SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Monday was supposed to be Ashley Lelie's big day. His coming out party, if you will. Some 50 scouts from 24 NFL teams flew to Southern California, stopwatches in hand, to see the rumored sub-4.3 speed first-hand.

They wanted to see if Lelie could run crisp, zig-zagging routes, a sharp contrast from the vertical schemes he executed at Hawaii. They wanted to see his soft hands, tall body and overall presence.

They wanted to see if he was legit.

For Lelie, this was it. After pulling his hamstring before the NFL combine and missing those tests, all his workout eggs were in this one basket.

His private workout, delayed until March 25 in part because of the NFL owners meetings and in part to give his hamstring a little more rest, was among the last for the top prospects. The weather was an ideal 70 degrees with a gentle breeze and not a cloud in the sky.

Everything seemed perfect.

"I like him," Washington Redskins player personnel director Vinny Cerrato said a half-hour before the workout. "But it will be interesting to see how he runs."

Little did Cerrato know just how prophetic he would be. For an hour later, after finishing his first 40-yard dash, Lelie came up limping. The moment he had waited for, the moment he had trained the past three months for, had gone horribly wrong.

A painful grimace twisting his face, Lelie hobbled to the infield grass, gingerly took a seat and began to massage his left leg. He knew. His agents knew. Everyone knew. He again had pulled his hamstring.

	“	Right there, I had the feeling I was pretty much done. It felt the exact same way the first time I pulled it -- like a really bad cramp. ”
		— Ashley Lelie

"Right there, I had the feeling I was pretty much done," Lelie said. "It felt the exact same way the first time I pulled it -- like a really bad cramp."

Still, despite slipping at the start and pulling up lame a few strides from the finish, Lelie ran a blistering 4.31 40-yard dash. One scout even clocked him at 4.25.

But as much as that dash might have boosted his stock, it also might have cost him,. The injury proved serious enough that Lelie not only couldn't run his second 40-yard dash, but he had to skip the shuttle drill and the passing routes so many teams were eager to see.

It made for an intriguing, cat-and-mouse day at Santa Monica Junior College. Some scouts felt their trip west was a waste, while others were hopeful that Lelie might now fall to their team and become a draft steal. Lelie's agents, meanwhile, were doing their best to put a positive spin on a roller coaster afternoon.

Two weeks ago, Lelie's sub-4.3 40 during his private training had everyone buzzing. Lately, though, the wide receiver talk has centered on Tennessee's Donte Stallworth, who turned in an impressive workout last week, running a 4.26 40, bench-pressing 225 pounds 17 times and showing great quickness on the football field.

Monday was Lelie's chance to the steal the headlines. And he did. Just not they way he had planned.

The setup
Even without an injury to shake things up, private NFL workouts tend to be anything but normal. Typically, there are at least three factions, all with their own agendas. The agents, out to emphasize their client's strengths while minimizing his weaknesses, usually choreograph the event, stage-managing it to the player's advantage. The player, meanwhile, just wants to run, having spent weeks chomping at the bit for a chance to show off. And the scouts, eager to get a clean and accurate read on the player, are left to sort out fact from fiction.

It makes for an interesting game, with every decision having a purpose. On this day, agent Ray Anderson let two scouts from the Atlanta Falcons run the show, in part because the Falcons have the 16th pick in the first round -- a spot where Lelie could be available -- and in part because Dan Reeves, Atlanta's head coach, is an Anderson client.

"Any agent who tells you he has a lot of pull about where his guy will go is lying to you," Anderson said. "Teams are going to draft players that they think can help their team. But we're going to do what we can to assist in that process."

But even the best-planned workouts are subject to change. Monday, a handful of unexpected party crashers who had gotten wind of the workout and were eager to turn heads showed up unannounced. After signing a waiver, some were allowed to stay. Others were told they weren't welcome.

"A lot of these guys don't stand a chance," one scout said. "But if they want to come out here, and the NFLPA says they can, we'll give 'em a shot."

The 40
Though the scouts pay just as much attention to a defensive lineman from Tuskegee as they do a receiver from Cal, the man everyone is hear to see is Lelie. After finishing his measurements for height (6-foot-3), weight (197), standing broad jump (9-foot-10) and vertical (39 inches), it was time for the 40.

The scouts queue up opposite the finish line, forming a single-file line that extends up into the bleachers, with each looking over another's shoulder to clock the exact instant the runners cross.

Six players rumble down the track before the man of the hour. The conversation and chatter that had provided a soundtrack for the other 40s fades to silence. There is anticipation, and there are nerves.

	“	Sure I'm nervous. I want to see him run his tail off. I know he can do it. ”
		— Doug Hendrickson, Lelie's agent

"Sure I'm nervous," says Doug Hendrickson, another Lelie agent. "I want to see him run his tail off. I know he can do it."

