Buhach Colony alum, Stanford senior Shittu prepares for NFL draft

Aziz Shittu says the hard part is over.

While some may toil away the next month, writhing in anticipation by what will come of the 2016 NFL draft, the former Buhach Colony High School star and current Stanford senior is content.

“The way I see it, the hard part is over,” said Shittu, who participated in the Cardinal pro day on St. Patrick’s Day. “I’ve put in the time and work. I’ve padded my résumé as best I could. Now I can just sit back and enjoy what happens.”

Shittu fought off the disappointment of not garnering an invite to the NFL combine and put all his energy into his pro day performance. While the defensive lineman hoped an All-Pacific-12 Conference first-team nod, a Rose Bowl Defensive MVP award and a good performance in the East-West Shrine Game would be more than enough to earn an invite, there was at least a buzz around his omission.

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay named Shittu as one of his combine snubs and listed him as probable for going in the fourth or fifth round.

Shittu shook off the setback and used it as added motivation.

“It was definitely tough not receiving an invite to the combine,” Shittu said. “It would have been nice to get to go and see where I measured with some of the other draft prospects, but I knew it wasn’t my only opportunity to showcase what I could do.

“Pro day was a good day. I started training for it in February, so it was like a long, anticipated game day. There was probably a little extra pressure to perform because I didn’t go to the combine, but I wasn’t nervous. I wanted to show off how well I moved as a football player and felt like my overall football technique really shined.”

The 6-foot-3, 279-pound defensive end and tackle didn’t fair too badly on the strength end either. Stanford tweeted a video of Shittu completing 21 reps on the bench press to a hearty round of applause.

With one lasting memory for NFL general managers to mull over, Shittu now plays the waiting game until the draft April 28-30.

“Right now, some teams may invite you to some private workouts, but other than that, it’s pretty much waiting,” Shittu said. “I still don’t have a real good feel for where I might go in the draft, but that’ll probably narrow down in the next couple weeks. A lot of guys are still finishing their pro days. After they’re done, the scouts will start making recommendations, and teams that are interested should start contacting my agent.

“I don’t have any real plans for draft day. If my mom has anything to say about it, I’ll be in class that day. We’ll probably do just a small family gathering. This is something I’ve dreamed of since I started playing football as a kid. It’s an honor just to have the opportunity to be drafted, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.”

Danna earns another accolade – Courtney Danna’s junior year is going to be tough to top.

The UC Merced point guard already took home the California Pacific Conference MVP award after leading the Bobcats to an undefeated conference title and a second straight trip to the NAIA Division II Championships.

Danna can add NAIA Division II All-America honorable mention to her postseason haul. Danna averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in Cal Pac play. She’s the first woman from UC Merced to earn All-America status and the fourth athlete, joining soccer players Cody Golbad and Andy Galvan and former men’s basketball player Aki Chambers.

Finding her groove – There aren’t many people on the planet swinging a better bat right now than Merced College’s Brianna Lopez.

The freshman took her lumps early, picking up just four hits in her first 26 collegiate at-bats while adjusting to the next level. She seems to have made it, having crushed the ball since the beginning of March. Lopez has a hit in 12 of her last 14 games, good for a .391 average, and has driven in 21 runs during the span.

Lopez is hitting .306 overall, and her team-high 25 RBIs rank tied for 22nd in the state and, not coincidentally, the Blue Devils have won eight of nine during the hot streak.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Buhach Colony alum, Stanford senior Shittu prepares for NFL draft."