By Jonah Bronstein
ORCHARD PARK — Satisfied with his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday, James Starks declined to give an encore Tuesday.
The Niagara Falls native sat out during the standard drills portion of the University at Buffalo’s pro day at the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse, though he did participate in position-specific drills for more than a dozen NFL scouts in attendance.
Starks, UB’s all-time leading rusher, had one of the best combine workouts among the 28 running backs invited to Indianapolis.
According to NFL.com’s unofficial results, Starks was one of only three runners to rank in the top 10 in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, and 20-yard shuttle. The others were Auburn’s Ben Tate and Tennessee’s Montario Hardesty.
“I went out and gave my all and was rewarded with good times,” Starks said Tuesday. “I was ready to go out there and compete with the best backs in the nation and show that I’m one of those guys.”
Starks did acknowledge that he expected a better time than 4.5 seconds in the 40.
“I feel I could run faster,” he said. “I always think I can do better, but I don’t have any complaints about what happened at the combine.”
At 6-foot-2, Starks was the tallest running back at the combine. His weight of 218 pounds was right in the middle.
“I’m a big back,” he said. “That’s going to be the new breed.”
Eleven departing seniors participated in UB’s pro day: wide receivers Naaman Roosevelt, Brett Hamlin and Alex Pierre, safety Mike Newton, tight end Jesse Rack, defensive tackles Kevin Johnson and Dane Robinson, tailback Mario Henry, and fullback Lawrence Rolle. Ernest Jackson, a wide receiver who was a senior in 2008, also participated.
It was difficult to determine who performed well, as most results were not announced. Roosevelt, the St. Joe’s product who is considered the Bulls second-best draft prospect after Starks, ran the 40 in the 4.5-second range, according to several observers.
Niagara Falls native Greg Betterson, a wide receiver who played at Division II Delta State University, took advantage of the opportunity to impress the scouts, as did James Mallory, a Kenmore West graduate who rushed for more than 2,800 yards in the past two seasons at Division I-AA Central Connecticut State.
