University of Miami football seniors try to impress NFL scouts

The NFL coaches were missing Friday at Greentree Field. But the dreams of the University of Miami football players working out in front of several scouts were no different from their famous predecessors.

''Either I'm going to play at the next level or I have to take up another trade,'' said linebacker Glenn Cook, one of 17 Hurricanes seniors from last season's team to take part in UM Timing Day, a day-long combine that for years had drawn every NFL head coach. ``This is an important step to the rest of our lives.''

For the past 14 years, NFL teams have drafted at least one UM player in the first round, a record streak. But this year, only cornerback Bruce Johnson is expected to be drafted, and even that is not a lock. So for the players grinding it out Friday in front of scouts from 17 of 32 NFL teams, this day might have been their only shot to turn heads.

''They always say that we're the best group in the country, and I think we held that up [Friday],'' said Cook, who noted he ran a 5.46 in the 40-yard dash. ``You always hear that one moment can change your [future] for the bad or the good. You do one thing and it may mess up the rest of your life or it may set you up for the best. It's something we should be used to, taking advantage of each moment.''

ADKINS SEIZES MOMENT
On Friday, linebacker Spencer Adkins took advantage of that moment, according to Cook and other players. Adkins played as a reserve in the middle and as a pass rusher in third-down situations, totaling 20 tackles and four sacks in 2008.

A muscular 5-11 and 230 pounds, Adkins said he was timed in the 40 in 4.43 seconds. His vertical leap was 36 inches. His shuttle-run time was 4.25 and he had 30 bench-press repetitions at 225 pounds.

''I obviously needed to show good things or my chances would be minimum,'' said Adkins, who is from Naples. ``I look throughout the league nowadays and there are a lot of dudes who didn't get drafted and are Pro Bowlers. That's the motivation I have.

'There were a couple questions about if I liked the inside or rushing off the edge. I told them, `It doesn't matter. Whatever you want me to do I'll be able to do.' I think [Friday] opened up a lot of eyes.''

ONE-SHOT DEAL
Adkins was asked if he felt it was fair that so much is put into one day's work.

''For somebody who is about to get paid a lot of money and has to do a lot of things in pressure situations, I think it is fair,'' he said.

For a couple of Canes, it must have felt extremely unfair.

Receiver Kayne Farquharson and offensive tackle Chris Rutledge sustained injuries doing drills -- Farquharson tweaked his knee during the broad jump and Rutledge injured his leg while running the 40. Both fought through the pain and completed their workouts.

Johnson, the only Cane invited to the NFL combine in Indianapolis, said he bettered his time in the 40 from 4.47 to 4.4, and increased his vertical jump from 34 to 38 ½ inches. Johnson is projected to be drafted from the fourth round down.

''I wanted to show them that I could do it here and [in Indianapolis],'' Johnson said, ``that I could be consistent. I feel I performed real well.''

Safety Anthony Reddick, who turned down an opportunity to apply for a sixth-year medical redshirt after numerous knee surgeries, said his main concern was to prove his knees were fine.

''I'm satisfied,'' said Reddick, who said he was told by scouts he ran ''a really low 4.5'' in the 40. ``I wasn't nervous. Nothing to be nervous about. I've been doing this my whole life.''

(miamiherald.com)