Former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch knows that a position change might be in his future once he enters the NFL. It's why he worked out as a running back at the NFL Scouting Combine, and Friday at Northern Illinois' pro day, he even performed a few drills as a defensive back.
Lynch (6-foot, 217 pounds) was among six Northern Illinois prospects who worked out Friday, along with safety Jimmie Ward. Lynch told CBS Chicago that he didn't train for safety drills but agreed to do them when a few NFL coaches made the request at his pro day.
"A few teams really like me at running back, and I did some safety footwork drills (Friday) out of the blue and got some positive feedback there," Lynch said. "They said I have nice feet, quick feet.
"Whatever gets my foot in the door," he said. "The more you can do, the better."
Lynch showed off those quick feet at the combine, where his time in the 3-cone drill -- which measures a player's short-area quickness and agility -- was 6.55 seconds, the third-fastest of any player at the event, behind BYU free safety Daniel Sorensen (6.47) and Louisville wide receiver Damian Copeland (6.53). By comparison, Johnny Manziel, a quarterback well known for his quickness, posted a 3-cone time of 6.75 seconds.
Even Ward, who is Mike Mayock's No. 3-rated safety in the draft, was impressed with Lynch's work in his drills Friday.
"Jordan looked smooth," said Ward, who also had a strong pro-day workout, including a 40 time of 4.45 seconds. "Jordan looked better than me in one of the drills."
Lynch also worked out as a quarterback Friday, and despite looking shaky on a few of his throws, he told CBS Chicago that he remains confident that he has future as an NFL quarterback.
"I helped myself today," he said. "I threw every NFL route today. Threw on time, threw on target, threw everything. Maybe a few incomplete passes here and there.
"I'm a quarterback first," he said. "I've said that over and over. And I think a lot of scouts will start realizing that I can play quarterback, and all these other drills will go out the window."
Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter _@NFLCFB_.
