MADISON, WIS. -- Four Badgers received invites to last week's NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and that quartet of athletes also utilized Wisconsin's Pro Day to further show off their talents in front of all 32 teams.

Linebacker Leo Chenal continued to display his physical gifts. Though he did not reach the 42 reps of 225 pounds on the bench as he had previously hoped for, the Big Ten linebacker of the year finished with 34 reps. That would have placed first overall at the Combine, according to NFL.com's tracker.

Chenal also performed extremely well in the 3-cone (6.84 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (3.94 seconds) drills. Those two times would have ranked him first in the linebacker group at the Combine among those who participated in those drills, again according to NFL.com trackers.

That complemented a performance in Indianapolis where he ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash and registered a 40.5" vertical jump and 128" broad jump.

"Obviously as teammates of his, I've seen how much of a freak he is for a long time," offensive lineman Logan Bruss said. "It's pretty cool for him to show it to the whole world and for everybody to see what we've known for all these years."

Bruss himself performed only position drills on Wednesday for NFL personnel after his efforts in Indianapolis. Last week, he recorded a 5.32-second 40-yard dash, 31" vertical, 112" broad jump, 7.57-second 3-cone drill and 4.55-second 20-yard shuttle.

The Kimberly, Wis., native noted he "was able to get back fully a few weeks ago" from a foot injury that kept him out of the Las Vegas Bowl.

"I was able to feel good enough to do everything at the combine, which I was really happy with," Bruss said. "It's kind of good to put that whole process behind me and just being able to go forward healthy."

Linebacker Jack Sanborn ran the 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill on Wednesday, hitting 4.05 and 6.81 seconds, respectively. Those two marks, like Chenal's, would have placed him first among those in his position group who participated in those events at the Combine.

For tight end Jake Ferguson, Wednesday's event allowed him to improve in a couple areas. He ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash, shaving a 10th of a second off his previous 4.81-second effort. The former Madison Memorial product also recorded a vertical jump of 34.5", a three-inch increase from his 31.5" recorded at the Combine. That new jump also would have placed him tied for third in his position group for those that performed the drill in Indianapolis.

Those were the only two events Ferguson ran inside the McClain Center, along with position work at the end (all four aforementioned Badgers took part in position work on Wednesday). In Indianapolis last week, he recorded 15 reps of 225 pounds on bench press, 118" on the broad jump, a 4.48-second 20-yard shuttle and a 7.03-second 3-cone drill.

When asked if he felt pressure coming into Pro Day to show personnel he could perform better, the tight end said "a little bit."

"I wasn't down on myself or anything," Ferguson told BadgerBlitz.com and the Wisconsin State Journal. "I did feel that I could run a little bit better in the 40 even here, but I might be a little biased where I always think I can do better.

"I knew I could jump better vertical-wise. Like I said, I wasn't down on myself, but I knew a couple drills, I could do better. I hit my goals on some of the stuff in Indy, but I'd say it wasn't far off of a lot of my stuff."

*UW listed Ferguson at 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds on its 2021 roster, and his NFL.com draft profile listed him at 250 pounds. One can notice a change in the Madison Memorial product's body composition.

"I think coming in January, did a lot of testing on my body and I was 242 pounds, and I was like 16 or 17% body fat," Ferguson said. "I think was like 16.8, and by the sixth week, I weighed 248 and was 11[% body fat].

"So just eating clean, and just out there in Nashville, Tenn., at Lipscomb Academy with this guy named Jeremy Holt, who kind of runs that 'Tight End University' training. Just having him put me through a bunch of those workouts, really knowledgeable guy. Guy knows a lot of his stuff, and just being able to work with him was something that was really special with that kind of knowledge. I mean, see it in the numbers with my body, I feel different. I feel like I can run a little bit better, definitely since I was 260, 255 here, eating cheese curds. Getting my body right was one of my biggest goals."

*Defensive lineman Matt Henningsen registered a 4.07-second 20-yard shuttle, 7.02-second 3-cone drill, 119" broad jump, 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, and a 37.5" vertical jump. His shuttle time would have ranked first among those defensive ends and defensive tackles who performed in Indianapolis. His vertical would have placed first among the tackles and tied for fifth among ends.

Henningsen's 3-cone drill also would have seen him rank first among tackles and third among ends who participated in the Combine.

In terms of where Henningsen could line up position-wise, he has "actually heard a wide variety things based on where I can play."

"I can bump inside," Henningsen said. "You saw me here, I was doing a lot of different techniques here. My main position here was a 4i, but they brought me down to a three[-technique] to a 2i a little bit, even down to zero. Then they also bumped me out to a five[-technique]. I think my versatility is an asset that teams can see, and I hope that they can see that."

*Other impressive performances included wide receiver Kendric Pryor running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, a 4.10-second 20-yard shuttle and a 6.77-second 3-cone drill, along with recording a 38.5" vertical jump. Fullback John Chenal showed his strength and leaping ability with 29 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and a 37" vertical jump. Offensive lineman Josh Seltzner connected on a broad jump of 9'5" and bench pressed 225 pounds 26 times.

It was quite the homecoming at Pro Day. The list of former Badgers in town, either confirmed by BadgerBlitz.com or a UW official, included the following, but may not be limited to:

Jared Abbrederis, Chris Borland, LaMar "Soup" Campbell, T.J. Edwards, Rafael Gaglianone, Garrett Groshek, Alec James, Isaiahh Loudermilk, George Panos, Joe Panos Ben Strickland, Joe Thomas and T.J. Watt.

Campbell currently holds the position of vice president of player engagement with the Chicago Bears, while George Panos serves as a scouting assistant on the Houston Texans, according to his LinkedIn profile. Joe Panos currently represents Bruss as an agent and has done so with other former Badgers as well.

Edwards, James and Watt were seen speaking with head coach Paul Chryst during the event. Watt, the NFL's reigning defensive player of the year by the Associated Press, was also observed working with rising junior outside linebacker Nick Herbig.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @JakeKoco, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45

*Like us on Facebook