Hill rolls in 40 to lead Aggie seniors at Pro Day


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LOGAN — After Utah State’s football team won its third-straight bowl game last December, safety Brian Suite and running back Joe Hill spent some time together, working out in Suite’s native Hawaii and getting ready for a potential run at a pro career.

The extra work looks to have paid off for Hill — and his good friend from the islands had a front-row seat for it.

Hill led all Aggies at Utah State’s Pro Day with an eye-popping 4.26-second 40-yard dash, and Suite was right behind him at 4.45, as the Utah State seniors worked out in front of scouts from 20 NFL franchises, including the two Super Bowl finalists New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, on Thursday morning in Logan with the hopes of hearing their names called during April’s NFL Draft.

“He came out to train with me in Hawaii for a week, and he impressed everyone out there,” the 6-foot-3 Suite said of Hill. “I didn’t know he would run that fast, but Joe Hill has always been a fast guy, and here he is. Personally, I felt like I had a really good day. It was nice to see all the hard work I put into the last two and a half months to use.”

Wide receiver Ronald Butler clocked a time of 4.50 seconds, defensive back Rashard Stewart checked in at 4.59 seconds, punter Jaron Bentrude ran in 4.61, safety Frankie Sutera knotted a 4.64 and linebacker Zach Vigil ran a 4.66 at the combine-style event.

The drills, which consisted of a 40-yard dash, a shuttle run, a three-cone drill agility run and measurements such as vertical jump, broad jump and bench press, were held in the San Laub Indoor Practice Facility in Logan.

Suite also finished tops among his peers in the vertical jump and broad jump, leaping to marks of 37.5 inches and 10 feet, 2 inches, respectively.

“I’ve been putting a lot of work into those, just being explosive,” Suite said. “Those were my goals, and I’m happy.”

Offensive lineman Kevin Whimpey reached the top mark on the 225-pound bench press with 39 reps, while Vigil had 26 reps for the second most.

“They want to see if you can handle it under pressure,” said Vigil, who is finishing his second degree at Utah State while working with the Aggies’ strength and conditioning staff. “That’s what Sunday and Monday Night Football is; can you turn it on when the pressure’s on you? I hope that’s what I showed them today.”

Bentrude also turned heads at the combine-style event, flashing a 4.61 40 and adding a 36.5-inch vertical leap — two standout marks for a punter.

“That guy’s just a great athlete, and he’s going to get some looks,” Suite said of Bentrude.

Click the videos to watch highlights of the Aggies’ Pro Day workouts, including reaction from several of the players who participated.

The 2015 NFL Draft is set for April 30 to May 2 at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Contributing: Matt Glade

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