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During his four years at Northwestern, superback Dan Vitale was a do-it-all player. It's those many talents that he will try to showcase to NFL scouts in the lead up to April's NFL Draft.
That process got off to a great start this week at the NFL Combine.
Vitale, who is transitioning to fullback, worked out with the running backs in Indianapolis and shined.
After his measurements in terms of height, weight and arm length were unspectacular, he crushed the athleticism drills, ranking him among the top fullback Combine performers since 1999, according to Mock Draftable.
Here are his results and those of the other fullbacks in this year's draft class:
Bench press: 30 reps of 225 pounds
This is an absurd number for a fullback and was tied for the best mark set by anyone in the running back position group this year. Nebraska's Andy Janovich matched Vitale's mark. The record for reps by a running/fullback is 36, set by Wake Forest's Tommy Bohanon in 2013.
Here's how Vitale compared to other fullback prospects at the Combine:
| PROSPECT | REPS | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK* |
| Dan Vitale, Northwestern | 30 | T-1 | 2 |
| Andy Janovich, Nebraska | 30 | T-1 | 13 |
| Soma Vainuku, USC | 26 | 3 | 5 |
| Glenn Gronkowski, Kansas State | 17 | T-17 | 1 |
*Rankings via CBS Sports
40-yard dash: 4.60, official
Again, this is a really strong mark for Vitale. When combined with the bench press, it shows teams that he is an explosive athlete in both the weight room and on the field. He's a multi-dimensional prospect.
Here's Vitale's second run, which was first timed at an unofficial 4.58:
Also, here's how the Wheaton, Ill. native compared to the other fullbacks:
| PROSPECT | TIME | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Dan Vitale | 4.6 | T-16 | 2 |
| Soma Vainuku | 4.68 | 19 | 5 |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 4.71 | 20 | 1 |
| Andy Janovich | 4.81 | 22 | 13 |
Vertical jump: 38.5 inches
If you haven't realized it yet, Dan Vitale absolutely destroyed the combine from an athleticism standpoint. His 38.5 vertical was the third-best mark out of all the running backs, and it's especially impressive with Vitale showing up at the combine at a chiseled 239 pounds.
| PROSPECT | HEIGHT (in.) | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Dan Vitale | 38.5 | 3 | 2 |
| Andy Janovich | 34.0 | T-11 | 13 |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 33.0 | 15 | 1 |
| Soma Vainuku | 32.0 | T-18 | 13 |
Broad jump: 10 feet, 3 inches
Shocker. Vitale outclasses the rest of the fullbacks again.
| PROSPECT | Length | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Dan Vitale | 10'03'' | T-5 | 2 |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 10'00'' | T-10 | 1 |
| Andy Janovich | 9'11'' | 13 | 13 |
| Soma Vainuku | 9'00'' | 22 | 5 |
Three cone drill: 7.12 seconds
The three cone drill tests a player's ability to change directions. It relies less on straight speed and more on quick, rapid movements. Only 13 players competed in this drill.
| PROSPECT | TIME | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 7.10 | 8 | 1 |
| Dan Vitale | 7.12 | 9 | 2 |
| Andy Janovich | 7.28 | 13 | 13 |
| Soma Vainuku | N/A | N/A | 5 |
20-yard shuttle: 4.12 seconds
This drill tests lateral quickness and explosion in short distances. Clearly, this is one of Vitale's strengths as he led all running backs in this drill. Only 13 players competed in this drill.
| PROSPECT | TIMES | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Dan Vitale | 4.12 | 1 | 2 |
| Andy Janovich | 4.32 | 9 | 13 |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 4.45 | 12 | 1 |
| Soma Vainuku | N/A | N/A | 13 |
60-yard shuttle: 11.36 seconds
This is basically an extended version of the 20-yard shuttle, and Vitale came through again. Twelve players participated in this test.
| PROSPECT | TIMES | RB RANK | PROSPECT RANK |
| Dan Vitale | 11.46 | 3 | 2 |
| Andy Janovich | 11.95 | T-10 | 13 |
| Glenn Gronkowski | 11.95 | T-10 | 1 |
| Soma Vainuku | N/A | N/A | 13 |
To put Vitale's performance in perspective, let's compare his combine numbers to that of Alabama star Derrick Henry, regarded as one of the top-two running back prospects in this draft. Both players competed in every drill.
| Dan Vitale | Derrick Henry | |
| Height | 6'1'' | 6'3'' |
| Weight | 239 | 247 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.6 | 4.54 |
| Bench press reps | 30 | 22 |
| Vertical jump | 38.5'' | 37'' |
| Broad Jump | 10'03'' | 10'10'' |
| Three-cone | 7.12 | 7.2 |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.12 | 4.38 |
| 60-yard shuttle | 11.36 | 11.5 |
Here's video of Vitale in one of the position-specific running back drills:
Dan Vitale impressed me with his movement skills today. He had a very good NFL combine. pic.twitter.com/ozKEaHGGX0
— Ethan Young (@NFLDrafter) February 26, 2016