Church and Williams prepare for draft

Former Toledo football players Barry Church and Stephen Williams participated in the 2010 Scouting Combine over the past week in Indianapolis as they prepare for the NFL draft.

The combine, held from Feb. 24-March 2, puts players through various drills, tests and interviews in front of more than 600 NFL personnel.

Church recorded the fastest time among safeties at the combine in the three-cone drill, finishing in 6.65 seconds. The 6'2", 219 pound safety ran the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds. He tied for the fifth-highest total with 19 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press and was the second fastest in the 60-yard shuttle, finishing in 11.18 seconds.

Williams had a 10'5" broad jump for the second-highest total among wide receivers. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds. His time of 6.81 seconds in the three-cone drill tied for ninth. The 6'4", 210 pound wide receiver recorded a 36.5 inch vertical jump and was fourth in the 20-yard shuttle, finishing in 4.11 seconds.

"Barry Church is a fine football player. I look forward to seeing him playing on Sundays. Stephen Williams is in the same boat."

If either player is drafted by the Cleveland Browns, they may have Beckman to thank.

"A close friend of mine, Tom Heckert, is the general manager of the Browns," Beckman said. "I've been able to speak to Tom a little bit on the phone about these young men. They are fine football players, but they are also fine people."

Church was the fourth player in Mid-American Conference history to be named First-Team All-MAC in four seasons. He finished his career with 354 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 18 pass break-ups, six forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks and nine interceptions he returned 170 yards with two touchdowns.

Williams earned First-Team All-MAC honors for the first time last season after catching 79 passes for 1,065 yards and five touchdowns. He finished as UT's career leader in catches and receiving yards with 229 receptions for 3,102 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The 2010 NFL draft will be held from April 22-24 at Radio City Music Hall in New York and broadcast on ESPN.