On Day 2 of testing at the NFL Combine, defensive backs and tight ends took center stage in Indianapolis.
For Oklahoma, that meant an opportunity for Robert Spears-Jennings and Jaren Kanak to leave an impression on NFL personnel at Lucas Oil Stadium. A day after Gracen Halton stole the show during defensive tackle drills, Spears-Jennings did his part to turn some heads when the safeties took the field.
Spears-Jennings ran a laser-timed 4.32 in the 40-yard dash, which was tied for the second-fastest time among players at the NFL Combine, through Friday's results. Spears-Jennings tied with Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride and finished just behind Ohio State safety Lorenzo Styles Jr., who clocked in with a 4.27 in the 40. Spears-Jennings was part of a group of safeties that averaged a 4.42 in the 40 at this year's combine, which was the fastest average time for that position at the scouting event since at least 2003, according to Next Gen Stats.
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Spears-Jennings' 4.32 dash included a 1.51-second 10-yard split, which was third among safeties. The former Oklahoma safety also posted a 35-inch vertical (tied for 13th at the position), a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump (tied for seventh among safeties) and a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.43 (third among the three safeties who opted to participate in the drill).
It was a solid overall performance for the 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety who started 25 games and posted 178 tackles, with eight for a loss and two interceptions during his Oklahoma career. Spears-Jennings, a projected Day 3 pick, surely boosted his standing with some teams thanks to his showing Friday.
As for Kanak, the linebacker-turned-tight end ran a solid 4.52 in the 40, which ranked fourth among tight ends at this year's NFL Combine. Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq paced the group with a 4.39 that was a record for tight ends at the event, while SMU's RJ Maryland and Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers finished just ahead of Kanak with respective 4.51 times. Kanak also posted a 10-yard split of 1.61 seconds, which was tied for sixth among tight ends.
Kanak, who finished as Oklahoma's third-leading receiver (44 catches for 533 yards) after spending the first three years of his career at linebacker, also posted a 36-inch vertical (tied for sixth among tight ends) and a 9-foot, 11-inch broad jump (tied for ninth).
Friday's testing also included the bench press for defensive linemen and linebackers. Damonic Williams was the only one of Oklahoma's front seven representatives (a group that also includes R Mason Thomas, Halton, Marvin Jones Jr., Owen Heinecke and Kendal Daniels) benched 30 reps of 225 pounds, which was the second-best mark among defensive tackles at this year's NFL Combine.
On Saturday, defensive backs and tight ends will get their turn on the bench press, while quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs -- a group that includes Oklahoma's Deion Burks -- will perform on-field drills and workouts.