For Josh Lenz, Iowa State’s Pro Day on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, could not have come any sooner.

It was one last chance to showcase his skill set to a large group of NFL scouts before the 2013 NFL Draft on April 25.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Lenz said. “I didn’t have the numbers I wanted this year. [I] knew I had to put up some big numbers here, and I put up the numbers I needed to turn some heads.”

The skill Lenz knew he could turn heads with was his time in the 40-yard dash. The former ISU wide receiver recorded an unofficial time of 4.38 seconds, which would have tied him for eighth place at the 2013 NFL Combine.

Lenz was happy with his personal best time and noted what he was capable of when the adrenaline begins to kick in and has had positive feedback from the scouts he had talked to Tuesday.

“We were supposed to do a couple starts, and I hit one and I said I’m feeling good so I’m just going to kind of lock in mentally,” Lenz said. “And [I] stepped up to the line and just went through the routine I’ve been going through the last three months and hit off.”

Lenz also set a personal best in the bench press, doing 21 repetitions of 225 pounds, which would have put him tied for fifth at the NFL Combine among wide receivers. The NFL-hopeful credits his success on Pro Day to the preparation he received from director of strength and conditioning Yancy McKnight as well as assistant strength and conditioning coach Clayton Oyster.

“I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else,” Lenz said. “I’ve been here for four years and every year the guys have stayed here and performed awesome. I had some school to finish up anyways and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. These guys are awesome.”

McDonough strengthens his case 

When preparing for Iowa State’s Pro Day, Jake McDonough viewed it as any other workout. There was really only reason behind his strategy.

“That’s what keeps your stress levels down and your heartbeat from going through the roof,” McDonough said. “But it’s just another workout.”

Like his teammate Lenz, McDonough had also been looking forward to catching the attention of NFL scouts for a long time. After not being invited to the NFL Combine earlier this year, McDonough saw it as an opportunity to have extra time to train for Pro Day.

“It was something to prove, I felt like I came in with a chip on my shoulder,” McDonough said. “I felt a little overlooked, but it is what it is and I was able to come out here today and show I was able to compete with these guys.”

In the bench press, the first test of the day, McDonough recorded 37 repetitions at 225 pounds, only one short of the best mark at the NFL Combine this year. It was a personal best for the defensive lineman.

Oyster was pleased with the success not only McDonough and Lenz showed, but the rest of the participating athletes as well.

“This has probably been our best group we’ve had in terms of taking tenths off their 40 and their verticals and their broad [jumps],” Oyster said. “They all improved. That’s something you don’t always see.”

Now for McDonough, the waiting game begins. Waiting for invitations to workout at a team’s facility, private workouts and draft day will occupy his mind.

“It’s building up to the biggest day of your life,” McDonough said of the process leading up to draft day. “It’s deciding whether or not you are going to make it to your dream job basically.”