Miles Battle, Sione Vaki among Utes who impressed at pro day

Without an NFL Combine invite, Thursday’s pro day was the first chance for Utah cornerback Miles Battle to show his skills in front of a large group of NFL scouts.

Every NFL team except for the Los Angeles Rams, who do not send scouts to local pro days, was represented inside the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center as former Utes went through drills and had their measurements taken.

Battle helped his NFL case, running what was likely the fastest 40-yard dash time among the players who participated, including Sione Vaki, Keaton Bills, Emery Simmons and Thomas Yassmin.

“I feel great. I ran some of the best times that I’ve been training at, and I just want to thank God for allowing me to be out here. I feel like if I was at the Combine and had to run them on the lasers, I feel like I would’ve did the same thing, so it’s just a special moment for me,” Battle said afterward.

Battle has been training for Utah’s pro day for about three months, so much so that the drills started to become second nature to the Ole Miss transfer, and he was thrilled with his showing.

He did just about everything — vertical jump, bench press, 40-yard dash, shuttle drill, L-drill and positional drills.

“It’s been great. I’m starting to get a lot more traction, talking to more scouts, setting up meetings and stuff, so it’s going to be a great opportunity for me,” Battle said.

Battle, offensive linemen Bills and Sataoa Laumea, wide receivers Devaughn Vele and Simmons, tight end Yassmin, defensive lineman Jonah Elliss and safeties Cole Bishop and Vaki were at Utah’s pro day, with each player’s level of participation in the process varying.

Vaki looked like he markedly improved on his 4.62-second 40-yard dash time from the Combine and was doing a little bit of everything for scouts, including defensive drills and even catching some passes from quarterback Cam Rising.

He also participated in the shuttle drills and L-drill.

“He’s going to have a ton of opportunities,” wide receiver Devaughn Vele said of Vaki. “He’s going to be in the league for a long time and who knows what position he’s going to play. Next thing you know, he might be playing quarterback, so I’m excited for him.”

Vele, who participated in the Combine and ran a 4.47 40-yard time there, declined to participate in the 40-yard dash at Utah’s pro day but did the bench press, shuttle drill and caught passes from Rising.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound receiver has met with a handful of teams, including the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals.

Vele feels that special teams is going to be his “biggest foot” in the NFL door.

“I feel like that’s going to be my biggest foot in the door in the league right now, so I’m going to take advantage of that as everybody knows that I had to do special teams when I first walked on here, so I’m excited to showcase what I can do,” Vele said.

Offensive linemen Bills and Laumea — who were invited to the Combine — went through extensive on-field work, including flexibility tests and blocking drills.

Bills participated in the 40-yard dash, shuttle drill, L-drill and positional drills.

Laumea’s physical gifts have been apparent to teams, but he got feedback from some scouts to improve his football IQ, so he’s been working with former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley, who made six Pro Bowls, on that side of his game.

“I know some scouts are questionable on my IQ, so I’ve been working with Joe Staley doing a lot of board work and just understanding how different plays work zone, wide zone, all those little things,” Laumea said.

Other players who participated during Utah’s pro day were receiver Simmons (40-yard dash, vertical jump, bench press, broad jump, 40-yard dash, shuttle drill, L-drill and position drills) and Yassmin (40-yard dash, broad jump, 40 yard dash, shuttle drill, L-drill and position drills).

At the Combine, Bishop turned in a 4.45-second 40-yard dash time (tied for third among safeties), a 39-inch vertical (fifth among safeties) and a 10-feet-4-inch broad jump (eighth among safeties).

Bishop made the smart decision to let his Combine performance speak for itself, not participating in drills, but he met with scouts throughout Thursday.

Elliss — who attended the Combine and interviewed with teams but could not participate in drills since he is still rehabbing from shoulder surgery — also did not run any drills at Utah’s pro day.

Utah did not release any results from pro day, and media members were not allowed in the weight room, where players had measurements and weight taken and completed the bench press and vertical jump.