Booty showcases his deep-pass at USC Pro Day, photo from SCplaybook.

It was that time of year again, when scouts, executives and managers gathered together at USC to watch the Trojan gun show. For those USC Trojans eligible for the NFL draft it was a chance to prove their worth; either to solidify their top draft status (Keith Rivers, Sedrick Ellis, Fred Davis), to boost it (Chauncey Washington, Sam Baker, John David Booty, Terrell Thomas) or simply to get noticed at all (Tom Malone, Desmond Reed, Hershel Dennis).

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Ellis, already a projected top-10 pick, just needed to maintain his status. But always the over-achiever, Ellis did one better, he improved…on everything. Ellis shaved time off his 40-time, added bench-press reps and increased his vertical jump. Keith Rivers, who missed the majority of the combine with an ankle injury, needed to prove himself on Pro Day. And he did just that. Rivers ran a speedy 4.58 40-time and hit a 42 inch vertical jump.

The feel good stories of the day would probably go to quarterback John David Booty and tailback Chauncey Washington. Booty, a big question mark in the draft, seemed to solidify his worth, nailing 80% of his passes and quieting doubters with some deep-strike precision. And as reported by Dan Weber of the Press-Enterprise, Chauncey Washington clocked a 4.35 time in the 40. The fastest, by far, he’d run in college.

“…[Washington] improved his draft prospects by “maybe two rounds,” Carroll said. “He blew them away on his time. They’re really buzzing about it.”

All in all it was a good day for the Trojan players. Pete Carroll thought so too. He mused about the amount of additional money his players would earn, improving their draft status by keeping on with the Trojans an extra season. Carroll guestimated his men that decided not to leave college-ball early had secured themselves an additional, “Probably somewhere between $50 and $60 million worth if you combine them”.

*Follow this link to see an excellent USC Pro Day photo-spread from SCplaybook/Scout.