Insider Notes on Colorado Pro Day: Shedeur Sanders impresses, teams' issue with Travis Hunter, and more
The final workouts on the pro-day schedule took place Friday, headlined by the Colorado Football Showcase with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders. As anyone could imagine, it was a well-attended event.
Notes from Colorado Pro Day
Travis Hunter didn’t test at pro day, just as he skipped all the testing at the combine. He looked good during receiver drills catching the ball from Sanders, who had a solid day. The fact that Hunter did no testing at all in the lead-up to the draft is a bit disconcerting to the teams I spoke with, as they’d prefer to have numbers on a skill player expected to line up at cornerback and be such an early selection. Hunter was estimated as 4.53-second 40 prospect, and that’s what teams will go with during final evaluations.
Everyone I spoke with praised Sanders’ throwing workout. There were a few wobbly passes and approximately three misses, but overall he looked good. Those on hand told me that Sanders threw several terrific deep balls and over routes, nicely placing throws into the wideout’s hands. And those wideouts, not named Hunter, really stood out Friday.
Vanderbilt transfer Will Sheppard had a terrific day. He timed 4.53 seconds in the 40, faster than expected, and touched 40.5 inches in the vertical jump and 10-foot-11 in the broad jump. Sheppard caught everything thrown in his direction and came away with a few difficult catches in contorted positions. Consistently productive throughout his college career, Sheppard was not invited to the combine despite a good senior season and three solid days at Shrine Bowl practice. He met at length with Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos as the team will look to add a receiver in the draft. He is drawing interest from the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans.
LaJohntay Wester, another Shrine Bowl standout, also caught the ball well. His routes were sharp and fluid, and Wester was always on balance. After receiver drills, Wester went outside to field punts, in the snow. He ran the 40 again but was unable to better his time from the combine, which came in at 4.46 seconds.
Jimmy Horn Jr., another star from Shrine Bowl practice, was the third CU receiver to impress. His 40 time of 4.35 seconds was more than one-tenth better than his mark from the combine. He also ran great routes and caught the ball well. Both Wester and Horn project as slot receivers/return specialists on Sundays.
All three wide outs received a lot of attention from the New York Giants, who had head coach Brian Daboll on hand.