Cincinnati Bengals linebacker David Pollack has not played a down of football since sustaining a career-threatening neck injury in Week 2 of the 2006 season, but that hasn't stopped him from contributing in other ways to the game he loves. The linebacker has been keeping himself busy training and working his way back to the playing field, and more importantly working with young prospects entering this year's NFL draft.

Pollack is acting as an assistant trainer and mentor to potential pro prospects who have been training at Ignitions Athletics Group in Mason, in preparation for what they hope is a life in the NFL.

Although many of the prospects have stood out during training, one has caught the eye of Pollack and now the NFL.

Purdue's Stanford Keglar shook up the NFL Combine last month. The little-known linebacker grabbed the attention of the entire NFL with his performance in Indy. Keglar finished No. 1 in four of the seven events. It was a Keg party for sure. Knowing that the Bengals are looking to add some depth to their linebacking corps, they may want to take a look at this intriguing outside linebacker.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker knocked out 29 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, and turned in times of 6.70 seconds in the 3-cone drill, 3.98 in the 20-yard shuttle and 11.43 in the 60-yard shuttle, tops among the linebackers participating. It was a performance that left scouts in awe. Keglar ran a 4.58 in the 40-yard dash and had a 34-inch vertical jump in Indy, but improved on those numbers at the school's Pro Day last week. Keglar ran a 4.54 in the 40 and posted a 39-inch vertical. He stood on all his other numbers from the Combine and did position drills.

The trainers at Ignitions Athletics Group weren't surprised by the performance of their star pupil.

"He's an unbelievable athlete," Pollack said. "He has balance, explosion and great flexibility. He has a lot of gifts. I haven't seen him play on the field, but just seeing him work off the field was pretty doggone impressive."

"It's been awesome," he said. "He's a guy you can tell that works hard every single day. You hear that about a lot of people, but I can't sa,y that about many people I've been around. He trains hard and we competed hard going against each other every day. He brought his lunch box every day. He definitely came to work and wasn't afraid to outwork everybody."

Pollack truly believes that Keglar has a future at the next level.

"Again, I haven't seen him on the field, but what I've seen off the field, heck yeah," Pollack said. "He's smart, powerful, and all that good stuff. He consistently came to the Bible study each week and is a great human being. I think he is a better person than he is an athlete. I think he'll be successful, and I definitely think that he will be on a team somewhere making plays and doing well."

Even Boilermaker teammate and Huber Heights native Greg Orton, a wide receiver, chimed in with high praise of his former teammate.

"Keglar would be a welcome addition to any team seeking a hardworking well-rounded linebacker," Orton said. "He's a legitimate player with high character."

Keglar and Orton respect each other's game, but they could never come to an agreement as to who got the best of whom in practice. However, each player marveled over the other's individual talent.

Keglar's stock is rising higher than Don King's fro. A number of teams have expressed interest in the linebacker. The New England Patriots are expected to work him out next week with more teams to follow. Once considered a sleeper, NFL teams are sleeping no more, because the Keg has arrived.

All I can say is that the trainers at Ignitions Athletics Group are churning out hot-ticket prospects like Krispy Kremes when the red light is on. Holla!