FORT COLLINS — It was hours before sunrise Tuesday morning, and running back Gartrell Johnson couldn’t sleep.
So he made his way to the Colorado State football complex and camped out in the Rams’ locker room, anxiously awaiting the arrival of NFL scouts for CSU’s Pro Day.
Johnson left the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last month unsatisfied with his time in the 40-yard dash, and knew that Tuesday was his chance to prove he could run faster than his 4.7-second time from the combine.
Johnson ran both of his attempts at the 40-yard dash Tuesday at about 4.6 seconds, according to unofficial stopwatch times.
“I ran way better than at the combine,” Johnson said. “I was just relaxed here. I felt comfortable on my own turf. At the combine, I just put so much pressure on it.”
Johnson ran some routes and caught some passes, but did not participate in the other events like the bench press or vertical jump. He is projected as a mid-round draft pick.
RB Bell shows strength
Running back Kyle Bell, by virtue of his last name, was the first Ram up in each drill Tuesday. He set quite the standard, including an unofficial time of 4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 29 repetitions on the bench press.
His bench press score would have tied for second-most among running backs at the NFL combine last month in Indianapolis.
Bell, who missed the 2006 season with a torn ACL and backed up Johnson last fall, said he feels like he is in the best shape of his life, and that he hopes his numbers from Tuesday will help show NFL teams he is completely healthy.
“I worked each day to put myself in position to play at the next level,” Bell said.
Footnotes
Tight end Kory Sperry only ran routes, caught passes and participated in tight end drills. He skipped the other standard events after a solid performance at the combine in Indianapolis.
… Scouts from seven NFL teams — Denver, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oakland, Cincinnati and the New York Giants — attended the timing day.
… The other Rams who participated were defensive end Tommy Hill, safety Mike Pagnotta, quarterback Billy Farris, running back Mike Myers and kicker Jason Smith. Northern Colorado tight end Ryan Chesla also participated.
… Former Bronco offensive lineman Erik Pears — who recently signed with the Raiders — and new Bronco offensive lineman Clint Oldenburg were among a handful of former Rams who watched the event.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
