Linebacker Derek Wake was one of the shocks of the 2005 NFL combine when he turned in a 45 1/2 inch vertical jump, the second highest of any player in attendance.

Yesterday at Penn State's Pro Day on campus, he was full of more surprises, as he turned in a 40-yard dash time in the high 4.4 seconds range, appreciably faster than his combine performance of 4.65 seconds.

"He ran well today; he was fast," said one NFC scout in attendance, who asked not to be identified. "He took all his [numbers] from the combine, except he wanted to run again. He helped himself out today with the running."

Wake was joined at Pro Day by eight of his former Penn State football teammates who have declared for this April's NFL draft -- John Bronson, Scott Davis, Robbie Gould, Andrew Guman, Paul Jefferson, Zack Mills, Ryan Scott and Gerald Smith. The players had the opportunity to sit down and talk with each of the scouts in attendance yesterday, before completing the position-specific drills and the physical tests conducted at the NFL combine.

"We did a lot of those [combine tests], and we had a couple paths worked out for the players individually to see how they do," the scout said. "Like for Derek Wake, to see how he dropped, changed directions and ran around and caught the ball. Or for Bronson, to see how he caught the ball, how his hands were. Just position-specific drills to see how they do and how they react; we give them something they haven't seen before and see how they react, if they pick it up fast."

Due to Wake's impressive 40 time, the fastest of all players in attendance yesterday, he was the player the scout was most impressed with and the one he felt had the best chance of being selected in the draft. The scout was also impressed with the speed of Bronson, a tight end, who ran the 40 in 4.6 seconds.

"It will be interesting [to see what happens] because he worked out well today," the scout said. "Someone might look at that and see if they can develop him into a tight end."

Both Mills and Guman also turned in solid performances, as the scout said that Mills "threw the ball well; he showed some arm strength -- he has a strong enough arm," and felt that

Guman was a smart prospect who ran well for a guy of his size and had good hands for the football.

"Guman's got a chance, he looked pretty good running around out there," the scout said. "And everybody's always looking for a quarterback too, so it will be interesting to see how it falls."

The scout also talked about Jefferson, who in recent weeks has been one of the more talked about Penn State prospects, as he is one of the few true blocking fullbacks who has declared for the draft. While it was hard for the scout to assess Jefferson's blocking abilities yesterday, he noted that one of his strengths is catching the football.

"It's hard to get [a sense] when you're [blocking] on air; you can't really see him blocking," the scout said. "He caught the ball well; he catches the ball away from his body, his hands are natural. Everybody's looking for a fullback; fullbacks are hard to find anymore."

The scout said that NFL teams are sending representatives to the pro days held by individual football programs all across the country and would convene in early April to go over the final workouts and discuss which players did well and showed up in shape. He also noted that while these pro day workouts are important, game film from the previous fall reigns supreme.

"Film is the biggest tool for scouting," the scout said. "What they do now helps you split hairs between guys, separate and put in a pecking order. You've got to remember what the guy is as a football player."

With that being said, however, Pro Day is nevertheless a chance for players who might have flown a bit under the radar to up their status -- that is certainly the case for Wake, and for some of his former teammates as well.

"You never know until the day of the draft," the scout said, "but some guys definitely helped themselves out today."