Cincinnati Bengals Attend Wisconsin Badgers Pro Day

The Bengals were in attendance today for Wisconsin's pro day, and not only were team scouts and/or coaches present, but former Badgers great Kevin Zeitler was there too:

Great to see #Bengals @kzeit70 at #Badgers Pro Day & practice. #olinetradition

— Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) March 5, 2014

There aren't any high-ranking prospects for Wisconsin this year, but there are some quality players that could be had in the latter rounds and develop into impact players.

Safety Dezmen Southward was the star of the day, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Southward whipped through the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill, broad jump and shuttle drills with eye-popping numbers, but really put on a show during the vertical jump when he reached the top lever for a Michael Jordanesque 42 inches.

There's a lot more to playing in the NFL than just running and jumping, but after posting numbers between 4.31 and 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10 feet, 5 inches in the broad jump.

To put Southward's numbers in perspective, the fastest defensive back at the combine was Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert, who ran the 40 in an official 4.37 seconds. The highest vertical jump was 41.5 inches by Nebraska's Stanley Jean-Baptiste. Southward's broad jump would have ranked tied for ninth.

Southward has good size for a safety. Last month at the NFL scouting combine he measured at 6-0 1/8 and 211 pounds.

In 2013, he finished fifth on the team with 40 total tackles, including 3.5 TFLs. In 2012, he finished fourth with 69 total tackles, including 8.0 TFLs. He's done a lot to boost his stock this offseason, but still projects to be a Day 3 pick.

Middle linebacker Chris Borland is also a players to watch in the latter rounds. At his pro day, he said his numbers were 35 inches in the vertical, 116 inches in the broad and 6.75 seconds in the three-cone.

"Overall, I think it was a good day for me," Borland said.

Jarred Abbrederis is a quality possession receiver, but the Bengals probably won't be looking to add him if he goes in the third round where he's projected to go. He declined to workout at his pro day, as did running back James White, who could go undrafted, and might be someone the Bengals look at as a practice squad back next year.