GREENVILLE, N.C. — Call it a Heisman handoff.
After former Florida State quarterback and 2000 Heisman Trophy recipient Chris Weinke was hired by the Rams last month, Shane Carden lost his private quarterback coach. Weinke’s replacement — 1986 Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde.
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Carden’s new mentor was at the East Carolina pro day on Thursday helping the Pirates quarterback through on-field drills in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams.
“I give him a lot of credit, not only for the hard work he’s put in, but for buying in to having someone new come in and change some of the things he had been doing,” Testaverde said. “If he continues with the program he’s in, he’s going to continue to get better."
Carden, who set school and conference passing records while at ECU, was training with Weinke at IMG in Bradenton, Fla. Following Weinke’s hire by the Rams, IMG called Testaverde, who lives in Tampa and had previously worked with quarterbacks at IMG. Carden said the transition from Weinke to Testaverde has been seamless.
“I told him it has to make sense to you,” Testaverde said of the change. “If it doesn’t make sense to you, then it’s not worth doing because you won’t believe in it. Everybody who has seen him throw before said he’s a different guy.”
Testaverde led Miami to the national championship game his senior year before playing 21 seasons in the NFL for eight teams. Tampa Bay’s all-time passing leader was a Pro Bowler in 1996 and 1998 with the Ravens and Jets, respectively.
He acknowledged that the game has changed a lot since he came out of Miami. He joked that maybe if he would’ve had a quarterbacks coach he “could’ve played a little longer... 21 years.”
Testaverde said Carden is a good enough athlete to make plays with his feet in college, but his footwork will need to improve to consistently make accurate throws in the NFL. While Carden has not taken many snaps under center, Testaverde said it’s not a big deal.
“It’s not as hard of a transition as people make it out to be,” Testaverde said. “But it will take some practice. The important thing is to get him to camp, but not just get there, but remain there. What’s going to keep him there is the way he throws the football and his accuracy, and decision-making. Those are the things we work on.”
Testaverde said Carden’s arm strength has improved and he “looks like an NFL thrower.” He also doesn’t put too much stock into the phrase, “system quarterback.”
“You can only run the system the coach tells you to run,” said Testaverde, who said he talks about NFL playbooks and pro offenses with Carden, who “retained a lot” from Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff at the Senior Bowl.
“He’s a smart kid. I learned that right away,” Testaverde said. “We covered the whole gamut of an NFL playbook and what it entails. Not that he can tell you the entire playbook, because it was just to introduce him so he knows what to expect.”
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Carden’s workout Thursday was interrupted for about an hour because of a heavy downpour.
“Things don’t always go your way, but you’ve got to work with it,” Carden said. “It went pretty well, even though we had to sit around for about an hour and come back out. But I thought the ball came out of my hand pretty well and that’s what I wanted to show.”
Testaverde has been trying to shorten up what he called an “awkward delivery” for Carden.
“I’ve changed my motion quite a bit the last three weeks,” Carden said. “He definitely helped me with my off-hand motion and to shorten my stride and I’ve got a lot more power now throwing the ball.”
Carden’s top receiver, Justin Hardy, who began his career as a walk-on only to finish as the NCAA’s all-time leading receiver, was fluid catching passes.
“Justin was Justin,” Carden said of Hardy. “He continues to get better. He ran great routes, caught some great passes. He was Justin. His hands look better since the combine. He looks better on his routes, if that was possible, he made it possible.”
Hardy’s 40-time was anywhere between a 4.44 and 4.64, depending on who you asked. But it was also something with which he was not concerned.
“There’s more to it than just getting out there and running,” Hardy said. “There’s technique.”
Two athletes scouts wanted to see work out were wide receiver Cam Worthy and defensive tackle Terry Williams. Worthy was unable to do any drills because of foot surgery two weeks ago. Williams, who had multiple suspensions while at ECU, but was at times dominant in the middle of the defensive line, did a disappointing 22 bench press reps of 225 pounds. The 6-1, 329-pound nose tackle then pulled a hamstring running his second 40.
Worthy caught 55 passes for 1,016 yards and four touchdowns last year in 11 games — missing two games because of a suspension. His size at 6-2, 214 and big-play ability is something scouts love, but some made the trip to Greenville without knowledge of his surgery. Worthy was unable to work out at the combine last month because of his broken foot, an injury which occurred at the Medal of Honor Bowl.