PITTSBURGH — After a 1,144-yard campaign as a senior in 2018, Pitt running back Darrin Hall was invited to the East-West Shrine Game.
There, he impressed as the game’s leading rusher and earned an invited to the 2019 Senior Bowl, the most prestigious college football postseason all-star game.
But he didn’t get an invite to the 2019 NFL Combine.
That meant that Wednesday’s pro timing day at the indoor practice facility loomed large in Hall’s quest to become an NFL running back.
But he seemingly aced that test, too. Pittsburgh Sports Now timed Hall at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, the fastest Pitt player of the day. Hall said he was told that he ran between a mid-4.4 and a 4.5. That is a time that, while obviously not electronically acquired, would have made him one of the fastest backs at the combine.
Just as importantly, Hall ran at 217 pounds — two pounds heavier than his listed 2018 playing weight.
He also acquitted himself well all around, putting up 27 reps on the bench press, a 10-foot, 2-inch broad jump, a 32-inch vertical a 6.72-second three-cone drill.
All in all, Hall thought he did a good job of acing his one shot at impressing NFL scouts.
“I felt I did great,” Hall said. “I just went out there and gave it all I got. I set goals, I think I hit a lot of them.”
BETTER THE SECOND TIME?
Qadree Ollison participated in Pitt’s pro day on Wednesday alongside Hall and several others on the Pitt football team.
At Pitt’s pro day Ollison only decided to participate in two drills out of the seven that were possible. The two drills he took part in were 20-yard shuttle and the three-cone drill. Comparing these two drills to the times he ran at the NFL combine in Indianapolis he made a definite improvement. Ollison bettered his time from a 4.31 to a 4.13 in the 20-yard shuttle and also improved his time from a 7.53 to a 7.02 in the three-cone drill.
Ollison decided to stick with all of his other statistics he posted at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. He recorded a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, a 29.5-inch vertical jump, a 114-inch broad jump and 19reps on the bench press. In both the combine in Indianapolis and at Pitt’s pro day, Ollison decided not to participate in the 60-yard shuttle.
“For me I wanted to do the short shuttle and the L-drill again,” Ollison said. “My numbers went down in both of those categories. And I just wanted to do what I did at the combine again and show that I am versatile and can catch the ball out of the backfield.”
MAKING A NAME?
James Folston was a rotation player on Pitt’s defensive line for the last three seasons, but measuring in at 6-foot-2, 233 pounds, he feels like he’s better suited to playing linebacker at the next level.
He certainly showed the necessary athleticism on Wednesday. Folston popped eyes with a 40.5-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump. He also ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash and a 4.19-second short shuttle (timed by PSN).
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