Brock Osweiler threw for 5,082 yards and 33 touchdowns at ASU. Photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The Pac-12 is losing five juniors who likely will be first-round picks in this year’s NFL draft, plus its two best running backs — Oregon’s LaMichael James and Washington’s Chris Polk.

And that first-round number could be six if Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict can get his act together.

Yeah, we’ve heard that one before.

James could slip into the first round, too.

As it stands now, nine juniors have declared early, with Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler announcing his intentions this afternoon. That presumably wouldn’t have happened if not for the Sun Devils’ coaching change.

Anyway, there will be a significant talent drain from the Pac-12, which wasn’t all that hot in 2011 outside of Oregon, Stanford and USC.

(more…)

Grigsby stunned NFL scouts with his vertical jump at Saturday's pro day on the Arizona campus. Photo by Channel 13's Damien Alameda, via Twitter

NFL scouts couldn’t believe it. They had arrived in Tucson for Saturday morning’s pro day on campus with preconceived ideas about most of the Arizona Wildcats prospects.

So when running back Nic Grigsby — generally considered a late-round possibility — went up, up, up for a vertical jump of 45 inches, scouts figured something must be wrong.

“They said it was bent. They said it was on a hill. They said it was the wind,” Grigsby said. “I don’t care. They said they had never seen it before.”

Scouts re-measured the bar and made Grigsby do it over again.

He jumped 43.5 inches.

Even going with that number, that was better than anybody who participated in the NFL scouting combine last month.

“You’ve got to make a statement,” Grigsby said.

And then Grigsby made scouts rub their eyes again.

(more…)

Ricky Elmore, who had 21.5 sacks in the past two years, fires up his teammates vs. Iowa last season.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona defensive end Ricky Elmore appeared on ESPN First Take this morning to talk about his draft preparations and how he continues to view himself as “under the radar.”

Here is the link to the video.

Elmore, who recently worked out at the NFL Combine, is considered a mid-round possibility. He could end up staying at defensive end or moving to outside linebacker.

And he talked to ESPN about working out with former Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews and other members of the football-playing Matthews family.

(more…)

Senior center Colin Baxter warms up with QB Nick Foles before the Aug. 21 scrimmage/Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona senior center Colin Baxter has a little problem.

There’s nothing wrong with his health or his reputation. He’s ready to go for Friday’s opener at Toledo, and he has picked up all manner of preseason All-American honors, including recent second-team honors from Rivals.com and third-team honors from CBS Sports.com.

He’s a team captain. He’s probably the “nastiest” of the offensive linemen, according to quarterback Nick Foles.

Here’s the thing: He’s listed at 6-4 and 295 pounds … but he might not really be that tall … and that could be the problem. Not for this season at Arizona, but his future beyond it in the NFL. He and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh admit that.

“Everybody looks at that,” Bedenbaugh said of height.

“Colin is right at 6-3. He does a heck of a job for us, but, obviously, if you get a guy as talented as him, you’d like him as tall and as big as could be.”

While Baxter spent the offseason getting bigger and stronger under the direction of strength coach Corey Edmond — five days a week — he admits with a chuckle, “It’s hard to make myself grow taller.”

He lists his positive attributes: “Hard work. I’m tough. I don’t get hurt. Play hard. All those kinds of things. And I feel like I’m a pretty smart player, but I’m a little on the small side.”

(more…)

Rob Gronkowski's workout Saturday improved his draft stock/Tucson Citizen photo

Rob Gronkowski had just finished the three-cone drill, headed for a break on the sideline, when he uttered, confidently, “The beast is back, baby.”

The former Arizona tight end worked out Saturday on campus, his all-important first audition in front of pro scouts — 25 of them, representing 22 teams. At stake was a potential first-round selection and lots of money.

Not only did Gronkowski have to run fast times and show good hands and be flexible and all that stuff, but he absolutely needed to do what he could to counter a report from NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, who said Wednesday that Gronkowski has spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine.

Like Gronk said, the beast is back.

He worked out for three hours and posted the kind of 40-yard dash times that affirms his status as a physical freak. After the first of his two 40s — he was clocked in 4.65 seconds with the wind, in the low 4.7s against it — his exuberant agent Drew Rosenhaus ran over and slapped his hand, gave him hugs and must have been calculating how much his client’s stock was rising.

“I’m ecstatic,” Rosenhaus said. “Rob put on a show. He is the premiere tight end in the draft and he’s going to be the first player drafted at his position, and he fully demonstrated that today.”

