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Mark Ingram knows 40-yard dash times matter to NFL types. Run a few ticks faster, and the number sure looks better for teams thinking of plunking down millions on a new hire.
But Alabama's Heisman Trophy-winning tailback isn't sure how much, or if, he improved his draft stock by clocking a better time before NFL scouts, executives and coaches Wednesday at Alabama's pro day.
''I think it's important. But sometimes you have to turn on the tape,'' Ingram said, then holds his thumb and index finger a couple of inches apart. ''The difference between 4.4 and 4.6 is like that.
''On the football field, that kind of evens out a bit.''
No official time was immediately released, but Ingram said he heard he ran ''anywhere from 4.47 to 4.53 seconds.'' By improving on the 4.61 seconds he clocked at the NFL combine, Ingram said it just shows out fast he really is.
''I think it just proves that I'm faster than I ran at the combine,'' Ingram said.
He was the only one of the Crimson Tide's combine participants or three likely first-round draft picks who ran the 40 again. Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus stood by his combine time in the 40 and just did the broad jump (8 feet, 10 inches, he said) and position drills.
The observers at Alabama's indoor practice facility included NFL head coaches Ron Rivera of Carolina and John Fox of Denver, along with general managers Tom Heckert (Cleveland), Trent Baalke (San Francisco) and Buddy Nix (Buffalo), along with Broncos football operations chief John Elway.
Asked what he thinks he accomplished Wednesday, Dareus said ''showing the way I play, how athletic I am.''
He also got a chance to visit with Rivera, whose Panthers have the No. 1 pick in the draft.
''I really like him,'' Dareus said. ''He's a real nice, laid-back person, and he really had nice things to say about me.
''I just acknowledged that and I'm happy that he sees me for what I am.''
Dareus has been one of a handful of players to receive some buzz as a potential top pick. He's enjoying being in that conversation.
''It's wonderful,'' he said. ''I've never really been at the top of anything. For me people to acknowledge me for what I've done and put me that high, it's unheard of.
''I didn't think I'd ever be in this position.''
The 6-foot-3 Dareus weighed in at 318 pounds and said he hopes to drop a few more.
Wide receiver Julio Jones watched the workouts on crutches from the sidelines four days after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture on his foot. He's not sure when the injury occurred, but it was discovered two days before he ran a 4.39 in Indianapolis.
''I told myself if I go out there and break it, I'm going to have to have surgery anyway,'' Jones said. ''So I just went out there and participated and did everything I needed to do.''
That doesn't mean he wouldn't have liked a chance to do it again. Jones, who described his combine performance as ''OK'', said he ran faster times while training in Arizona. He indicated he won't conduct any more workouts before the draft starts April 28, and will go through rehabilitation in Tuscaloosa with Alabama's trainers.
''The biggest concern for me is just getting back healthy and getting my foot 100 percent,'' Jones said.
He said the prognosis for a return would be about four weeks during the season, but he can be more patient with the process now.
Quarterback Greg McElroy also was just a spectator while recovering from surgery on his throwing hand from an injury sustained during the Senior Bowl. He's hoping to start throwing in a week or two, and work out before scouts at another possible pro day in Tuscaloosa on April 5.
McElroy didn't get to display his arm at the combine, but the Rhodes Scholar finalist did flex his mental muscle. He apparently scored a 43 out of 50 on the Wonderlic test, not the 48 he originally heard - and was reported in various media outlets - but still impressive.
''I was told the day after I left the combine, three days after I took the test, that I got a 48,'' McElroy said. ''That information kind of got leaked out. I wasn't going to turn it down or discredit it by any means. It was just faulty information that I thought was from a very credible source. I wish we hadn't made the 48 public but at the same time, there's not a whole lot you can do at that point.''
''I never tried to be dishonest and I apologize if anybody felt misled. You know, 43, I'll take it in a heartbeat.''
