Injuries prevent football standouts from participating in Pro Day

Daily Bruin Neither of UCLA’s potential first-round picks performed on-field drills at the Bruins’ Pro Day Tuesday.
Defensive end Takkarist McKinley walked around with a sling on his right arm, still recovering from a March 6 shoulder surgery, and cornerback Fabian Moreau injured his chest during bench-press testing early in the day.
McKinley said he is on track to return to the field in about four months, and coach Jim Mora said he did not think Moreau’s injury was serious, though it was still being evaluated.
“Anything that happened to him, I believe, is minor and nothing to worry about,” Mora said of Moreau. “His numbers were good enough at the (NFL) Combine that for him to come out here and work out today isn’t that important.”
Moreau was one of the most impressive performers at the Combine in early March, running a 4.35-second 40-yard dash to vault himself into first-round consideration. He finished in the top-10 among cornerbacks in the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, the broad jump and the three-cone shuttle.
“It’s fun to see people start to recognize what a good player Fabian is,” Mora said. “I’ve gotten a ton of calls about Fabian – I think at the Combine, he really opened some eyes. All the measurables were there, and teams are looking for cover corners, and he can do that. He can line up and play bump-and-run and cover.”
Since the Combine, Moreau has been projected by many mock drafts as a late first-round pick. NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks slotted him as the 26th pick in a mock draft released Monday.
McKinley, whose surgery was to repair a torn labrum he said he unknowingly played with for the past two seasons, has been considered a first-round pick for longer. A 10-sack performance in his first year operating as an edge rusher has garnered ...


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