Zack Moss, Utah Football News: Draft Scout Player News

04/19/20 - RB Zack Moss, Sr/2020, Utah

For better or worse, the 40-yard dash is a significant factor in helping to determine an NFL draft prospect's worth, especially at a skill position like running back. Zack Moss ran the 40 twice at the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 28, and neither effort sufficed. One of a school-record nine prospects at the Combine, the University of Utah's all-time leading rusher ran a 4.72 on his first attempt at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, followed by a 4.65, making him the fourth-slowest of the 28 running backs to run the 40. It was revealed later that evening that Moss had tweaked his hamstring earlier in the day during other Combine drills, but he wanted to power through the rest. Either way, that 40 time would not do. That wasn't going to be a problem with Utah Pro Day slated for March 26. Moss would get his hamstring right, run the 40 again in Salt Lake City, and the 40 at the Combine would be an afterthought. The COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas. In the wake of the Pac-12 and the Utah athletic department suspending all athletic-related activities, Utah Pro Day was axed, which left Moss and his agent, Jamal Tooson, surveying their options.

"We were working closely with the University of Utah, reaching out to them to see if it would be canceled," Tooson told The Salt Lake Tribune. "When I was given confirmation they wanted to reschedule pro day, we needed to get ahead of the curve, get that workout done and get it to teams. "Zack's 40 was certainly one box teams had questions about. With the hamstring injury, he hadn't run consistently, so we needed to get that time and get it out there. That was critically important." On March 20, with a stay-at-home order bearing down on California, Moss ran a fully electronic 4.52 40 at Lions Field. A 4.65 wouldn't suffice, but a 4.52 certainly will. That mark would have been good for No. 10 among running backs at the Combine. - Salt Lake Tribune

Sr/2020