“It’s a wishbone of speed.”

That’s how NIU football coach Joe Novak described his backfield after Monday’s NIU Pro Day at the Convocation Center.

After a morning filled with stop watches and 40-yard dashes, Novak left the Convo knowing he had players who could move.

A total of 23 players clocked in times under 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash, but it was the running backs who took the top three slots.

Before Pro Day, senior-to-be A.J. Harris stressed how important it was for him to do well in the 40. And he didn’t disappoint. Harris stopped the clocks at 4.4 seconds, tops on the team.

Garrett Wolfe, who was third in the nation in all-purpose rushing yards, can now say he is the second fastest player on the team after running a 4.46. Adrian Davis rounded out the “wishbone” with a 4.5 second run.

“I think the Pro Day went very well,” Novak said. “I was extremely pleased with how much speed we have on the team.”

After finishing up the team’s winter sessions recently, Novak was happy to see how his players have progressed.

Heading into the spring season, Novak said the Pro Day will help a lot in deciding the many position battles on the team.

But the Pro Day didn’t just showcase underclassmen. Many of the seniors also got a chance to prove themselves in front of NFL scouts.

Among them was tackle Jake VerStraete. A two-time first-team All-MAC player, VerStraete went to the Pro Day to show himself physically to the scouts, but didn’t feel it was going to make to much of a difference on his draft status.

“It’s big to let the scouts see you in person,” the 6-foot-6, 305 pound senior said. “But they have already seen film on you and I think they get a lot more out of seeing that.”

VerStraete participated in most of the drills, but was unable to log a 40-yard dash time due to a strained hamstring he suffered during training. Travis Moore also couldn’t run because of a pulled quad.

Other seniors who worked out for the scouts were linebacker Brian Atkinson, cornerback Rob Lee and safety Lionel Hickenbottom.

Josh Haldi and Dan Sheldon were in attendance, but didn’t do any of the drills. Both attended last week’s NFL Pro Day in Indianapolis.