HOUSTON – University of Houston quarterback Clayton Tune has checked several boxes during the draft process.
He has displayed arm strength, accuracy and tested well at the NFL scouting combine.
His Pro Day throwing session at his campus Pro Day workout, overseen by private quarterbacks coach Jordan Palmer, went extremely smooth with NFL scouts remarking about his velocity and mechanics.
And Tune has multiple visits and workouts with teams. He’s expected to be drafted higher than many analysts have projected.
Tune has visits with the hometown Texans, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants and his workouts include the Los Angeles Rams.
His Pro Day was attended by Texans general manager Nick Caserio. Tune connected well with wide receiver Tank Dell, who also visited the Texans.
“It felt good, I thought I did well,” Tune said. “A couple of teams came up to me afterward and said: ‘Good job, you are ripping it around and we look forward to staying in touch.’”
Tune ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at the combine with a 37 1/2 inch vertical leap and a 10-2 broad jump. with a 6.89 three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle.
Tune led the Coogs to an 8-5 record and a win in the Independence Bowl over Louisiana, also throwing 40 touchdowns to set a single-season record.
A native of Carrolton, Texas, Tune passed for 11,127 yards and 95 touchdowns for his career while completing 63 percent of his throws with 1,298 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.
“I think if you just look at my track record, I just make the team better wherever I go,” Tune said. “As long as I have been playing football, I make the team better. I help us win games. This past season if you just look at the amount of times, we had to come back in the fourth quarter. I feel like I was able to play well in crunch time and bring my team along to get us the lead late in the game.”
The Texans have the second overall pick and are expected to draft a quarterback.
Tune would welcome playing for the Texans.
“It would be awesome,” Tune expressed about possibly playing for the Texans. “To be able to stay in Houston and play in front of my fans. I am sure there are a lot of UH fans, that are also Texans fans, so being able to play in front of the same crowd would be great. I am super familiar with the city so it would be awesome.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.