Southern California defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis, likely a top 10 pick in April's NFL draft, showcased his skill and ability during USC's Pro Day yesterday in Los Angeles.

Ellis was among 25 pro prospects who worked out for NFL coaches and scouts on the USC campus.

Accordig to nfl.com, Ellis weighed in at 297 pounds — 11 lighter than he weighed at the NFL Combine in February. He supposedly wasn't satisfied with his performance at Indianapolis, but helped himself by posting better numbers yesterday.

"I'm very proud of my day today, I felt like I did very well," said Ellis in an article written by By Frank Tadych on nfl.com.

"All my numbers went up. Nothing stayed the same or went down. I felt like I came out and showed great character. I'm just happy the way things have gone."

Ellis participated in all of the drills that were open to the media, with the exception of two agility drills.

He ran 5.02 and 5.05 in the 40-yard dash, shaving more than 0.2 off his time from the combine. He said he improved by two repetitions in the bench press, reaching 36 reps of 225 pounds, and increased his vertical to about 30 inches.

"You know just as well as I do that (the draft) is kind of a crap shoot," Ellis said. "Who might trade up, who might trade down, who might not like you for whatever reason, who might like you. Right now it's a waiting process. I wish it was tomorrow."

According to the article, Ellis said he has visits set up with three NFL teams, including Cincinnati and New Orleans, but isn't going to conduct workouts again for teams.

One squad that could hold particular interest for Ellis is Oakland, which has the fourth overall pick and lost the services of Warren Sapp, who retired.

Ellis is similar to Sapp in that he constantly gets penetration at the line of scrimmage, disrupting plays.

"That would make me feel pretty good," Ellis said about landing with the Raiders. "They have the fourth pick, they're right there in Northern California, a hop, skip and a jump from home. They're a team I feel like I could help."

Representatives for 30 of the 32 NFL teams were in attendance. Washington and Denver were the only teams not represented.

Along with Ellis, other Trojans who are projected in the top three rounds of the draft had solid workouts, the article said.

Quarterback John David Booty, who also worked out at the combine, didn't participate in testing but threw during the individual drills.

Booty felt the biggest question he faced from NFL scouts was his ability to the throw deep ball.

"I feel really good," said Booty, who threw approximately 80 passes for scouts. "I was really pleased with the deep balls today. That's something that I really wanted to come out and show. … I really showed what I was capable of doing on the deep ball. If I answered any questions, they were there."

Linebacker Keith Rivers, projected as a first-round pick, worked out for scouts for the first time after missing the combine with an ankle injury.

He ran an impressive 4.58 in the 40 and reached 42 inches in the vertical jump.

"I thought Booty threw the football extremely well, which he needed to, especially the deep ball, which he did," said NFL draft expert Mike Mayock. "Sedrick Ellis looked great … I think he really just solidified his case for being a top 10 pick. The story of the day was probably Keith Rivers."