Check out video of parts of Rosenhaus’ interview at FoxSportsArizona.com

Gronkowski is considered one of the top two most talented tight ends in the draft, the other being Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, who, like Gronkowski, missed all of last season. Gresham had a knee injury.

Naturally, Rosenhaus enthusiastically touted his client, saying he is hearing Gronkowski could go as high as the mid first-round. Tight ends are rarely selected any higher than that.

“Without exaggeration, Rob put on a show,” Rosenhaus said.

“He was spectacular in his times. He was brilliant in his routes. He demonstrated his is healthy. He is clearly the No. 1 tight end in the draft.

“I couldn’t be happier for Rob in his performance because he came out here for three hours and worked his tail off and showed all these teams that he is healthy and 100 percent ready to go and be the top tight end in the draft. …

“Rob Gronkowski is a complete tight end,” Rosenhaus added. “He can catch and block, and not everyone can say that.”

Now, about that back …

Rosenhaus flatly denied that Gronkowski has stenosis, a condition that shortened the career of NFL Pro Bowl offensive linemen Chris Samuels and is cited as a reason why former Auburn star offensive tackle Marcus McNeill slid to the second round in the 2006 draft.

NFLDraftScout.com reported Friday that a scout with an NFL team had confirmed that Gronkowski has been “red-flagged” by teams due to a spinal condition.

Gronkowski, who missed the 2009 season for the Wildcats, underwent a microdiscectomy on his back Sept. 24.

“Every team I have talked to says there are no concerns about his back,” Rosenhaus said.

“He passed his physical at the combine. There are no red flags on him. He is ready to go. The back is not a factor. He had an injury. He had surgery to correct it. He had the best back doctor in the world in Robert Watkins, who has cleared him by the way. So has Dr. James Andrews.

“There’s no issue.”

Gronkowski, checking in at 6-foot-6 and 258 pounds, has been pointing toward this day ever since he declared in mid-January that he was leaving early for the NFL Draft. He was unable to work out at the combine and skipped Arizona’s pro day on March 12 because he needed the extra time to be ready.

“I have been waiting for this day for a while now,” Gronkowski said.

“I have been training in Miami for about two months, every single day. I believe I came out here and everything went great. I have proved my back is no issue. I performed every single thing they wanted me to with no problem.”

According to NFL.com, Gronkowski had a 33 1/2-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot, 11-inch broad jump, a 4.47-second short shuttle and a 7.18-second three-cone drill.

He caught passes from former Salpointe High School and Hawaii quarterback Tyler Graunke, and performed blocking drills against his brother Chris, who is considered a late-round prospect as a fullback/H-back.

“I ran the time I wanted to, and I was feeling great out there,” Rob Gronkowski said. “I knew the hard work would pay off in the end.”

It could pay off with a first-round selection.

Rob Gronkowski will wait until later to do a full workout for NFL scouts/Tucson Citizen photo

Former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski isn’t ready to show his stuff for scouts. He will head to the NFL combine on Wednesday scheduled to only do the bench press and the full round of interviews.

Gronkowski, who missed all of his junior season because of back surgery and then declared early for the draft, has been training in Miami at the Bommarito Performance Systems. He has been sprinting and running routes.

“As far as my back and my health, I’m definitely 100 percent,” Gronkowski said by phone Monday.

“I’m just getting my legs back into it. Strength-wise, endurance-wise, I just want to be 100 percent. I’m probably about 90 percent. I’m going to be doing the bench press at the combine, and I will show off all my stuff on a different day.”

That day could be the UA’s Pro Day in Tucson on March 12, when scouts will come in to check out all of Arizona’s prospects. Or it could come later in March in a Tucson workout for scouts.

Gronkowski’s dad, Gordy, said that his son’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, advised the family to not work out too soon.

“They want him crisp, they want him sharp,” Gordy said. “They say, ‘Don’t rush in if you don’t have to.’”

In the meantime, Rosenhaus’ staff has been preparing Rob on a different front — testing Rob on NFL game film and reading defenses, as well as running him through interview scenarios. NFL personnel tend to ask anything and everything to gauge reactions, critical thinking and character.

“Teams want smart, intelligent football players,” Gronkowski said. “The interviews are going to be a big part of it for me because that is all I’m going to be participating in, really, at the combine.

“I have sat down with many experts, former players and the people our agent hires to help us out. I’m confident my interview skills will be good there.”

His brother, Dan, a former tight end at Maryland who played in two games as a rookie with the Detroit Lions last season, also has been giving advice. Dan went to the combine last season and has spent the past couple of weeks in Miami, helping Rob break down NFL schemes.

