Pro Timing Day is in the books for Mustafa Johnson and William Sherman

BOULDER — Colorado is lucky to return most of its 2020 roster this fall, but a pair of seniors are headed to the next level.

Defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson and offensive lineman William Sherman performed for NFL scouts from 24 teams during the University of Colorado’s Pro Timing Day on Monday. The NFL Combine will not be held this year because of Covid-19, which makes the Pro Day even more important ahead of the NFL Draft, which will be held in late April.

“They have 24 NFL personnel from them. It’s pretty impressive,” head coach Karl Dorrell said after the event. “It’s pretty impressive to get that type of attention, for these teams to have an interest and come to see our kids.”

While plenty of NFL representatives in attendance, the event was emptier than normal. Media wasn’t allowed to attend and neither were other CU football players. Typically, most of the team spends the day in training facility cheering on their teammates.

“I had a number of text messages from kids saying, ‘Coach, can I get in?’ We kept it the way that the NFL and what the conference wanted us to do,” Dorrell said. “That’s always a good learning experience for those guys.”

Despite the lack of support, both Johnson and Sherman were happy with the results.

Johnson has a minor hamstring injury that he say has been catching up with him at the backend of his 40-yard dash. For that reason, Johnson didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash or the 20-yard dash.

However, Johnson’s bench press (27 reps), vertical jump (29 inches) and broad jump (8 feet 7inches) were all very solid. His 3-cone time (7.18 seconds) was even better.

At 6-feet-tall, nobody expected tremendous length from Johnson, so his below-average arm length and wingspan didn’t come as a surprise. Since the end of the season, Johnson has dropped 12 pounds of fat and added five pounds of muscle, he said. He plans on adding five more pounds of muscle in time for the draft and the goals don’t stop there.

“I know you guys have all seen Aaron Donald with his shirt off, just a big muscular block,” Johnson said. “That would be the end goal and while I’ll be trying to work toward.”

Dropping Donald’s name was a great idea from Johnson. The NFL is looking for size and length along the interior of the defensive line, but Donald has made a career out of the leverage his 6-foot frame provides. If Johnson has success in the NFL, he’ll likely follow in Donald’s mold, but probably not to the same level as the 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

For Sherman, the day was equally successful.

Like Johnson, Sherman’s length is what’s likely holding him back in the eyes of NFL scouts. At a little over 6-foot-3, Sherman isn’t as tall as your average NFL tackle and his 81-inch wingspan leaves some to be desired.

Typically, 34-inch arms are the baseline for tackles and 35 inches is desired. Sherman measured in at 33-1/2 inches, but there’s some good news. Two of this draft’s top three tackles have measured in with sub-34-inch arms and there are plenty more dissappointing arm measurements from the rest of the group. With so many tackles lacking length, Sherman may not be knocked as hard.

On top of that, Sherman has versatility on his side. He can slide inside to guard and has spent the last 10 weeks learning how to snap a football, so a team could choose to play him at center, too. He’s been working with newly-minted Super Bowl champion Ryan Jensen on the mental side of playing center.

“First day (working with Jensen) it was like calculus,” Sherman said. “But as we’ve gotten more sessions it’s become a lot easier. At the end of the day it’s just football. He’s helped me out a lot. I thank him a lot for that.”

There’s no doubt Sherman has the brainpower to play the center position and that versatility could carry him a long way. Dorrell pointed out that NFL teams only put seven linemen in uniforms on game day, so being able to come in off the bench and play multiple positions will give Sherman an edge.

“William did a very good job. He showcased his versatility,” Dorrell said. “William helped himself today by showcasing that he’s a player that can do those things.”

Sherman’s 108-inch broad jump was good for any offensive line position, as was his 5.1-second 40-yard dash and 7.71-second three-cone drill time. His 26-inch vertical and 23 bench press reps left a little to be desired, but overall it was a good day for Sherman.

“That’s what I wanted to do today: show teams that I can play all five spots,” Sherman said. “I got some reps at guard. I got the majority of my reps at center.”

The next step for both Sherman and Johnson will be the NFL Draft, which will run from April 29 through May 1.