The pro-day workout of former RedHawks quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was the attraction, and a half-dozen draft-eligible ex-teammates tried to catch some of the refracted attention.
Scouts or assistant coaches from nearly all 32 NFL teams made their way to Oxford. Two head coaches, Green Bay's Mike Sherman and the Giants' Tom Coughlin - along with Giants' general manager Ernie Accorsi and three of the club's scouts - were there, too.
Charting each of the players' moves with stopwatches and clipboards, scouts watched them lift weights, jump, sprint and run agility drills before congregating in Yager Stadium for the main event: Ben throws.
He threw long and short, soft and hard, down the middle and toward the sideline - showing off his impressive arm and timing on the deep out pattern.
Roethlisberger ran 4.76 seconds in the 40-yard dash. And he clocked an 11.8 - considered fast for a quarterback - on a three-cone agility drill.
The Packers have the 25th pick in the first round and a quarterback named Brett Favre, but that didn't stop Sherman from making the trip.
"He's probably going be gone before we pick, but I always want to cover our bases in case something happens - he falls or we move up," Sherman said. "I thought he had an excellent workout. He did everything here he does on tape. You have to watch the game tape to really appreciate what kind of quarterback he is and what kind of leadership skills he has."
From the Cincinnati Enquirer/March 26, 2004
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