Sheldon Richardson completes a drill in front of St. Louis Rams scouts.
Former Missouri Tiger wide receiver T.J. Moe dominated in just about every category at the NFL Combine in late February with the exception of the 40 yard dash and perhaps the vertical jump. At 5’10, Moe may be a bit vertically challenged to begin with, but he knew he had to improve on that 4.7, 40-yard dash.
“I could have run backwards today and done better,” said Moe, who did improve with a 4.5 time.
Moe also looked good running his routes. Again, mostly lining up as a slot receiver and on a couple of routes, he started wide and came in motion. The scouts that were on hand wanted to see Moe run a couple of different routes than what he did in Indy. Moe wouldn’t talk about which teams have shown interest in him or which teams are inviting him back for private workouts, but he’s kept his head throughout this entire practice and his confident in the spring he is having.
AUDIO T.J. Moe talks about his workout and his experience at the NFL Combine (6:22)
I was talking with Jim Thomas, who covers the Rams for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He told me the team brought along six members from their coaching and scouting staff to watch the Tigers. Thomas said the Rams are really intrique with Sheldon Richardson, despite the team having no immediate concerns on the defensive line. He said the Rams would be intriqued by Sheldon if he somehow dropped down to 16th (Rams first round pick). Sheldon improved on his 40-yard dash times and went off to the side with linemate Brad Madison, and were put through individual drills by the Rams. Sheldon Richardson is having fun with the whole process. See below.
Linebacker Zaviar Gooden also had an impressive NFL Combine in Indy. Already projected to go in the third round, Gooden was happy with his performance during drills. He said he felt like he was moving around very well and he certainly looked like it from my vantage point. Gooden offers a great combination of speed and size and wowed the couple hundred fans who were watching when he improved his vertical jump by over four inches to 38.5. Gooden is just a great physical specimen and looked like a man among boys.
Other observations from Mizzou’s Pro Day:
–Offensive tackle Elvis Fisher ran a 5.2, 40, but cut his day short after straining his calf after the first run.
–Defensive end Brad Madison lost his footing quite a few times, whether it was during personal drills or cone/shuttle drills. He even cut short a 40 yard dash, because he lost his footing. After his workout, I heard a former Tiger tell him, “See, I told you these workouts were hard!”
–Running back Kendial Lawrence and corner Kip Edwards ran 4.3, 40’s.
The Tigers will host one more Pro Day. That will take place on Thursday, March 22.
The current football team will begin spring practice next Tuesday, March 12. Gooden talks about his workouts.