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Utah Football Pro Day Recap: Clay and Ianu Standout

Utah football held their annual pro day today. Many former Utes participated including Nate Orchard, Jeremiah Poutasi, Eric Rowe, Kaelin Clay, and Sese Ianu among others

By Alex Stark
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

It has been previously reported, but Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was on hand for Utah's pro day. He was joined by Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. Defensive tackle Sese Ianu and wide receiver Kaelin Clay likely helped their draft stock the most today. Cornerback Eric Rowe did not hurt his stock, and it has been rumored Kelly is heavily interested in the former Utah cornerback and safety. The Eagles have a big need at cornerback, even with the signing of former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell.

All-American defensive end Nate Orchard, the "Mayor of Sack Lake City," did not participate much in pro day, opting not to run. Since he did not lift at the NFL Combine, he did do bench press at the pro day, posting 26 reps. The Ted Hendricks Award winner did participate in position drills as an outside linebacker and defensive end. Multiple sources, including the Salt Lake Tribune, have reported that Orchard had dinner with representatives from the Cleveland Browns Wednesday night.

Rowe sat out lifting and running drills, after posting great numbers at the NFL Combine. He did participate in position drills.

Wide receiver Dres Anderson was not able to run today as was originally planned. He will instead hold a private pro day on April 14. He did take some time out to talk to Kelly.

Several former Utes came up strong in the bench press. Ianu helped his draft stock, putting up 34 reps on the bench press. He also posted a broad jump of 8'7". Some other bench press numbers include 25 reps from linebacker Jacoby Hale, 30 from defensive end Greg Reese, 26 from tight end Westlee Tonga, and offensive guard Junior Salt put up 32 reps.

Offensive lineman Jeremiah Poutasi posted a 27" vertical jump (a half inch improvement from his NFL Combine number). He also looked good in blocking drills. The versatile offensive lineman had a lot of eyes on him through the whole event.

While nothing official has been stated about Clay's 40-yard dash time was rumored to be sub 4.4. Here is a video of him and Tonga running the 40-yard dash.

The pressure was on Clay after posting a disappointing 4.51 40 time at the NFL Combine. Clay helped his chances greatly at making the NFL by posting sub-4.4 40 time, a time more what people expected from the speedy wideout. He was joined by Ianu of players who helped their draft stock the most. It has been reported that Ianu is as strong as an ox, and he proved that with his 34 reps in bench press. While it does not seem likely that Ianu will have his name called during the NFL Draft, he may get some serious looks as an undrafted free agent due to his strong performance today.

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