SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After not being invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, former Orange linebacker
Zaire Franklin watched from afar the testing results turned in by the players at his position.
Then he went about the process of trying to exceed them.
Franklin was one of 11 former Syracuse standouts to display their talents in front of NFL scouts at the Orange's Pro Day Monday, March 19. And the numbers he put up rivaled those of any linebacker in this year's draft class.
Franklin, who has been training the last two months at Ford Sports Performance in Bellevue, Wash., did 30 repetitions on the bench press, recorded a vertical leap of 38 inches and ran a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash. All three marks would have placed him in the top six among linebackers at the Combine. In fact, Franklin's 30 repetitions of 225 on the bench press were two more than Arizona State's Christian Sam, the top-performing linebacker invited to Indianapolis.
"Once I found out that I was officially not going to be there, it was just kind of one of those things where I get to see what numbers I've got to go beat a week before I get to go do it," Franklin said. "It was all good. It was just more motivation."
While Franklin turned the most heads, defensive back
Jordan Martin and linebacker
Jonathan Thomas also posted some of the day's top results.
Martin, who played corner at Toledo before spending his one Syracuse season at safety, carded 10'10" (130 inches) in the broad jump. It was a mark that would have ranked third among cornerbacks at the Combine and seventh among all defensive backs. His 37-inch vertical would have tied for seventh among safeties and tied for eighth among corners.
Thomas logged Syracuse's second-best result in the broad jump at 10'9" (129 inches), which would have put him third behind Vanderbilt's Oren Burks and Florida State's Matthew Thomas at the Combine. Burks and Thomas each jumped 131 inches.
In addition to putting participants through their paces on the field and in the weight room, team representatives had the opportunity to watch film and meet with members of the Orange football staff Monday. They also held one-on-one meetings with players after the workouts.
All-America receiver
Steve Ishmael, who caught 105 passes for 1,347 yards and seven touchdowns last season, was one of the most sought-after interviews. So was Franklin, who took the time to meet with several teams.
Now that Pro Day is behind them, Syracuse's NFL hopefuls will go about the process of scheduling private workouts leading up to the draft, which begins April 26 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
For Franklin, the private workouts are an opportunity to reaffirm what he did Monday.
"I think everybody's going to look at my numbers today and say, 'What?'" Franklin said. "And then they'll want to see it in person and I'm going to do it in person."
