Porter Gustin aims to assuage health questions ahead of draft

The question former USC outside linebacker and sack artist Porter Gustin has received most from NFL teams during this pre-draft process is the obvious one.

Gustin came back strong from both the toe and biceps injuries sustained as a junior along with the mensicus tear last August, racking up 7 sacks in 5.5 games as a senior, but a fractured right ankle ended yet another season prematurely for the Trojans standout.

All the while leading to mounting questions about his durability.

"There's a list of [questions] that every single team asks. I think most teams just want to know if I'm healthy, kind of where I'm at with that and what's going on with the ankle and the past injuries," Gustin said Wednesday after USC's Pro Day. "They're trying to see if I'm injury-prone or if it's just kind of freak injuries and what's going on with it."

So what does he tell them?

"My answer is, two freak injuries -- one wasn't even football related -- and the best part about it is they've both been bone injuries," he said. "Bones take a while to heal but they heal and they heal back 100 percent as opposed to soft tissue or ligament or something where you never know if it's going to heal back the same. Whereas bones, they heal right back -- maybe even stronger."

RELATED: All the sights, sounds and stats from USC's Pro Day

Gustin, who certainly looks the part of a NFL prospect with his chiseled 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame, has always impressed with his ambitious recovery times. He tallied 1.5 sacks in the 2018 season opener against UNLV just a few weeks after tearing his meniscus at the start of fall camp. His ability to heal has never been in question -- it's whether or not he can remain healthy for a duration and truly deliver on his physical potential.

Gustin racked up 21 sacks and 33 tackles for loss over 37 games at USC and was on his way to a huge senior season before the ankle injury.

He pushed himself back to compete at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind., last month and then used Wednesday as a chance to further show how that ankle has healed.

"Mainly I just want to show my ankle's healthy, I'm moving around, I'm done with the rehab process, I'm getting back to being able to do everything 100 percent," he said after running through the gamut of pass rushing and agility drills with the NFL scouts. "I did all the cutting drills, all the bending drills and I'm just able to show that I'm healthy, I'm moving well and I'm ready to go. ...

"Really the last obstacle to overcome in my rehab process is bending on that ankle, which I didn't do before the combine but I started doing this last couple of weeks. I'd only done it a handful of times, but it gave me the confidence to be able to do all the bending drills, which I was able to do today. Obviously it's a little rusty and not quite back to it, just because I haven't got the reps in, but I think the important part is my ankle felt good, it felt healthy, it held up well, so that's kind of where I'm at."

Gustin improved his vertical jump by half an inch from the combine, reaching 36 inches Wednesday. He also gained an inch on his broad jump, to 10 feet. After putting up 31 reps (of 225 pounds) on bench press at the combine, he did not test in that area again at Pro Day. But to his own surprise, he chose to run the 40-yard dash while posting a time of 4.73 seconds (after running a 4.69 at the combine).

Those were the only times and measurements provided by USC.

"I was pleased with the shuttle and the 3-cone [drill]. I improved a little bit on the jumps, which is what I hoped to do," he said. "I wasn't planning on running the 40, but some of the scouts talked me into it, like it won't hurt you by doing it. So I was like, I might as well do it. I didn't train for any speed stuff the last couple weeks, but I went out and ran it. I was happy with my 10. I thought it was a good 10, it was a little more explosive. That's kind of what I was looking for."

Now, aside from any additional interviews or private workouts interested teams may request, all Gustin can really do is wait.

The NFL Draft runs April 25-27. The limited mock drafts that go beyond the first couple rounds have projected him in the middle to later-middle rounds, but it's all guesswork.

Even for Gustin.

"It's tough. You never really know which teams are really interested or just asking you. There's a lot of different teams asking you the same stuff. You never really know which ones are more interested, so not really [sure where things stand] honestly," he said. "But I've talked to a lot of different teams, and hopefully they all are."