Here's how Cincinnati Bearcats football prospects fared at Big 12 Pro Day
Cincinnati Bearcats football players descended upon Frisco, Texas March 18-21 as the Big 12 conference held Pro Day workouts at Frisco's Star, practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys.
Three Cincinnati Bearcats recently participated in the NFL Combine at Indianapolis: running back Corey Kiner and offensive linemen Luke Kandra and John Williams.
In Frisco, they were joined by receivers Xzavier Henderson and Jamoi Mayes, tight end Joey Beljian, linebacker Jared Bartlett, offensive linemen Dartanyan Tinsley and Phillip Wilder, defensive backs Derrick Canteen, Mehki Miller and Josh Minkins, defensive lineman Eric Phillips and kicker Nathan Hawks. The event was televised by NFL Network March 19-20.
Cincinnati Bearcats highlights at Big 12 Pro Day gathering
Corey Kiner
The 5-foot-9, 209-pound Kiner became the fifth Cincinnati Bearcat to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and he was sixth in rushing in the Big 12. Kiner is currently UC's top-rated prospect according to NFL. com which rates him as an "average backup/special teams player".
Competing in the shuttle run in Frisco, Kiner ran 4.44 seconds. He didn't participate in all events but his 40-yard dash time of 4.57 at the NFL Combine which would have placed him No. 19 among Big 12 players that ran at the Star, tied with former teammate Jamoi Mayes.
Also at the NFL combine, Kiner did 19 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press. That effort would have been second-best at the Big 12 gathering.
Luke Kandra
The 6-foot-5, 319-pound UC guard is UC's next highest-rated player by NFL.com which has him in the "bottom roster/practice squad" category. Kandra topped offensive linemen at the NFL Combine with 33 reps on the bench press. He followed that up by topping all Big 12 offensive linemen in Frisco with a vertical leap of 32.5" which was better or equal to what many offensive skill players did. He also had the third-best broad jump among offensive linemen at 9'5", the seventh-best 40 time among the beef at 5.17 In the three-cone drill/shuttle he was 24th at 8.33/4.78 with a maximum speed of 12.39.
Kandra was the highest-graded right guard in the Big 12 according to Pro Football Focus who also ranked him as the No. 3 guard among the Power Four conferences.
John Williams
The 6-foot-4, 322-pound Williams is rated slightly below Kandra by NFL.com and also considered a "bottom roster, practice squad" candidate. Pro Football Focus ranked his pass blocking as No. 4 among Big 12 tackles.
At the NFL Combine, Williams put up 29 reps on the bench press, behind Kandra. In skill drills in Frisco, Williams was second among offensive linemen with a maximum speed of 9.73, a maximum acceleration of 2.66 and a maximum deceleration of -3.33.
Dartanyan Tinsley
The 6-foot-4, 336-pound Tinsley is currently viewed as an undrafted free agent by NFLMockDraftDataBase.com. At the Big 12 Pro Day, Tinsley led offensive linemen in bench press with 30 reps. He was also No. 21 among offensive linemen in the 40 at 5.48, 13th in vertical leap at 27", 14th in broad jump at 8'7". In the three-cone/shuttle he was 10th among linemen at 7.82/5.21/14.47. In skill drills he was 14th with a max speed of 8.6, max acceleration of 2.38 and max deceleration of -2.06.
Xzavier Henderson
UC's top receiver last year had 59 catches for 728 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Henderson was 11th in the Big 12 in receptions. NFLDraftBuzz.com currently has him as an undrafted free agent.
In Frisco, Henderson's 40-yard dash was No. 25 among receivers at 4.7 and his vertical jump was 34.5" ranking 11th best. He had the No. 5 broad jump at 10'6", the No. 7 bench press with 14 reps and was 12th in the three-cone/shuttle at 6.96/4.25.
Jared Bartlett
Bartlett at 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds led UC in tackles (69), tackles for loss (11.5) and sacks (7.5). He was All-Big 12 honorable mention, ranking second in the league in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss. Football's Future in a mock draft, still has Bartlett as a free agent.
At Big 12 Pro Day, Bartlett had the best speed (miles per hour) of the Cincinnati Bearcats at 21.70. Among linebackers, he benched 19 reps to rank seventh, his maximum acceleration was 5.58 for sixth, his vertical was 32" for 10th, broad jump was sixth at 9'7" and his 40-yard dash was 4.65 for sixth.
His three-cone/shuttle time was fourth among linebackers at 7.07/4.91/14.93 and he was fourth among Big 12 linebackers in skill drills.
Phillip Wilder
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Wilder joined fellow offensive linemen Kandra, Williams and Tinsley in Frisco. Wilder was fifth among linemen doing the bench press with 23 reps of 225 pounds. His 40 time of 5.78 was 25th at his position. His broad jump was 19th at 8'4" and he was 17th in the three-cone/shuttle at 8.01/5.09/12.53. He was second among UC offensive linemen (behind John Williams) and 11th over in skill drills.
Joey Beljan
Beljan's two seasons at UC were marred by injury, but he spent five seasons at Western Kentucky, eventually catching 29 passes for 282 yards with 10 touchdowns for the Bearcats. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Beljan was fifth among Big 12 tight ends in the 40-yard dash at 4.79. He finished 11th in vertical jump (29") and broad jump (9'). He was also 11th in the three-cone/shuttle at 7.53/4.62 and 13th in bench press with 13 reps.
Eric Phillips
The 6-foot-3, 260-pound former Colerain High School product was fifth among defensive linemen with a 4.81 40-yard dash. His broad jump ranked 25th at 8'11" and his vertical was 28th at 28". Phillips fared better in the three-cone/shuttle at 7.25/4.45/14.4. He finished ninth among defensive linemen in skill drills.
Jamoi Mayes
Mayes had 29 catches for 349 yards and a touchdown in his one season at UC. THe 5-foot-10, 200-pound receiver was 16th among receivers in the 40-yard dash clocking a 4.57. His bench press was No. 5 with 15 reps. Mayes was 21st in vertical leap at 32.5" and had a broad jump of 9'11" was 19th-best among Big 12 receivers. His three-cone/shuttle time was No. 15 at 7.13/4.28.
Derrick Canteen
The 5-foot-11, 197-pound Canteen started all 12 games for UC and had 44 tackles, three tackles for loss an interception and a forced fumble. In Frisco, he was ninth among defensive backs at bench press with 17 reps. He measured a vertical leap of 30.5".
Josh Minkins
In 11 games, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Minkins had 45 tackles and a pair of interceptions in his one season at UC. At Big 12 Pro Day, he was No. 5 among defensive backs with a 38" vertical leap. On bench press he was 11th with 15 reps.
Mehki Miller
A safety like Minkins, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Miller had 16 tackles in nine games for UC. Miller had the 21st-best vertical of 33" among defensive backs and was 29th in bench press with six reps.
Nathan Hawks
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Hawks went from kickoff specialist to UC's kicker, finishing 13-of-17 on field goals and 24-for-26 on extra points last season. He tied a school record with three field goals of 50-plus yards. Hawks participated in Frisco, but there were no published numbers for kickers.
The NFL Draft is April 24-26 at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Current projections have Saturday, April 26 as the most likely day to hear a Cincinnati Bearcats name revealed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Cincinnati Bearcats football players fared at Big 12 Pro Day
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