Eight Griz perform for NFL scouts on Pro Day in Missoula Tuesday morning

By ERIC TABER, Montana Sports Information

Back in December, Montana wide receiver Samuel Akem walked off the field at JMU for the last time as a Grizzly, clinching his shoulder with a broken collar bone.
 
Just five months later, Akem returned to Missoula fully healed for Montana’s annual Pro Day, where he proceeded to put up 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press, a total good enough to be the second-most of any receiver at this year’s NFL Combine.
 
“Six weeks, that’s how long it takes a bone to heal. And after that, it’s just really getting your strength back. So, I was really happy with my bench reps,” said Akem following his workout, referring to a broken collarbone suffered early in Montana’s 28-6 loss to James Madison in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
 
“I did 14, and I hadn’t even benched 225 until two weeks ago. So, I was really excited about what I did in the bench. Given what I’ve been through, I was really thankful for what I was able to do.”

Eight former Montana Grizzlies were on hand at the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center to test for scouts from seven different NFL teams on Tuesday morning at UM’s Pro Day.
 
Akem (WR), along with fellow Griz alums Dylan Cook (OT), Omar Hicks Onu (CB), Cam Humphrey (QB), Kevin Macias (KP), Moses Mallory (OL), Matthew O’Donoghue (LS), and Gavin Robertson (S) returned to Missoula in hopes of catching a scout’s eye.
 
Akem’s bench total wasn’t the only impressive result for the Grizzlies either.

Offensive lineman Moses Mallory blew up the bench press, hammering out 34 reps at 225-pounds – a total that would have been the most at this year’s combine.
 
Cornerback Omar Hicks Onu also impressed on the bench with 21 reps, which would have been the most of any corner at the combine as well. His bench wasn’t his only big result, however.

The Lewisville, Texas, native also posted a broad jump of 10-foot-8 inches, good enough for third at the combine, and a vertical of 36.5 inches, which would have been a top-five result at the combine.
 
Another big man that turned heads was offensive tackle Dylan Cook, a former quarterback who made the transition to the O-line and has become an NFL target with an invite to the College Gridiron Showcase along with Hicks Onu.
 
Cook showed his athleticism most in the vertical jump, where his high of 32 inches would have been a top-five result at the combine.
 
Cook, who checked in at 308 pounds with a nearly 82-inch wingspan, also put up 20 reps on the bench and ran a 7.6 in the three-cone drill, a top-10 speed at the combine on slippery and cold conditions at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

 
Perhaps more important that numbers on a page were the position-specific workouts some of the Grizzlies performed for scouts.
  
Specialists Kevin Macias and Matthew O’Donoghue also put in reps for scouts. Macias finished his one year as a Grizzly with 19-straight made field goals at a school record rate of 85.2 percent. O’Donoghue never registered a bad snap in 539 career attempts as long and short snapper on UM’s punt, field goal, and PAT teams.
 
The 2022 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 28-30 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2022 Montana Pro Day Results