Auburn Pro Day 2015: Recap, Reaction for Nick Marshall, Sammie Coates and More

Auburn welcomed 21 former football players to its annual pro day on Tuesday.

Seven former Tigers attended the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but the other 14 received their first chance to perform in front of assembled NFL scouts.

And scouts were not the only ones who showed:

Running back Corey Grant, who did not receive an invite to the NFL combine, seized the spotlight in a crucial workout.

Auburn staff clocked him at a 4.18 40 last offseason, but staff-clocked times mean nothing. Scouts wanted to watch him run in person and clock him for themselves before deciding on his draft stock.

Turns out he's as fast as advertised.

Scouts reported different times for Grant's two attempts—some as low as 4.19—but all of those were unofficial.

According Knox Bardeen of FoxSports.com, Grant said his official time was 4.26:

UAB receiver J.J. Nelson ran the fastest 40 at the combine (4.28). By his own account, Grant ran faster; and he smoked the combine's fastest running back (Jeremy Langford, 4.42) by more than .15 seconds.

But Grant impressed outside the 40, too. More than just a speed demon, he proved he's one of the stronger and most athletic backs in the class with a 37" vertical jump, a 10'7" broad jump and 22 bench reps of 225 pounds.

His vertical would have placed No. 7 among combine running backs; his broad jump would have placed No. 2; and his bench-press would have placed No. 10. Had Grant received the invite to Indianapolis, he likely would have made himself some money.

Hopefully this wasn't too late.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Nick Marshall was one of pro day's main attractions, even though he also worked out at the combine. The two-year starting quarterback posted huge numbers in Gus Malzhan's offense, but questions about his size (6'1") and arm strength have led to calls for a position change.

He can't make himself grow taller, but Marshall did the best he could to answer those questions Tuesday. Notably, he weighed in at 217 pounds—10 pounds heavier than his weigh-in at the combine:

As expected, Marshall worked out at multiple positions. He started the workout at quarterback before moving into drills for defensive backs—the position he played at Georgia before his dismissal in 2012.

Malzahn made the following case for Marshall to stay behind center, per Michael Davis Smith of Pro Football Talk:

"

I know he can be a quarterback at the next level. It needs to be in the right system. You’re talking about a guy that’s probably one of the best zone-read quarterbacks in the history of college football. He’s got a unique skill set. He broke the school record against the most talented defense we faced last year [passing for 456 yards against Alabama]. So he’s got the ability, he’s got the knack to win games, when the game’s on the line, that very few quarterbacks have. So I believe he can play quarterback in the right system.

"

The workout provided no insight into where Marshall will actually play; he looked fine running drills at both spots, and different teams will peg him at different positions subjectively.

Reading the tea leaves, it seems likely he ends up on defense. But if the right coach drafts him (*cough* Chip Kelly), who knows?

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Sammie Coates followed an underwhelming combine with an underwhelming start to pro day. Drops plagued his entire career at Auburn, and they've plagued his predraft workouts too:

Fortunately, Coates rebounded from that drop and had a solid rest of his workout.

"I felt great," he said afterward, per Bryan Matthews of Rivals.com. "I went out there to show I could run a route and show I could catch with my hands. That was my whole goal coming into today."

Coates also piqued the interest of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, which means he has to be doing something right. The Pats are famous for thinking they can fix people, and with Coates' raw tools, it's no surprise they put him through a ringer.

Any other standouts? Sure.

Let's shoot through them rapid fire:

1. Defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker, an underclassman starter whose later years were marred by injury, did 41 bench reps at 225 pounds, per Andy Staples of SI.com. Miami offensive tackle Ereck Flowers led the combine with 37 reps. Northwestern State's Deon Simon led the defensive tackles with 35.
2. Linebacker/Defensive back Robinson Therezie ran an unofficial 4.45 40, per the live thread at 247Sports. He also put up 19 bench reps. He is obviously undersized (5.9.5", 205 lbs), but some team is going to take a flier on him. And it will likely be happy it did.
3. Defensive back Brandon King, who spent the second half of 2014 at linebacker, posted a 38" vertical and ran a 40 in the 4.4s, per Jason Caldwell of Scout.com. He weighed in at 6'2", 217 pounds, which is great size for a safety but too small for a linebacker. However, that 40 time makes a move back to safety plausible.

That's about the lot of it. Sound off below and let us know where you think each Tiger will be drafted.