Just a little more than a week after running a 4.66 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, the 19th best time out of 33 participating running backs, running back Montee Ball posted a 4.46 at the Badgers’ Pro Day.

Back on his home turf at the Dave McClain Center, Ball showed why he’s still one of the best backs available in the 2013 draft, running for scouts that represented 30 of the NFL’s 32 teams.

After the disappointing performance at the combine, Ball said he increased his focus by training in Madison and focusing on his 10-yard starts with some of his former coaches.

“I really had my mind set on the 40,” Ball said. “I was disappointed (with the first 40). I knew I was faster than that and I think I proved that today. I knew I was capable of getting under a 4.5.”

Ball also improved his short shuttle time, finishing in 4.11 seconds, another vast improvement compared to his 4.4 at the NFL combine. He also participated in individual drills for NFL scouts and showing off his pass catching skills.

One of the receptions Ball made was on a ball thrown at his shoelaces, catching the ball in stride and drawing a few wows from the surrounding media and scouts.

“I like when the low balls and high balls come,” Ball said. “You want a bad pass to catch it and show you have good hands.”

Ball’s improved 40 almost guarantees his stock will improve once the draft comes, promising a better payday if he’s selected as first round or high-second round pick. Known as a complete back and valued by scouts for his vision, patience and ability to get to the second level, the actual verification of Ball’s real straight-line speed may propel him to becoming the first running back taken by an NFL team in 2013.

One of the representatives of an NFL team was none other than Green Bay Packers’ General Manager Ted Thompson. The Packers were one of several teams who showed special attention for Ball, watching him in his individual workouts after the initial drills of the afternoon.

The Packers are in the market for a running back after a year that featured the team using five different running backs, with the most carries and yards going to second-year back Alex Green, who carried the ball 135 times for just 464 yards.

ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. currently has Ball listed as the No. 2 running back in the draft behind Alabama running back Eddie Lacy. In one version of his mock draft, Kiper has the Packers’ selecting Lacy, but after the solid overall performance Wednesday most likely boosting his stock, it doesn’t seem too farfetched that the Packers could end up selecting Ball.

Thompson proved even higher interest when he told Ball, who wasn’t planning on running the long-shuttle, that he should probably perform the drill.

“Once he told me that, I was ready to go,” Ball laughed.

“I’d love to play anywhere and I’d love to play in Green Bay. I think they are (interested). You hear whispers they’re looking for a three-down back.”

Mixed results for Badgers’ defensive backs

Another pair of recently graduated UW players, cornerbacks Marcus Cromartie and Devin Smith, also participated in Wisconsin’s Pro Day.

Cromartie, who wasn’t invited to the NFL combine, surprised everyone but himself when he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash for the NFL scouts, the best of any of the Wisconsin players that participated in Pro Day. He also recorded a vertical of 34 inches.

“I was satisfied, my goal was to run a low 4.3, and a 4.35, I can work with that,” Cromartie said.

With the 40 time in the books, Cromartie appears to be an intriguing prospect to NFL teams. With attractive height and size for an NFL cornerback at 6-foot, weighing in at 195-pounds, the speed may help elevate the corner from a tryout invitation on an NFL squad to seeing his name drafted in the later rounds.

Cromartie trained with Pittsburgh Steelers’ cornerback Ike Taylor and former first round pick cornerback Favian Washington, who played most recently in 2011 with the Saints, in Orlando, Fla.

Taylor, like Cromartie, wasn’t invited to the combine, but propelled himself into a fourth round NFL draft selection in 2003 when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.18 seconds at his Pro Day.

Shelton Johnson, one of the Badgers’ starting safeties from 2012, ran a 4.4 flat in his 40 Wednesday afternoon. Johnson is just hoping to get his foot in the door and have a team give him a shot.

“They’ll take the results and do what they do with it, but (playing in the NFL) is the dream,” Johnson said. “I’ve been out there since January 1st working.”

But, the big surprise came with the performance of Devin Smith in the 40, recording a slow time of 4.5 seconds. However, Smith looked quick and agile in the other drills during the afternoon, prompting compliments from scouts representing the Titans and Jets.

“I felt like I could have ran a lot better, faster than that,” Smith said in regards to his 40 time. “I have in the past. Nerves just got to me.

“I think my footwork went really well. I think overall it was a great day.”

Frederick, Wagner show off steps

Although they didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash, offensive linemen Travis Frederick and Ricky Wagner displayed their speed in footwork drills, displaying their pull techniques and initial first-steps off the line.

The scout who led the individual drills was affiliated with the Miami Dolphins.

Both lineman ran the 40 at the NFL Combine, with Frederick recording a 5.58 and Wagner with a 5.17. Wagner also recorded the third-best vertical jump of any offensive lineman at the combine with a leap of 31.5 inches.

With the focus more on the 10-yard split of the 40 for offensive lineman, both were satisfied enough with their combine results to feel no urgency to run again.

“I’m never running another 40 in my life,” Wagner said. “I don’t run more than 10 yards.”

“It’s not often you see an offensive lineman running 40 yards down the field,” Frederick said. “Unless hopefully your running back has scored, in which case you can trot it down the field.”

Frederick is ranked as the No. 1 center in the 2013 draft class by ESPN’s Kiper, thanks to his run-blocking skills and versatility. The All-Big Ten center started at both guard positions during his career at Wisconsin, something that makes him an easy sell to any NFL team with needs on their offensive line.

Note: Linebacker Mike Taylor sat out of the combine due to an ongoing recovery from surgery on a sports hernia Jan. 7.