Alabama Pro Day 2015: Recap, Reaction for Amari Cooper, Landon Collins and More

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Hank Crisp Indoor Facility has become a mecca of sorts for NFL scouts who make the trip here each year, and Wednesday was no different.

Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on hand to watch a whopping 17 former Alabama players work out in hopes of getting to the next level. Dee Hart, the former Alabama running back who transferred to Colorado State, worked out with his former Crimson Tide teammates too.

All eyes were on Blake Sims, who was throwing for the first time since the combine, this time with his former teammates he was familiar with.

Sims, Amari Cooper, DeAndrew White, Christion Jones and Brian Vogler scripted 50 plays leading up to the workout with Sims’ quarterback coach, Ken Mastrole, who was in town to help with Sims’ workout.

Mastrole led the passing display.

Sims showed a good release but struggled with accuracy at times. The biggest surprise came when Sims himself ran a few routes with the running backs, catching balls out of the backfield.

“Six weeks ago I was throwing touchdowns, and now I'm running routes,” said Sims, who is trying to show he can play running back or receiver if need be. “It was good, thanks to T.J. (Yeldon). He taught me some things.”

If you were looking to see a show from Alabama’s stars such as Cooper and Landon Collins, you were probably disappointed. Cooper didn’t feel the need to improve on his 4.42 40-yard dash time from the NFL combine but said he could do better.

“I ran a 4.3. In training, I never ran a 4.4 so I thought I was going to run a 4.3,” Cooper said. “There were some things I could have worked on when I ran.”

White continues to show that he can be a productive receiver at the next level. He ran a 4.44 40-yard dash and improved on that at the pro day.

“Some scouts said 4.34, some said 4.37,” White told reporters. “It was all over the board, 4.3 something.”

Injuries and playing behind Cooper limited some of White's production, which led Saban to call him underappreciated.

"I think DeAndrew White is probably a guy that I would, if you said, 'Who would be most underappreciated by the NFL?' because he has a lot more ability than what his production maybe has been here, whether it's because of injuries or whatever that he's battled through,” Saban said.

Another player continuing to turn heads is fullback Jalston Fowler. Fowler said scouts told him he ran a 4.72-4.75 range, which would be about a two-tenths improvement from his combine time.

He showed good hands in the open field too, grabbing a one-handed catch over the middle at one point.

"I think there's no question Jalston Fowler can do so many things well,” Saban said. “He's a really good receiver. He's a great blocker. He has running skills with the ball in his hand so he actually can be a big back for somebody. There's still some situations where guys like Jalston Fowler have tremendous value.”

On defense, Trey DePriest got to go through drills after having to sit out the combine because of surgery. When DePriest spoke with reporters, he hadn’t yet gotten any of his measurables, but he said he felt good about what he did, while his two-year-old son, Onyx, watched from the stands.

“Just getting to participate, for real. Not everybody gets to do this, so coming in here and getting to participate with my boys, too. Who knows what I’ll get to see them again?” DePriest said.

Collins didn’t run the 40 but went through some position-specific drills. He said he plans on attending the draft in person in Chicago.

“I wouldn’t say stressful. It’s just the experience. You can come in here and have fun with it,” Collins said. “That’s basically what I tried to do. It’s a good thing. I try to come out and have fun. We’ve been playing for all our life, why stress about it? Let’s ball.”

Here are some more notables from Alabama’s pro day:

- Safety Nick Perry said T.J. Yeldon told him he ran in the 4.4 range, which would be a big improvement over the running back’s 4.61 at the combine. Perry said he ran a 4.6. Tight end Brian Vogler heard he was in the 4.7s. Xzavier Dickson said scouts told him he was around 4.65-4.67. Austin Shepherd said he ran a 5.2. Arie Kouandjio said he didn’t ask what his 40 time was. "It's not that I didn't want to know,” he said. It's things that are already in the past, and I'm a forward kind of guy."

- Colorado State had its pro day Wednesday, but its star running back, Dee Hart, was working out in Tuscaloosa. It was good to see Hart, who is still beloved by his former Crimson Tide teammates, working with them and getting that kind of exposure.

- There didn’t appear to be any NFL head coaches in attendance, but New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese took in the action in person.

Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes and reporting were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.