Eagles Host Local Pro Day

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) — The Eagles hosted their annual local pro day on Thursday, allowing players from various area colleges or high schools the opportunity to catch the eye of the team's personnel department.

Talented Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich was the headliner and took part in the activities along with teammates Kyle Friend, a center, wide receiver Robby Anderson and offensive lineman Shahbaz Ahmed.

Also on hand, according to various media sources, were Maryland running back Brandon Ross, Monmouth tight end Hakeem Valles, Lafayette cornerback Matt Smalley, Penn offensive lineman Tanner Thexton, Rutgers running back Paul James, Princeton defensive back Anthony Gaffney, West Chester tight end Tim Brown, Eastern Michigan linebacker Great Ibe, a Maryland native, and North Carolina State tight end David Grinnage, a Newark, Delaware product.

Matakevich, the winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronco Nagurski Trophy this past season, finished his Temple career with 126 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. Friend, meanwhile, was first-team American Athletic Conference, and Anderson compiled a career-high 64 receptions for 873 yards and seven touchdowns at Temple last season.

Because each of these players went to high school or college in the area, none of them count against the 30-man limit the NFL imposes on teams for pre-draft visits.

The stars of last year’s local pro day turned out to be popular Delaware Valley wide receiver Rasheed Bailey and Villanova running back Kevin Monangai, who is currently in the Eagles' offseason roster. Bailey, meanwhile, excelled in the preseason last year before being waived and is currently with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973ESPN.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen