BYU’s Trinnaman shows off speed for scouts at Pro Day; Warner focuses on position drills

PROVO — Of the 14 former BYU players who participated at Pro Day Friday, only one, linebacker Fred Warner, figures to be selected in the National Football League draft April 26-28.

Because Warner already worked out for scouts at the NFL Combine earlier this month, he limited his participation to position drills.

“The plan was just to be fresh for the drills today and show off my athleticism,” Warner said. “I did well enough to where I didn’t have to worry about that stuff. With how late our Pro Day is, in the 40, you have to continually train and work on that specific drill. I wanted to just work on football-specific stuff.”

Meanwhile, wide receiver Jonah Trinnaman impressed the scouts in the 40-yard dash, recording a time of 4.3 seconds. His personal best in the 40 is a 4.25 and Trinnaman said one of the scouts clocked him at that time.

“People like my speed. I wanted to show how explosive I was,” Trinnaman said, adding that the Chicago Bears have taken particular interest in him. “I feel like I did that. I could have done better, but I did a good enough job. I have a shot. … It was a good day.”

Trinnaman recorded a long jump distance of 12 feet, which would have been the overall top performance at this year’s NFL Combine, and he had a 40.5-inch vertical leap, which lead all of BYU's Pro Day participants.

Thirty-one scouts representing 26 teams turned out at BYU’s Indoor Practice Facility Friday.

In addition to Warner and Trinnaman, the other NFL hopefuls who took part in Pro Day were tight end Tanner Balderree; defensive backs Kamel Greene, Micah Hannemann and Hiva Lee; offensive linemen Tuni Kanuch and Tejan Koroma; punter Jonny Linehan; and defensive linemen Handsome Tanielu, Kesni Tausinga, Tomasi Laulile, Logan Taele and Travis Tuiloma.

Any surprises Friday?

“It's not a surprise because I already knew he was going to do it, but Jonah was doing his thing out here,” Warner said. “Tejan did great. A lot of guys did really good out here. I was proud of those guys.”

Warner is projected to be selected as early as the second round in the draft. The last few months, he has been preparing for the next step and his NFL dream. At the Combine, Warner ran a 4.64 40, did 21 reps in the bench press and recorded a leap of 38.5 inches in the vertical jump.

“It’s been crazy. It’s been a whirlwind. Just how hard we train these last few months back in California, we went hard at it and it showed in our results,” he said. “I’m happy with how I’ve done so far. I just hope to keep putting my best foot forward for these teams.”

While Warner played outside linebacker at BYU, teams are projecting him as an inside linebacker in the NFL, so he has also been working on making that transition. With the draft less than one month away, his focus now is to make visits to various NFL teams and “get in football shape,” he said. “After the draft we have rookie mini-camp. You don’t want to get behind."

Warner has communicated with all 32 NFL teams in recent months. He grew up a fan of the Dallas Cowboys.

Kanuch, who had 30 reps on the bench press, just wants an NFL opportunity. He said he could play tackle or guard or center.

“I’ll play whatever they want. I’ll learn any position. It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I just love football and I just want to play. I’ll be grateful for any opportunity.”

Hannemann, who ran a 4.57 in the 40, said "a lot" of teams have shown interest in him.

“I’m hoping for sure to get a free agent contract,” he said. “I feel like that’s pretty much there for me now.”

Former BYU defensive back Kai Nacua, who recently completed his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, attended Pro Day to support his former teammates, including Hannemann.

“He’s been giving me advice since the beginning of the process,” Hannemann said of Nacua, adding that he’s also been talking to former Cougar DB Michael Davis, who just finished his rookie season with the San Diego Chargers. “I’m just trying to get where they’re at. It’s good to get advice from them.”

Kanuch enjoyed being around his former teammates one more time at Pro Day.

“It’s great. I love these guys. They’re like my family,” he said. “I’m close to all of them, but especially Tejan. I was able to play next to him my whole time here. I’m grateful we were able to do this together.”