Isaiah Battle Has His Pro Day
Nov 15, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) runs with the ball against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Clemson left tackle Isaiah Battle is a talented NFL prospect but he’s not ready to come out now. Every advisory board there is recommended that he stay in after the season and that was the plan. But Battle has a child on the way and the NCAA won’t allow him to receive any help for his child so and he has enter the supplemental draft.
To show the NFL what he can do athletically, he held his pro day workout Tuesday and 25 NFL teams were there. At that pro day that was indoors and run on field turf, Battle measured in at 6’6″ 312-pounds with an 85-inch wing span and 35-inch arms. Battle ran the 40-yard dash in 5.29 and 5.21 seconds then had a 24 1/2-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot-5 broad jump.
His bench press test was cut short at 12 reps of 225 pounds because of a cramp in his arm. The supplemental draft will be held Thursday and Battle will be selected at some point in it. Receiver Josh Gordon was taken in the second round by the Cleveland Browns in the 2002 NFL Supplemental Draft.
Cris Carter, Bernie Kosar and Bo Jackson are among the best supplemental draft picks of all time. I don’t expect Battle or the other three 2015 supplemental prospects to have the kind of careers they did. I just wonder who in the NFL bites and when as many expect Battle to go somewhere in the fourth round.
We’ll see what happens on Thursday.