Doing their best to impress NFL scouts at Pro Day

Cattle show.\nThat is how IU senior Tracy Porter described the NFL Combine last week in Indianapolis, where former Hoosiers junior James Hardy, senior Tim Bugg and Porter worked out for all 32 NFL teams.\nOn Wednesday afternoon at John Mellencamp Pavilion, Porter, Hardy and Bugg – alongside nine other former IU football players – worked out with hopes of impressing NFL scouts and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis during IU’s Pro Day.\nOnly this time, it was in front of teammates and coaches– an atmosphere Porter said he preferred.\n“The combine is like a cattle show,” Porter said. “You have 150 some (defensive backs) out there. But here, there’s a limited amount of guys. It’s definitely a calmer atmosphere because the coaches are working with you – you get that one on one time here.”\nWhile for Porter the Pro Day was a chance to work one on one with various scouts, for Hardy it was a chance to rectify what he said was a bad mark for him in the vertical leap.\nAt the combine, Hardy jumped 31.5 inches in the vertical, which did not place in the top 10 for receivers. On Wednesday, he improved his mark to 37 inches, which would have put him in the top four. \n“At the combine I was real stiff and sore when I did it,” Hardy said. “I never jumped lower than 36 in my life, so I said I had to definitely come out and do it again.”\nHardy, who set records at IU this past season for touchdowns, receptions and yards, said scouts have been impressed with his workouts. \n“They see great potential,” Hardy said. “They see things I need to work on at the same time; overall they think I could be a great target. I want to be the best at this position and now is going to be my shot to go out there and work \nwith professionals.”\nAs for Bugg, he said there’s not much left he can do to improve his draft stock. If a team needs a long snapper, he has a good chance at being taken, \nhe said.\nBugg said because NFL teams draft on needs, he tries not to pay attention to his draft status, or mock drafts.\n “For me especially, it’s all going to depend on timing and if anyone needs a long snapper,” Bugg said. “So I try not to pay attention to that stuff. Sometimes it’s hard not to, especially in my position, everyone saying I’m the best and I don’t know if I am or not. All I know is what I’ve been doing, and I feel good about that.”\nThroughout every workout, several current members of the IU football team and all of the coaches looked on in support of their teammates or players. Looking on like a proud father in the background of the workouts was IU coach Bill Lynch, who said he likes to see high school recruits in person, as do NFL scouts.\n“They’re investing a lot of money in these guys, so they do their homework,” Lynch said. “I know they spend hours watching game tape, it’s a combination of all those things, but there’s nothing like watching them \nfirst hand.”