Caleb Couturie of FishDuck.com was at the Moshofsky Center yesterday for Oregon’s 2015 Pro Day
Yesterday several former Ducks showcased their talent for NFL scouts at the 2015 Pro Day, the final group evaluation before the NFL draft in April. With several Ducks projected to go off the board on day one, this was their last chance to show teams what they are capable of. Arik Armstead worked on position drills and one on one workouts with coaches after taking part in everything at the combine.
San Diego Chargers defensive line coach Don Johnson worked with Armstead individually, and when asked about what Johnson and the scouts have told him Armstead told us “it wasn’t like that. I was just catching up with them. I saw them at the combine.”
With the intense competition that is the NFL combine and pro day Armstead let us in on how he has been preparing for the next step in his career, “Cardio, I wanted to not look tired” he told us “I’m in better shape, more athletic, faster and stronger… I’ve leaned out a little bit, lifting and running.” That quickness will be crucial at the next level in the every evolving NFL.
Armstead has been leaned out getting ready for the NFL
In order to get ready for that next level Armstead has been working with his brother, a former NFL player. While at Oregon we witnessed Armstead work on the line stopping the run and getting after the passer, with his brother he has been working on more of the same thing, “I’ve been working on my game. Working on getting off the ball rather than waiting for somebody.” A bigger, faster, stronger Armstead is exactly what the NFL scouts are looking for.
With rapport building and strong performances for scouts finished its time to wait and see how the results turn out, Armstead is enjoying the process and taking everything in stride, “it’s all been good” he said in response to the highs and lows of the draft process “it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that not everyone gets to go through.” With plenty of Ducks set to go off the board on day one Armstead is confident he can as well but isn’t worrying, “I didn’t have anything negative coming out of the combine [and today] I tried to go as hard as I could” he said “hopefully I’m a day one guy.”
Top Photo by Craig Strobeck
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My name is Max Thornberry, and I am a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying journalism. I am from Ventura, CA but fell in love with Oregon when I visited last year and came to the Oregon vs. Cal game. I love sports and my hobbies mainly include fantasy baseball and football as well as playing sports video games. Growing up watching sports center and espn news I always wondered what I had to do in order to get a job where I got to talk sports every day, so when I saw an opportunity to intern for a sports news website (FishDuck.com) I couldn’t wait to get involved.