Correction Appended

DeSean Jackson got his route, turned and singled out one of the men who were clustered along the sideline at Memorial Stadium.

"Post-corner," Jackson said. "I'm gonna kill it."

Jackson exploded out of his stance, stuck an inside fake and slowed up on the corner to give the underthrown pass some time to catch up to him.

It was as though he'd heard what the man on the sideline, who was a pretty talented receiver in his own right, had just said about him.

"He was so fast that I'm like 'Man, you've got to slow that down,'" said former San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice, who showed up to Memorial Stadium yesterday to watch Jackson perform for a group of about 50 NFL scouts at the Cal football team's Pro Day. "What I'm trying to let him know is that there's a time for your speed, but there's a time also where you've got to slow that down, learn to control it, and I think he's getting it."

Even without help from the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, Jackson is a virtual lock to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in late April. Still, the Bears wideout took some time out of his Tuesday afternoon to join a group of Cal seniors in trying to up their draft stock.

Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan-who made up one of the most prolific receiving corps in school history-seemed to be the main attraction Tuesday, as all three did the short shuttle run and three-cone drill with stopwatch-wielding scouts clustered around the finish lines. Hawkins and Jordan also ran the 40-yard sprint, and Jordan looked especially impressive.

"Some people had me at a 4.39 and 4.38, probably like a 4.41 average," Jordan said. "To get here and run a 4.41, it's actually OK because ... of the pressure. I've never performed in front of scouts or anything like that, so I'm real pleased with my performance."

The chatter after Hawkins' sprint indicated that his time was in the 4.6 range-lower than his average of 4.59 at last month's NFL Combine-but after running through position drills Hawkins said that he felt like he'd made a good impression Tuesday.

"I thought I did well today," Hawkins said. "I know I did better than I did at the combine so I'm very pleased with my workout.

"(The scouts) just told me great job today, and that's all I wanted to hear."

Senior tailback Justin Forsett, who impressed scouts at the combine-despite electing not to run-and in the days leading up to the Senior Bowl, participated in speed and strength drills yesterday in hopes of securing his projected draft spot in the second or third round.

"I think it was a pretty good day," Forsett said. "It's in the coaches' hands now, nothing I can do but wait and see. They know I'm a football player, they're very high on me right now, so they just have to pull the trigger."

All of Cal's seven combine invitees-Jackson, Hawkins, Forsett, safety Thomas Decoud, offensive lineman Mike Gibson, tight end Craig Stevens and punter Andrew Larson-participated in drills.

Correction: March 13, 2008
The caption of the photo accompanying yesterday's story "NFL Hopefuls Strut Their Stuff in Front of Scouts on Cal's Pro Day," incorrectly stated that Thomas DeCoud was speaking with an agent. In fact, DeCoud was speaking with a scout.

The Daily Californian regrets the

error.

Tags: PRO DAY