Valdez Proves He's NFL Worthy With Fantastic Pro Day
CHESTNUT HILL - While the majority of scouts and media on hand at BC's Pro Day were there for just Zay Flowers, Marcus Valdez made sure they all left with his name on their list.
Valdez had a great day, potentially a life-changing day inside Fish Field House. The veteran BC defensive linemen put up a 4.77 40, a 32" vertical jump. His broad was impressive and most importantly, he was fast and violent in the defensive pass rushing drills alongside Chibueze Onwuka, who also had a good day.Then, when Emmett Morehead - who got some invaluable experience with all those eyes on him - and Austin Burton began throwing to Flowers, Kobay White, Cliff Kurker, and Isaiah Miranda, Valdez decided he'd show off a bit.
The big man decided to take a few snaps out of the backfield, running some short routes to show off his versatility in a potential fullback role.
Whatever it takes to make the league.
"I had to bring it out," Valdez said to a large media scrum after the day's events were done "I tried to use today as an opportunity to show what I can do, be versatile. I did the D-line stuff, into the drops and into the fullback in a short period of time, but felt like I was able to show my conditioning and my versatility...I ran the ball a little bot in eighth grade Pee-Wee. I knew I could do that. I worked on my hands the past couple months and Emmett was great there throwing on point to me."
What made Valdez such an important part of BC the last few years - results aside - was his leadership on and off the field. Any NFL scout that spoke with him or that will eventually speak with him in the draft process will quickly see he'll be a fantastic fit in any locker room.
"This whole past year was very emotional," he said. "Especially the end of the season. Obviously, it didn't go how we wanted, but it'll always be a special place to me. Coming in here, I just put my head down and went to work and rose to a leadership position and I was able to lead this team. It's just been a pleasure to know so many guys that's come through this program. I'm the last one standing from my recruiting class. Some of the guys texted me 'hey, you're the only one left,' go represent,' but, nah, I enjoyed all my years here, did a couple extra, put off Pro Day for three years.
"The day finally came, I thought I did good and thought I put my best foot forward."
One of the key guys to Valdez continuing to develop as a player has been defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase. Coach Vince was the one running the pass rush drills and was as vocal as ever while motivating his guys through the 15-20 minute session.
"It was very cool," Valdez said. "Just him running the drills, he's a great coach and he's coached in the league before, so he was able to put us through good drills to show what we could do, me and Booz. I always appreciate that."
So now, Valdez will have to wait like so many young guys with a dream of playing in the league. Based on Friday's performance, it would be surprising not to hear his name called late on Day 2 or at some point during Day 3 the last weekend in April.