Dayne weighs heavily in the minds of NFL scouts

Sporting News, The, March 6, 2000 by Dan Pompei

Scouts are anxious to see Dayne do something he rarely did at Wisconsin--catch the ball. He had only one reception his senior season, just 31 in his career. Which says a lot about the offense Wisconsin runs but also may be an indictment of Dayne's hands.

But as long as those hands can wave off second helpings, Dayne should be an outstanding pro back.

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At the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis last week, all it took was 5.35 seconds to determine which quarterback will be the first selected.

That 5.35 seconds was the 40-yard dash time of Louisville's Chris Redman, and it did not exactly enhance his stock. Marshall's Chad Pennington, by comparison, ran a 4.86.

"You really have to wonder about Redman's mobility," one NFC college scouting director said after observing Redman's workout. "That could be a death sentence."

Said an AFC college scouting director: "Redman was considered a top 10 prospect at the beginning of the season. After the Senior Bowl he was considered a high second rounder. Now, who knows?"

The 40-yard dash enhanced the stock of a trio of wide receivers--Chris Cole of Texas A&M, R. Jay Soward of Southern Cai and Laveranues Coles of Florida State. Coles was the 40-yard dash champion with a best time of 4.35 seconds.

NFL personnel men would have loved to have seen Michigan State junior Plaxico Burress run, but like most top prospects, Burress elected to make the NFL wait for his personal workout day. Burress did field some passes and showed somewhat questionable hands.

The bench-press king was defensive tackle Leif Larsen of Texas-El Paso, with 45 repetitions Of 225 pounds. Defensive tackle Chris Hovan of Boston College may have worked out well enough to move into the first round. Other linemen who performed well in drills and workouts included a pair of small-school guards--Leander Jordan of Indiana, Pa., and Jason Thomas of Hampton.

The weigh-ins also attracted some attention. Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington weighed 250 pounds, 20 more than some expected. And Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski was a solid 260. Janikowski also kicked so well he may have become a first-round pick.

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