Adds Anderson, in a whisper: "On this track, I'd be thrilled with anything under a 4.3."

Finally, the silence reaches a crescendo, and Lelie takes off. He slips. No matter. Instantly, it is clear the clickety-clack of his red Nike's is infinitely faster than that of the previous runners. As he passes, there is a separation in the wind. This will be a good time.

James Lofton, the former NFL great and now a receivers coach for the San Diego Chargers, clocks Lelie at 4.35. Another scout has him at 4.25. The consensus? 4.31.

But those in the Lelie camp barely notice. While the scouts turn toward the next runner in line, Lelie limps to the infield grass in pain. Anderson and Hendrickson walk briskly over.

Instantly, the look on Lelie's face tells them the workout might be in jeopardy. It's time for the agents to act, and act fast.

Anderson, more than knowledgeable about who the decision makers are in a draft room, seeks the advice of Terry Robiskie, the receivers coach of the Cleveland Browns and former head coach of the Redskins. He also talks with Lofton. And George Stewart, receivers coach for the 49ers. They all tell Anderson the same thing: Forget about the other 40 and the shuttle run. Just have Lelie run some routes.

Said Stewart: "That's what we want to see anyway. And he's more than fine with that 4.3 40."

The audible
The decision is made. But the scouts timing the 40 don't get word until Lelie's turn comes up again. Due to a left hamstring strain, Lelie will not run his second 40.

A chuckle fills the air, and some are less than enthused. "You've got to be kidding me," one scout says to anyone listening. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible."

Hendrickson, Anderson and Lelie ignore the groans and move on. They have to get their client ready to run some routes. But even that doesn't work. Anderson was hopeful Lelie could go half or two-thirds speed, but the pain and a noticeable limp make it impossible.

Lelie ends up standing on the field catching balls, while other receivers zig-zag around him. It's anything but what he had envisioned.

"I've never had any injuries like this, ever," Lelie said. "And now when I need to be healthy most ..."

Lelie doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't have to.

The aftermath
The scouts have mixed opinions on what Lelie's workout, or lack thereof, will do to his draft stock. Cerrato think Lelie is a bit of a risk as a high first-round pick.

	“	When you're taking a guy that high, you want to have more answers than questions. And all this does is add more questions. ”
		— Vinny Cerrato, Washington Redskins

"When you're taking a guy that high, you want to have more answers than questions," Cerrato said. "And all this does is add more questions. Today, you wanted to see him run some routes and see his separation. Now he isn't able to do that. And you can't bring him in for a workout, because he's still not going to be healthy. It's a risk."

Lofton and Stewart, the 49ers receivers' coach, aren't so pessimistic.

"It's not like he's a track guy trying to become a football star," Lofton said. "I've watched the kid on tape for the last two years. I know he can play. I've seen what he can do. In fact, to run a 40 in 4.31 seconds, with a pulled hamstring and a slow start is impressive in its own right. None of this changes my opinion of him one bit."

Said Stewart: "If anybody is going to pass on him because he has a sore hamstring and wasn't 100 percent for his pro day, they're going to be missing out. I remember when Warren Sapp slipped because of the drug rumors, and Tai Streets slipped because of an Achilles injury. They became stars. This kid will be the same way."

Maybe. But for Lelie, things are hardly as comfortable, hardly as predictable as they were two weeks ago, when he was widely considered the top receiving prospect in the draft. Now, his status is anyone's guess.

His agents insist he's still a Top 15 pick. All along, Lelie has said he just wants to be drafted in the first round.

"I guess you could say it makes things more exciting," Lelie said, joining the spin-doctor game. "Because now I don't know what's going to happen."

Few do. For the scouts, it's back to the tape machine. They won't see Lelie work out any more before draft day, so they'll have to rely on his college game tape to place him on their draft board. For some teams, Monday's mishap will be a big deal, for others it won't matter in the least.

For Lelie, all that's left is to visit a handful of NFL cities to meet owners, reintroduce himself to coaches and do the best sales job he can without stepping on the field. His first stop? San Francisco, where he'll visit a hamstring specialist and shoot an EA Sports commercial with a other top NFL prospects From there, it's on to Tennessee, Kansas City, Atlanta and Jacksonville -- all teams that want an extra look.

For Anderson and Hendrickson, it's time to stay positive and crank up the spin machine. The work already is under way.

"All in all, sure everyone's a little disappointed," Hendrickson said. "But a 4.31 with a bad hamstring? We'll take that. A 39-inch vertical? We'll take that too.

"And the bottom line is I don't think this changes his stock much at all. He will still be one of the first receivers, if not the first receiver, to be drafted."

Between now and April 20, that'll have to do.

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Wayne.Drehs@ESPN.com.