USC's Amon-Ra St. Brown outlines goals for his pro day workout

Amon-Ra St. Brown will get his showcase in front of NFL scouts and decision-makers later his month during USC's March 24 pro day, and he is setting the bar high for what he hopes to accomplish that day.

Appearing on NFL Total Access on NFL Network, St. Brown said he expects to run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash and hopes to clear at least 25 reps on bench press (at 225 pounds).

There is no traditional NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this year, so NFL scouts and coaches will be doing all of their evaluations on site at schools' pro days across the country. St. Brown is one of seven Trojans who are on the official combine list.

"It's surreal for me. It's been a dream of mine for a long time now growing up playing football. I was a 5-star coming out of high school what not, and that's all good, but at this next step they don't really look at that. And I'm excited to go out there, run through my pro day, catch balls, get a shot at my dream and hopefully make an impact at the next level," St. Brown said.

"It's surreal for me. It's been a dream of mine for a long time now growing up playing football. I was a 5-star coming out of high school what not, and that's all good, but at this next step they don't really look at that. And I'm excited to go out there, run through my pro day, catch balls, get a shot at my dream and hopefully make an impact at the next level."

Only six wide receivers ran a 4.4 or faster at the 2020 NFL Combine and no receiver did more than 23 reps on bench press, so if St. Brown is able to hit his goals he will definitely stand out. Of course, with all the testing happening at different sites around the country, it won't be as true a comparison across the board for the 40 as normal given different tracks and other conditions.

As for bench press, St. Brown said his max is 365 pounds.

"My dad was a bodybuilder, two-time Mr. Universe, three-time Mr. World, and he started us lifting weights at a very young age, so I've been lifting weights for a very long time now," he said. "Actually back at USC my sophomore year I hit 225 for 23 times, so my goal is at least 25 on my pro day."

St. Brown also talked about an underrated element of his game -- blocking -- and how that was instilled in him during his time with the Trojans.

"Coach Keary Colbert, he played in the league and one thing he taught us while I was there at USC is blocking is very serious -- if you can't block right now then you won't be able to play at the next level," St. Brown said. "So being able to block is something we took very serious in our room, and obviously with Michael Pittman, guys that we had come through our room, it's kind of embedded in us."