"There weren't any tight ends breaking 4.5," said Tamme, who is now back in Lexington finishing his master's degree. "This just solidifies that I can run well."
Tamme was able to bench press 225 pounds 18 times. "Some tight ends did more, some less. For weighing in at the least weight (of any tight end), I did pretty well," Tamme said.
He had the second best-time in the 60-yard shuttle and was also satisfied with his effort in the 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drills.
His vertical jump of 30 inches was "middle of the pack" among the tight ends and was less than Tamme did in training sessions. He did, however, do the best he has in the broad jump.
"But I am still not much of a broad jumper. I don't know if it is my technique or what," Tamme said.
Testing and screaming
He had an interesting time on his 60-question, 12-minute Wonderlic Test that helps teams measure a player's mental, emotional and pyschological traits.
"You take the test before you do the bench press, which is in the room right beside where you take the test," Tamme said. "You are sitting there waiting to take this intense, 12-minute test and it's quiet. Then you hear the screams from the bench press room coming through the wall. It's a pretty neat experience taking the test with players and coaches screaming and going crazy in the next room. But I think I did pretty well and should have a decent score."
Tamme says the interviews with coaches and scouts were similar to what he experienced in January at the Senior Bowl, except the formal interviews were more structured. Each NFL team had a set number of players it was allowed to interview each night.
Tamme felt his interviews "went well." He talked to some tight end coaches, a few offensive coordinators and some special teams coaches.
Tamme says it is an adjustment to hearing draft analysts, and coaches, pick apart each weakness as they evaluate his draft potential. He says it's far different from being recruited to college when coaches talk about a player's strengths.
"If you are outside of the top five players in the draft, all you hear is the negative part," Tamme said. "But I feel like if I had a good enough career to get invited to the combine, I have to be a pretty good player. It's just that the NFL is a different level and you've got to be better than you have ever been to make it."
Kentucky's pro day will be March 5 when Tamme will have another chance to impress pro scouts if he decides to work out again.
"As of right now, I am not planning on doing everything again," Tamme said. "I might focus more on just running routes and catching balls because overall I was pretty pleased with all I did at the combine."
"Then it will just be time to wait and see what happens. Teams can come in and work out or fly you out to work out for them. But my plan is just to keep working and see what happens."
