Buffalo's Mike Williams looked like he helped his prospects in the NFL Draft Monday with

an impressive workout at the Thurman Thomas Training Center in Elma.

Williams improved on most of his numbers from the NFL Combine workouts six weeks ago and

looked good in receiving drills.

The former Syracuse receiver is regarded by many scouts as a second-round talent. The

question is whether getting kicked off the Orange team after seven games last fall will cause

him to drop lower than the first 64 picks when the draft is held April 22-24.

"I made some mistakes. I've got to learn from my mistakes and make up for it," Williams

said after his 60-minute workout.

Representatives of six NFL teams attended the workout: Buffalo, Baltimore, Cleveland, Green

Bay, Tampa Bay and San Diego. Williams has visited Miami, Baltimore, Tampa, San Diego and

Cleveland and has five more visits scheduled.

"I've just tried to let all of them know that I can do this," Williams said. "This is what

I do. I love football. If I don't go in the first round, I'm going to be the steal of the

draft. I tell people that: it don't matter where I go, I'll be the steal of the draft. I'm

going to be a good character guy and love my teammates."

Some NFL scouts compare Williams' on-field ability to that of Brandon Marshall, Denver's

two-time Pro Bowler. Williams has size (6-foot-2, 221 pounds), good hands and explosiveness.

He ran a 40-yard dash times of 4.53 and 4.55 seconds, based on two different scouts' watches.

He ran 4.53 at the combine, good for such a big wideout. Williams ran a short-shuttle of 4.17

or 4.21 seconds (depending on the stopwatch), which would have been seventh-best at the

combine (where he did 4.31). His vertical jump improved from 33.5 to 36.5 inches. His broad

jump improved 2 inches to 9 feet, 10 inches.

Williams, a Riverside High graduate, caught 133 passes for 2,044 yards and 20 TDs in 31

games for Syracuse. He was forced to sit out the entire 2008 season because he was caught

cheating on an exam. Williams spent a year at a junior college and got three B grades required

for re-admission to Syracuse.

He had 49 catches in seven games last season but then was dismissed from the team by

first-year coach Doug Marrone.

"Anybody who thinks Mike has character issues is nuts," said Riverside coach Tony

Truilizio. "I had a very extensive conversation with coach Marrone from Syracuse, and I talked

to Mike. It was clearly a communication problem on both parts. But to say Mike has character

issues or is a quitter is foolish."

"If you look at the paperwork previous to the academic issue, my understanding is he had

the most hours in the tutoring program. Afterward when he was sent home and sent to junior

college he maintained his grade point average and fought his way back on the team. After he

got back to Syracuse, he still maintained a pretty high standard, to give Syracuse credit

where it's due. They're about academics first."

"He showcased himself as one of the elite receivers in the draft," said Williams' Atlanta-

based agent, Hadley Engelard.

Meanwhile, Niagara basketball player Tyrone Lewis also had a workout for NFL scouts Monday.

Lewis was a good cornerback in Levittown, Pa., but hasn't played football in five years. He

just finished an outstanding hoops career at Niagara, finishing third in career scoring and

first in steals.

Lewis received a Facebook message from Packers scout Eliot Wolf after Wolf watched Niagara

beat Siena in a game on ESPN on Feb. 12. "Do you have any interest in playing football again?"

inquired Wolf, who was impressed by Lewis' athleticism.

That led to Monday's session. Five teams showed up — Buffalo, Cleveland, Green Bay,

Indianapolis and San Diego. Lewis said he was not told his 40 time, but he got positive

feedback from Packers scout Lee Gissendaner.

"He just said, "You're athletic enough to play,' " Lewis said.

Lewis is likely to have offers to play pro basketball in Europe. But he's intrigued by the

idea of being invited to an NFL camp.

"There's a lot of good college football players who can't say they had a pro day," he said.