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JACKSONVILLE — These days, Clay Webb can laugh about being told in the fourth grade that the NFL was a much-too-distant dream.
“It was a dream of mine. Somebody sat us down and said, ‘All right, football isn’t everything. Nobody in this room is getting in the NFL,’” Webb said Friday during Jacksonville State’s Pro Day workouts. “I was like, ‘I could do it.’”
The dream is close to a reality for Webb, an All-America lineman for Jacksonville State and a former all-state performer at Oxford High.
The NFL draft is scheduled for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisc., and Friday’s Pro Day was part of the process toward getting picked. He and 14 of his teammates were put through drills and workouts for nearly three hours, although the last 35 to 45 minutes were spent watching quarterback Tyler Huff throw to running backs and receivers.
Photo gallery: Jacksonville State Pro Day football workouts
Photos: A half-dozen cell phone photos from Jacksonville State's Pro Day on Friday. A total of 16 NFL teams came to campus to watch 15 former Gamecocks work out.
The day drew scouts from 16 NFL teams to see 15 Jacksonville State players, who worked out in white T-shirts and black shorts. The New York Jets, who are notoriously seeking offensive line help, sent two scouts.
Several scouts kept running back Tre Stewart and Huff after the workouts for further conversations. One even walked Stewart to his car.
They didn’t keep Webb afterward, as he’s already a known quantity. He participated in both the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. All three events include lots of interviews with teams and workouts.
Webb started at left guard for Jacksonville State for three years after spending the first two years of his college career as a backup center at Georgia. NFL teams are looking at him as a center.
At the NFL Combine, the rating system used by the league afterward put Webb as the third-best overall center behind Jake Majors of Texas and Seth McLaughlin, a former standout at Alabama and Ohio State.
Webb said the Jacksonville State staff and his teammates have played a major role in him getting this far. He singled out offensive line coach Rick Trickett, who coached him all three years with the Gamecocks.
“I’m just really blessed,” he said. “I got to be around a really great group of guys and Coach Trickett, and then the offensive line room was just magnificent. I can’t think of any time that I had regrets or I felt sad about being here. I mean, I had a wonderful three years.”
He was especially thankful for Trickett.
“The lessons I learned with Trickett were just life changing for me,” he said. “They got me right back on track where I need to be. I can’t thank Trickett enough for where I am now.”
During Pro Day, Webb didn’t go through any of the leaping or weight-lifting drills. He didn’t do the sprints, although he did all the agility work.
He already did the other drills at the NFL Combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.11 seconds. His vertical jump was 31 inches, and his broad jump was 8-foot-11. He did 29 reps with 225 pounds in the bench press, which tied for fourth among linemen at the combine.
During the 40-yard dash, Stewart finished in 4.53 seconds, as he seemed to pick up speed after the first 10 yards.
Receiver P.J. Wells did the vertical jump in 36 inches, and his broad jump was 10-7.
J-Rock Swain, an all-conference defensive end for Jax State and an Oxford High grad, did 32 reps with 225 pounds in the bench press.
But the guy to watch most was Webb. Perhaps that’s why two scouts came from the Jets, who are in need of offensive line help.
“It’s definitely been a blessing to be invited to the Senior Bowl and the Hula Bowl and the combine,” he said. “I’m just lucky to be there. I feel like I got my chance and I made the best of it.”
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“It was a dream of mine. Somebody sat us down and said, ‘All right, football isn’t everything. Nobody in this room is getting in the NFL,’” Webb said Friday during Jacksonville State’s Pro Day workouts. “I was like, ‘I could do it.’”
The dream is close to a reality for Webb, an All-America lineman for Jacksonville State and a former all-state performer at Oxford High.
The NFL draft is scheduled for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisc., and Friday’s Pro Day was part of the process toward getting picked. He and 14 of his teammates were put through drills and workouts for nearly three hours, although the last 35 to 45 minutes were spent watching quarterback Tyler Huff throw to running backs and receivers.
Photo gallery: Jacksonville State Pro Day football workouts
Photos: A half-dozen cell phone photos from Jacksonville State's Pro Day on Friday. A total of 16 NFL teams came to campus to watch 15 former Gamecocks work out.
The day drew scouts from 16 NFL teams to see 15 Jacksonville State players, who worked out in white T-shirts and black shorts. The New York Jets, who are notoriously seeking offensive line help, sent two scouts.
Several scouts kept running back Tre Stewart and Huff after the workouts for further conversations. One even walked Stewart to his car.
They didn’t keep Webb afterward, as he’s already a known quantity. He participated in both the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. All three events include lots of interviews with teams and workouts.
Webb started at left guard for Jacksonville State for three years after spending the first two years of his college career as a backup center at Georgia. NFL teams are looking at him as a center.
At the NFL Combine, the rating system used by the league afterward put Webb as the third-best overall center behind Jake Majors of Texas and Seth McLaughlin, a former standout at Alabama and Ohio State.
Webb said the Jacksonville State staff and his teammates have played a major role in him getting this far. He singled out offensive line coach Rick Trickett, who coached him all three years with the Gamecocks.
“I’m just really blessed,” he said. “I got to be around a really great group of guys and Coach Trickett, and then the offensive line room was just magnificent. I can’t think of any time that I had regrets or I felt sad about being here. I mean, I had a wonderful three years.”
He was especially thankful for Trickett.
“The lessons I learned with Trickett were just life changing for me,” he said. “They got me right back on track where I need to be. I can’t thank Trickett enough for where I am now.”
During Pro Day, Webb didn’t go through any of the leaping or weight-lifting drills. He didn’t do the sprints, although he did all the agility work.
He already did the other drills at the NFL Combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.11 seconds. His vertical jump was 31 inches, and his broad jump was 8-foot-11. He did 29 reps with 225 pounds in the bench press, which tied for fourth among linemen at the combine.
During the 40-yard dash, Stewart finished in 4.53 seconds, as he seemed to pick up speed after the first 10 yards.
Receiver P.J. Wells did the vertical jump in 36 inches, and his broad jump was 10-7.
J-Rock Swain, an all-conference defensive end for Jax State and an Oxford High grad, did 32 reps with 225 pounds in the bench press.
But the guy to watch most was Webb. Perhaps that’s why two scouts came from the Jets, who are in need of offensive line help.
“It’s definitely been a blessing to be invited to the Senior Bowl and the Hula Bowl and the combine,” he said. “I’m just lucky to be there. I feel like I got my chance and I made the best of it.”
Continue reading...
