Thursday, March 12, 2009

Lucas Taylor Opens Eyes at Tennessee Pro Day

From Knoxville News Sentinel: The soft-spoken receiver let his workout do the talking.
"I'm real excited," former Tennessee receiver Lucas Taylor said following UT's Pro Day at Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on Wednesday. "I was very nervous. I feel pretty good about my times."
Taylor's nerves didn't show. The 5-foot-11, 189-pounder posted a 4.36-second time in the 40-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical jump and 14 bench-press repetitions of 225 pounds.
"I think he just got himself drafted," said Kurt Hester of D-1 Sports Training. "I'm hoping. He deserves it."
In the seven weeks that Taylor has been working with Hester, the receiver gained 11 pounds while dropping his 40-time an all-important 1/10 of a second, adding seven inches to his vertical jump and increasing his bench press repetitions from two to 14.
"That is by far one of the best athletes I've ever worked with," said Hester, who has trained and consulted with several college football programs.
Taylor began the day on bench press, then ran the 40-yard dash. It was just the start he was looking for.
"Really fired up," Taylor said when asked about the beginning of his day, "When I first came here, my mindset was 4.3 and that's what I did today."
If there was one slight blemish on Taylor's workout, it was a dropped pass that was thrown behind him.
"But I got my hands on it, still supposed to catch it," Taylor said with his trademark smile.
Hester said attitude played a huge role in Taylor's training.
"I don't think there's one person in Knoxville that doesn't like him," Hester said. "He's just a great, great kid."

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