More from NFL Pro Day prep

• TWEET
• SHARE
• SHARE

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of last week with Penn football seniors Brandon Copeland, Joe Bonadies and Scott Lopano, observing their workouts and getting a feel for what their expectations are for Monday's Pro Day at Villanova and the draft/free agency progress. There was a lot of information that didn't make it into Monday's story, so I wanted to make sure it got out.

At Tuesday's workout, Copeland was working with Penn quarterback Ryan Becker, who had just been cleared for spring workouts after tearing his ACL last summer and missing all of the 2012 season. Becker has a rocket for an arm, which is exactly what Copeland will get at Monday's pro day and Saturday's Ravens Combine during linebacker drills. Quarterback Billy Ragone, defensive back Justyn Williams and Lopano have all played QB for Copeland the past few weeks, but Becker challenges him the most. Copeland looked good, missing just two catches out of at least 40 over the course of the workout. He's been working under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach Steven Brindle and Copeland's agent, Ed Wasielewski.

He runs routes, first as a walk-through, then halfspeed and twice at full speed. Then he does it all again in the opposite direction. After one route, he says to Becker, "If I can do these, I can do anything." He does them with ease. Then he moves on to defensive line drills, perfecting the motions that he's done day in and day out for years. Becker encourages him. "Hit it!" he yells. "You can hit harder than that!"

On Wednesday, I meet the three at Fox Fitness Center to go down into the varsity weight center at 10 a.m. sharp. They start with hip openers before moving into plyometrics and then they begin lifting. They're prepping for the bench press, where they'll complete as many reps as possible at 225 pounds. Copeland started at 24 reps the first time he tried it and is going for 30 on Monday. Bonadies started at 14 and is going for 20, while Lopano started at five and is now going for 10.

All the while, Brindle is talking strategy with the guys for their benching. Every exercise they do is to help with this lift, and even the way they breathe and how they are positioned on the bench is important. Toward the end of the workout, they each practice at 205 pounds to see how many reps they can do. Bonadies gets 21. Copeland hits 30. "You're going so fast that your back is almost coming off the bench — that's what you want," Brindle says.

At 11:15 they go upstairs to the Franklin Field turf for agility work and Lopano begins his own punting workout. Brindle directs Copeland and Bonadies through the drills, again doing a walkthrough, then half speed then a few at full speed. They're preparing for the 20 and 60-yard shuttles, and every movement matters. Brindle tells Copeland to turn his shoulder before he hits the turns, and Copeland puts it into action. "The way you exploded out, like 'Okay, I'm about to run a 40,' that's how it's got to be," Brindle says after a quick turn. He does a 20-yard shuttle for time. 4.28. A personal best. "You lifted your knees out of the first step and exploded the whole time," Brindle says. Copeland does it again, and even with an extra step on the second turn, he clocks in at 4.28 again.

They move onto the 60-yard shuttle, and before a timed run, Bonadies repeats the mantra they've been saying for the past 14 weeks: "Time to get paid." Copeland goes 7.25, another personal best. As they walk off the field and head toward the training room for ice baths, electrical stim and stretching, Brindle says, in regards to Copeland's earlier knee setback, "It's like it never happened"