Chris Gronkowski, a fullback who completed his eligibility at Arizona last season, also has been working out in Miami. He was not invited to the combine in Indianapolis, although he is considered a draft prospect and will work out at the UA Pro Day.

Gordy said, in terms of the physical tests, Chris is exceeding the numbers posted by fullbacks at last year’s combine.

“His times are unbelievable right now,” Rob said.

Two other former Wildcats will work out at the combine — defensive tackle Earl Mitchell and cornerback Devin Ross.

More coverage from TucsonCitizen.com:
Press conference video: Gronkowski talks about his jump to the NFL
Scott Terrell, UASports.net: An ode to Gronk

Chris Gronkowski in a 2008 workout/Tucson Citizen photo

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski said one of the appeals of jumping to the NFL right now is a chance to play in the league — perhaps even on the same team — with one of his brothers.

Dan Gronkowski, who attended Maryland, spent last season with the Detroit Lions, appearing in two games. Chris Gronkowski, a fullback/H-back/tight end hybrid, just completed his final season of eligibility at Arizona.

We all know Rob has first-round talent — although his back injury, depth of this year’s talent pool and the lack of draft importance applied to his position might keep him out of the first round — but what kind of a prospect is Chris?

For sure, he’s going to get a chance.

“There are a bunch of different reports,” Chris said Friday, attending the news conference in which his brother declared early for the NFL Draft. “But I’ve heard as high as fourth to free agent. So, it’s all over the place. I just have to work hard, show what I’ve got, pretty much just get noticed.

“Hopefully, I can get a little help from Rob in getting noticed.”

Chris’ appeal to the NFL is his versatility as a guy who can fill some of those unsung roles on offense — and he can block and catch. He was never a focus of the Arizona spread offense, but he showed he could be a threat as a junior, when he had eight receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Arizona went more to an outside passing game this past season — mostly because of Rob’s season-long back injury — which diminished Chris’ touches, as well. He had four catches for 20 yards.

Draft analyst Rob Rang, of NFLDraftScout.com, said he sees Chris “as more of an undrafted free agent type right now.” He adds that Chris has value because of his ability to fill multiple spots and be a special teams player because he runs well.

“Certainly, the versatility is appealing,” Rang said. “I could see him getting some interest. You know he has versatile skills and he’s going to play hard.”

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski made it official Friday morning, announcing at a news conference he had decided to enter the NFL Draft.

Gronkowski missed all of last season because of a back injury that required surgery, but he recently began working out again and hopes to participate at near full health for the NFL scouting combine that is held Feb. 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis. Gronkowski and Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, who missed last season because of a knee injury, are considered the two most talented tight ends in the draft.

Press conference video:
Gronk talks about the jump to NFL
UA coach Mike Stoops: “When you saw him healthy, he was a very dominant player”

Gronkowski could have applied for a medical redshirt at Arizona, so he leaves behind two years of eligibility.

He said Friday he has hired powerhouse sports agent Drew Rosenhaus.

“The hardest part about leaving is leaving the UA family here at Arizona. The atmosphere for football is unbelievable here,” said Gronkowski, flanked by his parents, Gordon and Diane, and his brother Chris, an NFL hopeful after completing his eligibility at Arizona as a fullback/H-back.

“I really wish I could have done more for the team this year,” Rob continued. “It was really frustrating sitting on the sideline with an injury. I missed playing football so bad, I didn’t know what to do. … I’m going to bounce back from injury. I’m good to go. I’m feeling great.”

Rob Gronkowski breaks away from Cal defenders for a touchdown in a 2008 game/Tucson Citizen photo

Gronkowski said he has been cleared by Dr. Robert G. Watkins III, who performed his September surgery, and renowned Dr. James Andrews, who reviewed Gronkowski’s case.

Gronkowski couldn’t guarantee he would be able to do everything at the combine, but said he was confident that he would be able to work out for scouts at some point before the draft.

“I’m not sure if I am going to be ready for the combine,” he said. “If I’m not 100 percent and I don’t feel like I’m ready to go, then I might just do interviews down there. Or, if I’m ready, I might just run a 40. Or I might be ready for the whole thing.

“It’s basically whatever my doctors say I can do there. But I’m definitely going to be ready before the draft. I’m going to be 100 percent. … I’m going to wow the teams.”

