Cowboys, Redskins, Seahawks, Raiders on hand to watch Turpin run sub 4.4 at his Pro Day

KaVontae Turpin understood why TCU didn’t allow him to participate in its Pro Day on Friday.

“It was a little disappointing, but I kind of expected it,” Turpin said. “I’m keeping my head up. At the end of the day, I still support TCU. It is what it is. They’ve got standards and I had to take responsibility for my actions.”

Those actions include two pending domestic violence charges in New Mexico and Fort Worth, and TCU wasn’t going to allow Turpin to participate unless those legal issues had been resolved by Friday.

But Turpin held his own private ‘Pro Day’ after TCU’s concluded, and worked out in front of several teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, at Paschal High School.

Several of Turpin’s former teammates showed up in support, and former TCU quarterback Foster Sawyer threw passes for the drill portion.

But the most important part for Turpin happened after the workout, the interview session when he sat down with the NFL teams and addressed the off-field concerns surrounding him.

“Yeah, that was the biggest thing I was looking forward to,” Turpin said. “Just sitting down, talking to the scouts and coaches, trying to get my point across and get the story out there so they can know. The drills and all that stuff, that’s natural.

“The biggest thing I was looking forward to was talking to the coaches and showing I’m a good character guy.”

Turpin is being patient and remaining optimistic that his legal issues will be resolved favorably. He has a pre-trial hearing in New Mexico on April 18, and the Tarrant County district attorney’s office has repeatedly said the charges are “pending.”

In the meantime, Turpin is doing everything he can to pursue a professional career. Friday’s workout got him in front of pro scouts, and he has a workout with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.

On Friday, Turpin checked in at 5-foot-7, 158.1 pounds. He had a 40-inch vertical, which would have been top-five among wide receivers at this year’s NFL Combine, and a 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump.

He ran the 40-yard dash twice, once into the wind and once with the wind, and averaged in the mid-4.3-second range. Going into the wind, he was hand-timed in the 4.4-second range. With the wind, he was hand-timed in the 4.31-second range.

The most impressive hand-timed result was a 10.99-second 60-yard shuttle, which would rank as the top among all WRs at this year’s Combine. He had a hand-timed 4.09-second 20-yard shuttle and a hand-timed 6.57-second 3-cone drill.

Turpin was pleased with his results.

“I feel positive. I feel good,” Turpin said. “I came out here and competed. I feel good about the position I’m in. I’m putting it all in God’s hands. I feel like I had a great day.”

Turpin even did the 225-pound bench press, a drill players his size occasionally skip. He repped it twice.

“Guys my size, they never want to do it because it’s too heavy,” Turpin said. “But me? I’m just a humble guy, so whatever they want me to do, I’m going to go do it.

“That’s the type of player I am. If you want me to do it, I’m going to do it. No questions.”

Turpin feels he did well in receiving drills, too. Most scouts, he said, were interested in how he got in and out of cuts.

“They knew I was explosive,” Turpin said, “They just wanted to see it.”

Turpin expressed gratitude to the number of former teammates who showed up, as well as Sawyer for throwing to him. Turpin and Sawyer have each been training for a professional career at APEC in Fort Worth.

“I appreciate him,” Turpin said.

Turpin then smiled and said: “My brother from another mother. It’s all love there.”

The feeling is mutual.

“I’m proud of him, man,” Sawyer said. “We’ve been working out at APEC together and obviously I played two years with him. I’m proud of the guy. I know he’s been through a lot. He’s humbled himself and he’s kept his head down and out of trouble.

“The dude can play. He’s so explosive and has a catch radius of like a 6-foot-5 guy. He can jump out of the gym. And he’s a good guy off the field. He really is. He owns up to his mistakes and is ready to move on.”

The question now is whether an NFL or a professional team in another league is willing to give him a chance. His tape and production on the field, becoming the best return man in TCU history, speaks for itself.

“I feel I’ve got the tools to play in the NFL,” Turpin said. “I’m humble, so I’m trying to stay positive, stay patient through this process. I know I’ve got the tools. I’ve just got to get the opportunity.”