SEATTLE — His work finished, Chris Polk had pretty specific plans for the rest of his Thursday when the University of Washington football team’s annual pro day wrapped up early in the afternoon.
“I’m definitely going to eat,” the star running back from the Huskies’ 2011 team said Thursday, shortly after going through drills for NFL scouts at UW’s Dempsey Indoor facility. “I haven’t had fast food in like a month, month-and-a-half. I’ve been seeing that dinner box from Pizza Hut that’s been calling my name on TV. I might have to order that tonight.”
Polk, who was probably the most notable of 16 recent UW players who were trying to impress the scouts Thursday, has spent a good part of the past few weeks trying to shed the pounds that put a damper on his performance at the Senior Bowl in January. He tipped the scales above 225 pounds for that all-important event, with some of the weight ending up in undesirable places.
“I was on the little weigh-in, I was flexing and looking down, and I didn’t see any abs,” he said Thursday, recalling his pre-Senior Bowl routine. “I was like, all right, I’ve got to get right. This isn’t the body I’m used to.”
Through a rigorous diet and exercise, Polk was able to drop to 215 pounds for last month’s NFL scouting combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds. He dropped three more pounds before Thursday’s event, then turned in times of 4.48 and 4.51 in the same event.
“I felt like I could’ve done better,” he said. “I’m just glad I improved on my time. Can’t argue with that. … I wanted the 4.3s, but I’ll take the 4.4s.”
Projected as a second- or third-round pick in the April NFL draft, Polk saw his stock drop a bit following Senior Bowl week and the combine. Scouts brought up his weight, and he hoped that Thursday’s performance answered a few questions.
“I just didn’t want to leave anything negative out there about me,” he said Thursday. “I just really wanted to go in and show how much I love football and show how much I really care. I was to be the best I can be.”
Polk wasn’t the only former UW player looking to make a better impression. Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse was frustrated by the 4.58-second time he had in the 40 at the combine, and his main goal for Thursday was to improve on that.
“I was pretty disappointed,” Kearse said of his 4.58. “But I knew I had another chance to make it up at pro day. So I came back here, got back up with (UW strength coach) Ivan Lewis and fixed some things and just kept working at it.”
While Kearse didn’t know his official time at Thursday’s session, he definitely felt like he had run a lot faster.
Fellow seniors from the 2011 team who also performed at pro day Thursday were offensive lineman Senio Kelemete, defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu, defensive lineman Everette Thompson, cornerback Quinton Richardson, linebacker Cort Dennison, wide receiver Devin Aguilar, kickers Erik Folk and Eric Guttorp and punters Kiel Rasp and Will Mahan.
The event also included some former Huskies from previous years, like cornerback Vonzell McDowell Jr., Victor Aiyewa, E.J. Savannah and Dorson Boyce — all of whom were trying to make a second impression in hopes of getting an NFL tryout.
But the most recognizable player in action Thursday was the one with absolutely nothing to prove. Former UW star Jake Locker, whom the Tennessee Titans selected with the eighth overall pick in last April’s draft, drove down from his hometown of Ferndale to throw passes to Polk and the former UW receivers.
“It was great to have Jake out here,” Kearse said. “I told him I really appreciated him coming out here. It was a big deal for me and D.A. (Aguilar) and Chris (Polk) and everyone. That just shows you the type of person he is to come back and help us out.”
When the session was over, there was a sense of relief for most of the 16 players, although not all of them were planning to celebrate in front of a pizza box.
Polk planned to follow his one night of gluttony by getting back into tip-top shape. At least one teammate believes his game tape, and not necessarily anything Polk has shown since the end of the 2011 season, is the thing that will help Polk the most in the end.
“I feel like he’s just one of those guys that you’ve got to see on the field,” said Kelemete, a former left tackle who projects to guard in the NFL. “(The pro day)’s not going to show him break two or three arm tackles or that he can run you over or shake you. I feel like his film will speak a lot louder than what he did on the field (Thursday).”
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