast offense in the 6th or 7th round.
While Benford put on a nice showing, it was pretty clear that Coleman was the main attraction. After an injury plagued senior season kept him on the sidelines for much of 2011 and a broken pinky held him out of the throwing portions of the combine, this was the first opportunity many teams would have to see Coleman throw.
Coleman’s accuracy, especially throwing the ball deep down the field, has been a concern throughout his career. He has a strong arm, and he is capable of controlling it, but he often times appears to try to place the ball in a particular spot instead of just throwing it. Based on what he showed Monday, he’s clearly improved in that area but there is still plenty of room for improvement. On the majority of his deep passes, he placed the ball well. Still there were a hand full of misplaced balls, usually overthrown.
For Coleman, accuracy down the field was not the only thing teams wanted to see an improvement from. As one anonymous NFC coach told me, the other concern with Coleman was his footwork. He played with too wide of a base at times, and this in turn led to his throws being powered all by his arm instead of his hips. After watching Coleman throw at his pro day, that coach no longer was concerned about that, at least in the absence of a pass rush.
Coleman’s leadership was clear throughout the pro day. 45 minutes prior to its start, there were already nearly 30 other past and present Chattanooga football players that had played with Coleman there to support him. Coleman took on a leadership role during the workout as well. There weren’t any coaches running the passing portion of his workout, instead it was Coleman directing (based on a script) his receivers as to what routes they would be running.
Following the workout, Coleman, who went 34-43 (three of those incompletions were drops) during the throwing portion of his workout, was satisfied with his performance, and he should have been. He showed improvement from where he was on film in 2011, and by that also demonstrated that he’s dedicated himself to improving as a quarterback. Some good private workouts, paired with this performance Monday, should solidify Coleman a quarterback worthy of being drafted in the first four rounds.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
