Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on campus Wednesday morning for USC's pro day, as six of the Trojans' draft hopefuls worked out in front of scouts to try to boost their stock.
With no central NFL Scouting Combine this year due to COVID factors, an even more important spotlight is being placed on schools' pro days around the country as the primary opportunity for NFL talent evaluators to work out prospects.
For USC, offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker (a projected first-round pick), defensive tackles Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns and safety Talanoa Hufanga went through drills and tests for the scouts this morning. Cornerback Olaijah Griffin was supposed to be a part of that group, but he posted on Twitter on Tuesday night that he will be forced to miss the workout due to a positive COVID test.
"Not getting the normal, typical combine atmosphere that we normally have in Indianapolis in February, these are important dates," USC coach Clay Helton said. "Obviously, to be able to have all 32 teams here, to be able to have the NFL Network here that's committed two hours of their time to cover our kids, very appreciative to it, very proud of the young men that are leaving our program and heading on to the NFL. I know they have extremely bright futures and can't say enough about them."
We talked to all of USC's draft hopefuls earlier this week and are rolling out full stories on each guy.
Read more here and watch full videos from their workouts Wednesday below:
-DT Jay Tufele eager to show NFL scouts the work he put in during his opt-out year
-OL Alijah Vera-Tucker says he's ignoring mock drafts as he prepares for the NFL
-Talanoa Hufanga details his pre-NFL training with Trojans legend Troy Polamalu
-WR Amon-Ra St. Brown hoping to surprise scouts with his speed at USC's pro day
-WR Tyler Vaughns hoping NFL scouts see more than just his 40 time
Pro day workout videos
Offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker:
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown:
Wide receiver Tyler Vaughns:
Safety Talanoa Hufanga:
Defensive tackle Jay Tufele:
Defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu:
Compilation video from field level provided by USC Football:
Testing results
**Marlon Tuipulotu only ran 10 yards instead of the full 40-yard dash, by plan, due to a hamstring injury
Analysis from NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah ...
On OL Alijah Vera-Tucker:
"To me, the tape's great. You say what's his bad game? I don't know, I didn't see any bad tape at him either at guard or at tackle. ... You talk about somebody that can hold up in pass protection, he has the anchor and the base to be able to handle power. He's got the quickness to be able to move laterally. And he's played really well at tackle and at guard so you've got some versatility there. I do think there is a feeling around the league when you see the arm length come in at 32 1/8 that most teams are going to have him as an interior linemen. I thought it was fascinating in [our interview with him], he didn't compare himself to a tackle. ... He said [Colts left guard] Quenton Nelson, so I think he'd be very comfortable with that and I think he's clearly the best interior offensive linemen in this draft. ... I was more impressed what he did this year because I thought that was going to be a challenge for him going out to tackle, and he had been so good at guard, but he held up each and every week at tackle. What he did in the run game working up to the second level in terms of angles and being able to wall guys off and even finish guys, I just saw the guy make steady improvement throughout these two years. That's one of the reason I like this guy so much because you can see him just accept every challenge and knock it out of the park."
On WR Amon-Ra St. Brown:
"To me, I look at somebody who has made a lot of big plays at USC, clutch plays throughout his career, but toughness, competitiveness I think are underrated qualities at the wide receiver position. And he brings that. We showed some clips of him blocking, you see him drop his shoulder and run dudes over at the second and third level, so that toughness, that competitiveness, that physicality, you can see how he's built. He's a powerful, powerful dude. So to me, to be able to put him in the slot where not only can I get the ball in his hands quickly, I can let him work in traffic -- that's not going to be a problem for him. Think about watching the Rams play, how the Rams ask those guys to dig out linebackers and to be involved in the run game as a blocker, he's going to be able to do that duty as well. So he can line up wide, you can sprinkle him in the backfield as USC did, but for me his primary role is going to be in that slot. ... To me Amon-Ra St. Brown, as a football player, is going to be one of the top 40 players in the draft. But because of the sheer number of wideouts and some teams are going to be patient and wait because they can still get a quality player, he's probably going to go in the back end of the second round or maybe even the third round, which means you're getting a heck of a football player at a tremendous value with somebody like this."
Sights ...
