BOISE – Former Boise State safety JL Skinner could do nothing but cheer on his friends Monday at Pro Day as he continues to recover from a torn pectoral muscle suffered shortly prior to the NFL Scouting combine in late February.
Skinner, who had surgery March 7th, is expected to be back to 100 percent in early June. And while he’s not concerned about the injury impacting his draft stock, he would have rather been out there working out and impressing NFL teams than standing on the sidelines.
“It’s what you work for, so its a pretty big bummer to have that taken away out of nowhere,” Skinner said. “It was a bad experience for me in that end. I had everything taken away from me that I had been working for about 17 years for, a long time, so to have that taken away hurt, but everything is a blessing in disguise.”
Skinner had a strong week at the Senior Bowl Prior to the injury. He was unable to work out at the combine but still traveled to Indianapolis to meet with NFL teams. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound Skinner gathered scouts together Monday to update them on his rehab and to answer any questions they had.
“I don’t think it necessarily hurt me but the Combine would have helped me in a sense really show I can run and bring my stock higher and to leave no doubts,” Skinner said. “But I think my film says enough also.”
Skinner said the injury happened during a routine bench press session ahead of the combine.
It wasn’t the Pro Day Skinner had dreamed of – but his moment still figures to come in a few weeks at the NFL Draft. All indications are Skinner remains a likely second or third round pick on the second day of the draft.
But while Skinner couldn’t help his cause Monday, there were a number of others that did. Both corner Caleb Biggers and defensive tackle Scott Matlock appeared to improve their stock.
Matlock had an impressive 29 reps on the bench press and was strong during individual drills. One NFL scout in attendance told Bronco Nation News Matlock had a great on-field workout and helped his chances of getting drafted.
“I thought I turned some heads today,” Matlock said. “I did a good job with the position stuff. At the end of the day I’m at my best when I’m playing the game, not being a track athlete. But it has to be done and I want to be good at it of course, but overall it was a good day.”
Here’s full results from Boise State’s Pro Day Monday:
Check out interviews from Bronco Nation News with several former Broncos who worked out on Monday:
