Shaka Toney puts up impressive numbers at Penn State’s Pro Day

While he didn’t put up quite the testing numbers as two of his Penn State teammates Thursday on the Nittany Lions’ Pro Day, Shaka Toney had to be the happiest and most grateful to be working out for the 31 NFL teams represented at the team’s Holuba Hall indoor facility.

“It’s exciting,” Toney, a 2020 first-team All-Big Ten defensive end from Imhotep Charter, said after completing his workout. “Every kid dreams of going to [the NFL Combine in] Indianapolis. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, we couldn’t do that. So it was nice to still get a way to be able to work out in front of the teams.

“We didn’t know if we were going to be able to do it. It’s truly an honor and a blessing, and you have to thank God for the opportunity. So I’m just thankful to go out here with my brothers one last time. It was great. I enjoyed it.”

The 6-foot-2, 242-pound Toney, who could become an outside linebacker in the pros, bench-pressed 24 reps of 225 pounds, clocked a 4.51-second time in the 40-yard dash, and ran 4.28 for the 10-yard shuttle and 6.95 for the three-cone drill. He also performed a 39-inch vertical leap and reached 10-feet-8 in the standing long jump.

“I thought I did good,” he said. “Some stuff I wanted to do better. Really, I’ve got to keep going. Can’t look back now. The day’s over. You don’t get a second opportunity. You have to live with what you put out there. There’s definitely stuff I should have done better.”

Toney was one of eight Penn State players who had been scheduled to work out for NFL scouts, executives, and coaches of 31 NFL teams. The featured players were linebacker Micah Parsons, considered a top-10 pick in many mock NFL drafts, and defensive end Jayson Oweh, who could sneak in toward the end of the first round.

The 6-5, 257-pound Oweh, who worked out with Parsons in southern California, ran a 4.36 40 compared to 4.39 for Parsons, who is 6-3 and 246.

The others to test Thursday were safety Lamont Wade, guard-tackle Will Fries, and guard Steven Gonzalez, whose last collegiate season was 2019. Tight end Pat Freiermuth and center Michal Menet were in attendance but did not test since they are recovering from injuries.

Toney impressed NFL scouts at January’s Senior Bowl even though he still was trying to gain back weight after testing positive for COVID-19 around Christmas. With the NFL draft taking place next month, most mock drafts have him going in either the third or fourth round.

He said he would be willing to add weight if teams decide they want to draft him as an edge rusher. He has been meeting with teams that employ the 4-3 defense and others that utilize the 3-4.

“I feel like the interviews have been great,” he said. “I’m really able to showcase my football knowledge and teams are finally able to get a chance to talk and really hear from me.

“I’m really a speak-when-spoken-to guy so this is their first time really interacting with me besides the Senior Bowl, and I think people are pretty excited by hearing me actually talk about stuff.”

Toney used his bench press reps to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia. He said his hope was to collect $2,500 off his 24 reps of 225 pounds, but he noted after his testing that the fund had swelled to more than $4,000.

“I really was just trying to start giving back early,” he said. “I don’t want to wait. A lot of people might want to wait until they get themselves situated. I kind of want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.”