Defensive lineman A.J. Francis attempts the vertical leap at the Terps’ pro day.
A.J. Francis stood silently in a near-empty Byrd Stadium late yesterday morning, his head forward and his right arm straight up in the air. It was the Terrapins football team’s pro day, and the former Terps defensive lineman was waiting his turn to do the vertical jump as more than a dozen NFL scouts watched nearby.
But just before he was about to jump, Francis stepped away from the line. He quickly ripped off his red muscle shirt and gray gym shorts, stripping down to only his Under Armour compression shorts before readying himself to jump again.
It was likely his final chance to convince NFL teams to bring him in for individual workouts before the draft begins April 25. He wasn’t going to let baggy clothes slow him down.
And they didn’t. He posted personal bests in the shuttle drill (4.5 seconds) and the broad jump (9 feet 4 inches), and he fell just short of his top marks in the 40-yard dash (5.01 seconds) and the bench press (24 repetitions).
It was the culmination of all the work he’s done in the past two months, which he spent training at Bommarito Performance Systems in Davie, Fla., alongside former teammates Kenneth Tate, Joe Vellano and Matt Furstenburg, and other college athletes.
Francis said teams have finally begun calling his agent to schedule individual workouts and facility visits, and he has three lined up in the coming weeks.
“I feel like there’s a lot of spots I could fill. Every team plays a different defense, and every team has a different position they might think I would help the team best,” Francis said. “I feel like I can play any one of them.”
He’s shown it throughout his career with the Terps. Francis has played in all three defensive line spots in a 3-4 defense, and he has experience at both nose tackle and 3-technique in a 4-3 alignment.
“I’m not just saying I can do that. There’s film of me doing that,” Francis said. “There’s not a lot of guys that can probably say that in the country. Not a lot of guys have switched [between] that many defenses, and not a lot of guys have played different positions in those defenses.”
In fact, Francis, Tate and Vellano have all shown they can succeed almost anywhere on defense. When asked what each of them could bring to an NFL team, all three used the word “versatile” at least once.
They’ve all played under three different defensive coordinators in the past three years — Don Brown in 2010, Todd Bradford in 2011 and Brian Stewart last season — giving each of them experience in multiple schemes.
Vellano has played end and tackle in both the 3-4 and the 4-3, and Tate played linebacker in each of the past two seasons after excelling at safety in his sophomore year.
“I’ve played a lot of football at every position. That’s kind of my biggest thing,” Vellano said. “I can do whatever they want.”
“I could play safety, and I can still play linebacker,” Tate said. “I’ve also been taking some looks at playing offense, maybe. I know I could. I was a receiver before, playing a little H-back and things like that. I can definitely create a matchup [problem] on a linebacker.”
All three have a chance to get drafted next month, but Francis’ name has been heard the most in NFL circles. He’s the only one with any scheduled visits to NFL teams, and multiple websites have him ranked as a top-30 defensive tackle. He’s projected to go between rounds five and six right now. Vellano is also projected as a fifth- or sixth-rounder, and Tate is expected to go in round 7 or be undrafted.
Coach Randy Edsall isn’t taking any stock in those projections, though. Where a player will go in the draft, he said, is too hard to predict this early.
“Having had the experience of coaching in the NFL and knowing what goes on as they come back, sit down and have their meetings and everything else, there’s so many things that can change,” the second-year coach said. “That’s what I tell the players. I say, ‘Hey, don’t worry about anything other than the fact that you’re going to get an opportunity.’”
Francis plans on taking advantage of that opportunity. This is what he’s been working toward throughout his football career.
As to where he’ll be next season, Francis isn’t sure. He has some ideas of where he’d like to be, but he’s leaving that decision up to the NFL’s 32 teams.
“My family is Cowboys fans, and Texas doesn’t have state income tax, so that’s nice. Neither does Florida, and they have nice weather down there,” Francis said. “But honestly, anyone that’s willing to give me an opportunity to play. I’ll play anywhere.”
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