Charles Harris, Aarion Penton, and other former Tigers impress at Mizzou’s Pro Day

It’s a strange time in the Mizzou universe. This is typically the time of year where we are moving on from basketball and have shifted to spring football landmarks — the beginning of spring practice, the first depth chart, etc.

We’re passing those landmarks, and we’re writing about them, but at the moment no one’s really reading those pieces because ... well ... Mizzou fans are addicted to basketball again.

Still! We’re passing landmarks! And on Thursday, we passed a pretty big one: Mizzou’s annual pro day.

With only one likely high-round draft pick, Pro Day wasn’t quite as big a deal for Mizzou as it has been in years past. Still, it gave Charles Harris one more moment in the Columbia spotlight, and it gave a few others a chance to prove themselves in front of scouts.

You can find everybody’s key measurements here.

Charles Harris

KC Star: Mizzou’s Charles Harris shows off his athleticism at Pro Day

Harris improved his vertical 5 1/2 inches to 37 1/2 and added nine inches to his broad jump with a leap of 9-feet-10.

“That’s something I’ve been hiding, but I just felt great today going to the gym,” Harris said of his vertical. “I had a great workout out in California at Proactive (Sports Performance), helping me get my vertical right. Obviously, it all paid off.”

Steelers linebackers coach Joey Porter, Bengals linebackers coach Jim Haslett and Jets linebackers coach Kevin Greene were among the 43 scouts/coaches from 30 NFL teams in attendance at Thursday’s Pro Day.

The Trib: Harris shows extra bounce at pro day

Harris’ vertical would have tied for third among 74 defensive ends and linebackers who tested at the NFL combine. His broad jump was 9 inches farther than his combine jump and would have tied for 29th among linebackers and D-ends at the combine.

“I obviously showed teams that I do have explosion,” Harris said.

Derrick Forsythe (Rock M Nation)

Aarion Penton

Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's pro day features new-look Penton

The All-Southeastern Conference cornerback weighed in at 177 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame in January in Mobile, Ala. But he was a 198-pounder at Thursday’s pro day weigh-in. A chiseled 198-pounder, but 21 pounds is a lot to gain over two months during the pre-draft process. [...]

Penton said he didn’t purposely gain weight. But he did hit the weight room harder than ever after the Senior Bowl.

“And I guess muscle just piled up on me,” Penton said. “I mean, I pushed 225 more than I ever did.”

Derrick Forsythe (Rock M Nation)

Michael Scherer

Post-Dispatch: Mizzou's Scherer puts best foot forward in NFL audition

After bench pressing 225 pounds 26 times for a crowd of 43 NFL coaches and scouts representing 30 teams, Scherer tested his knee with a valiant showing in the vertical jump, clearing 34 inches, a strong jump for the 231-pounder whose right knee gave out Oct. 22 against Middle Tennessee. The MICDS graduate tore both the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament and underwent surgery Nov. 3.

Derrick Forsythe (Rock M Nation)

Josh Augusta

The Trib: Augusta shows off trimmer frame at pro day

First on Augusta’s to-do list was losing weight. The 6-foot-3 defensive tackle weighed 347 pounds Thursday. That’s trim by Augusta standards. He said he played his senior season at 390.

Augusta made several changes after the season.

For one, he said improved his diet and cut out late-night snacking. His beloved double bacon cheeseburgers had to go.

Derrick Forsythe (Rock M Nation)

Donavin Newsom

Derrick Forsythe (Rock M Nation)

In terms of measurables, I think Scherer and Newsom impressed me the most here. A 34-inch vertical four months after ACL surgery is pretty ridiculous for Scherer, and ... a 4.5 40 for Newsom? Damn.

By this point in time, teams know most of what they need to know about you, but a particularly impressive showing — Penton’s strength, Newsom’s speed, etc. — can likely bump you up or down on draft boards at least a couple of spots. Mizzou’s outgoing seniors (and Harris) put on a decent show yesterday, it seems.