Testing moves to Lincoln:
Former Huskers work out for NFL scouts
BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
He played in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 29 and participated in last week's National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Wednesday, Barrett Ruud was among about a dozen former Nebraska players who took part in the school's pro testing day before about 25 National Football League scouts.
The NFL Draft looms April 23-24, and it can't arrive soon enough for Ruud, a middle linebacker from Lincoln Southeast who's experienced nearly the full range of the draft process.
"Hopefully, I'll never have to run another 40 again in my life," Ruud said Wednesday after completing a variety of drills in Cook Pavilion.
Testing was closed to the media.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Ruud ran the 40-yard dash Wednesday in a hand-held time of "anywhere from :04.67 to :04.72," he said.
"Not great, but not terrible, either," he said.
In Indianapolis, Ruud ran the 40 in a hand-held :04.65.
"I kind of wanted to improve my 40 time a little bit, and it was close to the same time I did earlier," he said.
Ruud, the Huskers' all-time tackles leader, has been projected as a first- or second-round pick by many draft analysts.
Other ex-Huskers who participated Wednesday included offensive linemen Jake Andersen, Darren DeLone and Mike Erickson, defensive backs Josh Bullocks, Lornell McPherson and Fabian Washington, linebacker Ira Cooper, defensive end Benard Thomas, wide receiver Willie Amos and fullback Steve Kriewald.
Ruud, Thomas, Bullocks and Washington participated in drills at the invite-only combine.
Having dazzled scouts in Indianapolis with a clocking of :04.25 in the 40, Washington participated only in position drills Wednesday, he said.
Bullocks, after running the 40 in the upper :04.40s in Indianapolis, covered the distance Wednesday in the low :04.40s, he said.
The Green Bay Packers today will put Bullocks through an individual workout in Lincoln, he said. He's in the process of scheduling other individual workouts with teams, he said.
McPherson said he ran the 40 in the :04.40-to-:04.50 range on Wednesday. He said nerves were a factor as he stepped to the starting line.
"It's basically one of your last chances to make a statement," he said of the workouts.
http://journalstar.com/articles/2005/03/10...86024560644.txt
