"He did well in the workouts," said one NFC scout. "He caught everything that was pretty much thrown his way and I think he helped himself out. He looked good running routes and running with the ball after he caught it."

Quarterback Tim Chang, Owens' former UH teammate, also completed his workouts at the combine and impressed some scouts.

Owens bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times — numbers that linebackers and linemen usually post — and was clocked unofficially at 4.63 in the 40, a pedestrian time that certainly will not improve his stock for the NFL draft scheduled for April 23 to 24.

But Owens' proficiency as a kick returner — he returned five punts forÊtouchdowns as a senior — might be his ticket onto an NFL roster.

"I think punt return will be the initial thing that gets his foot in the door," said another NFL scout. "Then he can establish himself and go from there. As a receiver, he'll have to be the type of player that will have to find a role and the offense will have to identify a role for him because of his (lack of) size.

At a lifted 5 feet 9 and 174 pounds, Owens was ultra-productive in college, catching 239 passes for 3,031 yards and 29 TDs in four seasons.

"He's very quick. He's like a run-and-shoot type of receiver from the mid-80s with the (defunct USFL's) Houston Gamblers in the Jim Kelly days. Because of his size and short stride, he's a 10- to 20-yard speed player," a scout said.

Chang also impressed during combine drills. Throwing six different routes four times apiece with the rest of the quarterbacks, the most prolific passer in NCAA Division-I history was consistently on target.

"He threw the ball well," said an NFC scout. "He was pretty accurate with it. He still can improve on his arm strength, but he was still good. He was hitting the guys in stride. He had one or two misplaced balls, but he did well overall."

The same scout cautioned that despite the effort, Chang probably didn't boost his draft stock with the performance, but he didn't hurt it either. "He probably stayed the same," he said. "He didn't stand out amongst the crowd, that's for sure."

Chang passed for an NCAA Division I record 17,072 yards while operating Hawai'i's offense. But the 6-2, 211-pounder threw virtually every pass with a three-step drop from the shotgun formation. His greatest adjustment at the NFL level figures to be taking snaps from center and learning to throwÊwith five- and seven-step drops.

"It's the same thing with all the shotgun guys," said an NFC scout. "Byron Leftwich (of the Jacksonville Jaguars) went through it. (Utah's) Alex Smith will go through it (this year). They've got to learn to play under center and read (defenses) and identify a little bit differently. He won't have as much time to drop and set and the mechanics are different."

The scout believes that Chang, who like Owens is projected as a late-round draft pick, has a legitimate chance to make an NFL roster.

Chang's experience and productivity certainly should work in his favor. In his final three collegiate seasons, Chang passed for 4,474, 4,199 and 4,258 yards. Equally as impressive was the fact that his touchdowns increased (25-29-38) while his interceptions decreased (22-20-13).

"He's certainly a very capable kid," the scout said. "He's thrown a lot more passes than most guys, so he should have an advantage there. His arm strength is good enough. He doesn't have the strongest arm. But you wouldn't say he's got a weak arm either. He's thrown the ball all over the field, so he's got repetitions throwing long, short and medium routes."