Scott Watkins
Staff Writer
The Troy football team held its annual pro day on Friday, where it showcased former Trojans in front of 26 NFL scouts and two CFL scouts.
The bulk of the players who participated were recent graduates, while some graduated years ago.
Of the older former players, former running back Brandon Burks participated in the workouts.
Burks, a current free agent who has spent time on the Packers and Jets practice squads, put up impressive numbers. He had a broad jump of 10’2”, highest among all players at pro day.
Burks was one of three running backs who went through various workouts and drills, with the other two being Jordan Chunn and Josh Anderson.
Anderson showed off his strength by doing 22 bench press reps, while Chunn ran a 4.62 40-yard dash at 239 pounds.
Both backs also participated in quarterback Brandon Silvers’ throwing session, and neither dropped a pass.
Chunn, who missed Troy’s bowl game due to injury, was glad to be back on the field.
“It felt great to be running around out here,” Chunn said following the workouts. “I was a little high on my weight but I feel like I still moved around like I wanted to.”
The two players who stood out the most, however, were Silvers and wide receiver Tevaris McCormick.
McCormick turned in a strong performance, showing off his quickness and strength. The 182-pound wide out had 20 reps on the bench press and then ran a 4.40 40-yard dash.
His 40 time would have been third-fastest among wide receivers at the NFL combine.
He continued to turn heads during the throwing session, as he displayed quick feet and soft hands. H dropped zero passes.
Silvers was equally as impressive, completing 45 of 48 pass attempts. Of those three incompletions, two of them were on target but dropped.
“I just wanted to come out here and test well and throw well,” Silvers said after pro day. “I just wanted to throw the ball with some velocity and go through the drops that I didn’t do in college.”
Silvers’ and McCormick’s performances stood out to the scouts who were on hand.
“I’d say that definitely the quarterback’s work out here has been very impressive,” Miami Dolphins scout Grant Wallace said. “He’s throwing catchable balls. McCormick is showing good quickness in and out of breaks.”
Troy’s pro day was the last time former Trojans got to show off their talents before the NFL draft on April 26.
Troy’s current players will return to action on March 20 when spring practice begins.
