Over five weeks out from the NFL Draft, Syracuse football hosted its pro day on Monday, featuring 13 former SU football players.

With 26 NFL teams represented, players worked through a day of combine drills. Two players in attendance — wide receiver Jamal Custis and defensive tackle Chris Slayton — received invites to the NFL combine earlier this month.

Here are three takeaways from the day.

Eric Dungey throws

Dungey said he was mad he wasn’t invited to the NFL combine. He told reporters that after he turned in a consistent, albeit ordinary throwing workout.

“I think I could’ve gone there and done really well,” he said about his absence from the NFL combine.

Dungey attempted 42 throws to receivers running routes, completing 36 of them. He feasted on intermediate routes, displaying the refined footwork he and his quarterback coach Jake Heaps spent the past 10 weeks working on.

Heaps came away from Dungey’s work out pleased, he said. They had a script of throws intended to display Dungey’s known skillset and beyond, including “NFL” throws like 20-yard outs to the far sideline, sluggos and fly routes down the sideline. Dungey did struggle with his deep accuracy, pushing a few throws beyond his receivers. He also hit some timing routes from 10 yards out late.

Custis noted Dungey looked “sharp” after working out with him for the first time since Syracuse’s season ended.

Dungey’s received interest from a handful of teams, including three that have gauged the quarterback’s interest in adapting to a Taysom Hill-like role, according to Heaps. The New Orleans Saints use Hill, the former Brigham Young quarterback, as a utility player in special packages.

Speaking to reporters, Dungey praised Heaps for polishing his throwing motion which was “all messed up.” He’s still fine tuning it, he said.

“The potential is there,” Dungey said.

Ryan Guthrie shines

Guthrie dominated the final six weeks of the 2018 season from his middle linebacker position, and he tore up the drills relative to his competition Monday.

He finished atop five of the seven drills: vertical leap (34 inches), broad jump (10 feet, three inches), three-cone drill (6.96 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.22 seconds) and 60-yard shuttle (11.62 seconds). His broad jump would have been fifth among all linebackers invited to the combine. 

After the Camping World Bowl, Guthrie said he felt lost after graduating. He didn’t have any clue about what to do or how to proceed. He only recently got an agent, he said.

The only thing he had control over was his effort and his work, he said. So he kept his head down, woke up at 5 a.m. every day and worked out at U48 Fitness in Lawrenceville, Georgia, near his hometown of Cummings.

After moving to defensive end and back to linebacker at SU before seeing the field, Guthrie hopes NFL teams will see he’s willing to adapt to any situation.

“I can eat dirt,” Guthrie said. “I’ll do whatever they want me to do to get on the field.”

Custis trusts combine numbers, to work out with Tennessee Titans

Neither Custis nor Slayton ran the 40-yard dash on Monday. Custis, who ran a 4.5 at the NFL combine, said he didn’t feel he had enough time between the combine and Monday to prepare fully.

Custis did run routes and catch passes during Dungey’s workout. He noted some of the feedback he received at the combine centered around his footwork and route running, so he was eager to display some refinement on Monday.

“I tried to use pro day to clean up a lot of little things,” Custis said. “Show them my route running, my speed. Just get the kinks out of things they (scouts) saw at the combine.”

As of Monday, Custis said, there are two teams he has workouts scheduled with — one being the Titans.

Published on March 18, 2019 at 9:02 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham