SEATTLE — Travis Feeney was one of the standouts during the NFL combine in February, a performance that moved the former Washington linebacker into the discussion as a potential second-day pick during the draft.
Turns out Feeney estimates he was about “70 or 80 percent” at the combine while dealing with a sports hernia.
“There was no thought about putting off the combine. The combine was definitely going to be done,” Feeney said. “That was my decision and I was going to the combine no matter what.”
Feeney had surgery two weeks ago and was just a spectator Thursday as Washington held its annual pro day with a handful of his former teammates going through workouts under the watchful eye of representatives of nearly every NFL team, and most of the Seattle Seahawks staff, including general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll.
But unlike a year ago when scouts and spectators crowded the track around Washington’s indoor practice facility to watch three future first-round picks work out — Danny Shelton, Shaq Thompson and Marcus Peters — the crowd was much smaller and the attention far less.
Of those in attendance on Thursday, Feeney is the only one being projected to be drafted. He played through shoulder problems during his senior season at Washington, where he was second-team all-Pac-12 and finished third in the conference in tackles for loss and sacks.
“I’m good. I’m ready to go,” Feeney said. “My shoulders feel good. I’ve played through things before. I always played through things. I take that as a good thing. I missed one game my whole career here. Not many people get to say that.”
Feeney and fellow linebacker Cory Littleton were the only two Washington players invited to the combine, but Feeney was one of the top performers. He ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash for a linebacker at 4.50 seconds, had the highest vertical leap at 40 inches, and was second in the broad jump at 11 feet, 1 inch.
Littleton did participate in Thursday’s pro day, along with running back Dwayne Washington, and wide receivers Jaydon Mickens and Marvin Hall, among others. One of the surprises was defensive lineman Taniela Tupou spending time later in the workout catches passes as a fullback. Tupou said he was just trying to display as many skills as possible to get a look from NFL teams. Tupou was used as an extra tight end in some goal line sets last season.
