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SPEEDING TICKET
TICKET Jerome Mathis is on the fast track to early-round selection in NFL draft
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 22, 2005
HAMPTON Nobody in the stands. No pads. No helmets. No band. But on this raw mid-March afternoon at Hampton University's Armstrong Stadium, Jerome Mathis is again on display.
NFL scouts, maybe 15, watch and take notes from field level as Mathis runs down-and-out patterns. Then come double-move routes and fades toward the sideline. Finally, long bombs. Mathis, a former HU star receiver, catches up to balls that a second or two earlier looked to be hopelessly overthrown. One, he drops while backpedaling.
"Oooh, got to have those," somebody yells. "That's where you get your money, baby."
Quite right.
It's audition time, again, for Mathis. In various settings, the Petersburg High graduate has been through this routine on several occasions since the Pirates' season ended. More trials are on the way. "It's fun. It's work. Little bit of both," Mathis said. "I just come in and do my best."
Six months ago, Mathis was projected as a fifth- or sixth-round choice in next month's NFL draft. It's now conceivable, though unlikely, that he will go in the first round.
Mathis' strong 2004 season boostedpro interest, but scouts were concerned about the level of competition faced by the Pirates, of the Division I-AA Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Mathis' stock increased following January's Gridiron Classic, an all-star showcase for NFL prospects held in Florida.
Mathis, one of only 10 participating players from non-Division I-A schools, collected 108 yards of total offense and scored on a 26-yard reception and a 38-yard reverse in the Gridiron Classic. The two-time track All-American (200 meters) was invited to February's NFL Combine, the Mother of All Football Auditions. In Indianapolis, Mathis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds, the fastest electronically timed 40 in combine history.
"That's out of control," said Dominique Thompson, a former William and Mary receiver who trains with Mathis.
Deion Sanders ran a combine-best 4.28 in 1989, but his sprint was hand-timed. Mathis' 4.32 was the talk of the combine. Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells claimed that he timed Mathis in an astonishing 4.25. Either way, Mathis wasn't thrilled. He believed he could have been quicker had his left hamstring not been wrapped because of a slight strain.
"It was just me doing what I do best, performing, competing, refusing to let somebody else do better," Mathis said.
Since his trip to Indianapolis, Mathis has been listed by most analysts among the top dozen receivers available in the April 23 draft. "I keep hearing from late first [round] to early second," said HU coach Joe Taylor.
Mathis and a handful of other college players from the Mid-Atlantic region worked out for NFL scouts last Wednesday at HU. Arizona Cardinals receivers coach Mike Wilson and Jacksonville Jaguars receivers coach Steve Walters came to HU. NFL position coaches, and more than a dozen scouts, don't show unless there's a high-caliber talent to be viewed.
Mathis was clearly the star of the show. Wilson and Walters spent virtually all of their time with him. Scouts followed Mathis from the vertical-jump test, to the quickness drills involving cones, to the route-running area of Armstrong Stadium's playing surface. No reason for Mathis to run the 40 again for this audience. He allows his combine time to stand. Jerome Mathis, designated as The Sleeper to Watch in the upcoming draft by one rating service, just might get rich playing football.
"My whole life has taken a turn in a positive way," he said. "People I don't know, people I haven't had contact with in a long time, are calling me. I've just tried to stick with people who were in my circle before all of this."
Mathis has given up track, though in the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships he was national runner-up in the 200, and followed that last year with a sixth-place finish. From now on, it's all football, at least training and testing for football.
The 5-11 182-pounder lives in Hampton though he has left school. Mathis promises to return for his degree. He sees no need to move to Los Angeles or Atlanta for workouts designed specifically for NFL prospects. Before the draft, more scouts and more NFL position coaches will come here to size up Mathis.
"We're really just trying to maintain what he's done, hoping he has good days in the [upcoming] personal workouts," said Shaun Huls, HU's director of athletic performance (strength and conditioning coach). "His biggest asset is his speed, so we don't want to make any huge body-composition changes that may affect his speed."
Mathis intends to spend draft day alone. First-round pick? Second-round? New York Giants? Denver Broncos? Whatever. Just tell him when it's done.
"I try not to focus on it," he said. "There are 32 teams. Wherever I go, that's where I'll end up. I'm just going to make the best of the situation."
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