Former Cougars work out for NFL teams at Pro Day

PROVO, Utah - Eleven former Cougars from the BYU football team worked out and showcased their skills for 32 scouts from 24 NFL teams and one CFL club at BYU's annual Pro Day early Thursday afternoon.

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Players were tested on their strength, agility and overall athleticism with exercises such as the bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill and both 20-yard and 60-yard shuttles. Position specific drills also took place following the testing.

Defensive linemen Ezekiel Ansah and Romney Fuga, linebackers Brandon Ogletree and Uona Kaveinga, defensive backs Preston Hadley, DeQuan Everett and Joe Sampson, offensive linemen Braden Brown and Braden Hansen, deep snapper Reed Hornung and punter Riley Stephenson particpated in various workouts throughout the day. One other athlete, Cache Morgan from Dixie State also participated.

Ansah, a projected first-round pick, had previously tested well at the NFL Scouting Combine and focused his workout on position drills. Brown participated in some of the testing but had previously worked out at the combine as well.

A former team captain, Ogletree turned heads with a quick 4.62 40-yard dash time, along with Kaveinga's time of 4.65. The average time for linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine was a 4.74. Ogletree led BYU in tackles for both the 2011 and 2012 seasons and posted 13.5 tackles for loss last year. Kaveinga forced four fumbles in 2011 and totaled 49 tackles with 4.5 for a loss in 2012. Kaveinga also posted 26 reps on the bench and had a vertical of 33.5 inches while Ogletree did 24 reps and recorded a 33-inch vertical.

Hadley (4.53), Sampson (4.53) and Everett (4.57) all ran in the 4.5 range and impressed in the broad jump, posting marks of 10-foot-2, 10-foot-4 and 11-foot-1, respectively. Everett also had the best vertical leap of the day with a 37.5-inch jump while Sampson had a 36-inch vertical. Kaveinga and Ogletree also did well with jumps of 33.5 and 33, respectively.

On the bench press, Hansen posted 27 reps while Fuga went for 26. Fuga also ran well for a 318-pounder, clocked at about 5.13 seconds. Everett put up the bar 25 times with Hadley topping the Combine average of 18 for safeties with 19 reps. Hadley also put up good times with a 4.00 time in the 20-yard shuttle and an 11.33 pace in the 60-yard shuttle.

Following the testing, the linebackers and defensive lineman worked out with position drills for scouts. The defensive backs got their turn to showcase their coverage skills later on and former specialists Hornung and Stephenson demonstrated their snapping and kicking talents at the end of the day.

The 2013 NFL Draft will take place on Apr. 25-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.