More on TucsonCitizen.com:
What kind of prospect is Chris Gronkowski?
Gronkowski going in first round could be a reach
Scott Terrell: An ode to Gronk

Rob Gronkowski runs free against Stanford in 2007/Tucson Citizen photo

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski will announce Friday morning if he will enter the NFL Draft, and it sure appears as if he is gone.

Next stop: First round?

That was, according to Gronk himself, what he was looking for as he weighed the decision to leave school after missing all of his junior season because of a back injury that required surgery.

His father, Gordon Gronkowski, told us last week that the family had heard from 18 NFL teams — nine of which projected Rob as a first-rounder if he could show he was healthy, while nine others said he was a second-rounder.

Count at least one draft analyst, Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, as being dubious of Gronkowski’s chances for the first round.

Not because of a lack of talent or lack of potential, but because this could be an unusually deep draft, especially on the defensive line, which is a far move coveted position than tight end.

Also, a record number of underclassmen might be coming out.

And, well, there is that nagging problem about the back injury.

With a rookie salary cap likely in place for the 2011 draft, does an NFL team want to take a chance and spend big bucks this year for a tight end with an injury question?

“I think a first-round pick might be optimistic,” Rang said.

“Maybe that’s not the right word, but what makes it difficult for him is that this is a very talented group of players he is jumping into the middle of. The draft is weak at tight end, but this group is so unusually talented along the defensive line, and it’s such a premier position. I think that is going to push him down into the second round.

“In a typical year, the first round would be a possibility. This year is unique.”

Gronkowski is no different from Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham, who missed this season because of a knee injury. They are the two most talented, most complete, tight ends on the draft board, but each will have to prove something about his health in pre-draft workouts.

Gronkowski — if he is indeed entering the draft, as ESPN’s Joe Schad reported Thursday, citing an unnamed source — could still be the first tight end off the draft board.

He could very well have a long, productive — perhaps stellar — NFL career.

But if the first round is what he wanted, that is far from a lock.

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski is still about 50-50 regarding the possibility of entering the NFL Draft, with a week to go before the deadline to declare.

The decision, according to his father, Gordon Gronkowski, rests on what he hears from the NFL Advisory Committee and how he continues to progress with a private trainer in Florida.

“It’s a tough decision,” the elder Gronkowski said in a phone interview Friday. “It can go one way or another.”

Although the family has yet to hear from the advisory committee — Gordon said he expects the report about Rob’s draft status to come in Monday — there have been encouraging signs from NFL teams and in Rob’s rehab from back surgery that kept him out all of his junior season.

“He’s lifting. He’s running as of yesterday,” said Gordon, adding that he is paying for his son’s training in order to preserve Rob’s college eligibility. “We’re taking it day by day. Basically, what he is doing is core strength. The doctors say he is right on schedule.”

As for the NFL, Gordon said the family has heard from 18 teams.

“Nine of the teams say that as long as he is healthy, he’ll go in the first round,” Gordon said. “Nine teams say he’ll go in the second round.”

Whatever the Gronkowski family can learn about Rob’s health in the next week figures to be critical. At issue is whether Rob can project he will close to full health for the NFL scouting combine, which will be held Feb. 24 to Match 2 in Indianapolis.

With his combination of size and strength and skills, Rob Gronkowski figures to wow scouts … as long as he is healthy.

“If he is a definite that he can be healthy and blow up the combine, the chances of him coming back are slim,” Gordon said.

“We’re waiting to see if he is going to about 90, 95 percent by combine time. Because if he can’t show his stuff, that’s not good. That’s one of the major deciders.”

Gordon said Rob will be back in Tucson next week — classes start Wednesday and the team banquet is Saturday — and a press conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. at McKale Center on Friday to announce the decision.

Gordon said that neither a possible rookie salary cap for the 2011 season nor other early entry tight ends in the 2010 draft (such as Florida’s Aaron Hernandez) would be factors in Rob’s decision.

“If Rob blows up the combine, he’ll probably be the No. 1 (tight end) picked,” Gordon said. “If we think he has a big-time shot to go in the first round, he’s coming out.”

Gronkowski caught 47 passes for 672 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games as a sophomore, earning third-team AP All-America honors. He was the first-team All-Pac-10 tight end.

But for all Rob’s stats and skills, even Gordon concedes that, no matter what, the back surgery “is a question mark.” NFL teams don’t necessarily like to take chances in the first round. If Rob plays at Arizona in 2010, and is healthy for the entire season, Gronkowski would be an almost no-brainer first-round selection in 2011.

“It’s just tough right now,” Gordon said of the decision.

But the family has one more week to figure it out.