2010 NFL Combine - Sunday Results
Who impressed at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday with the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers working out? Who had a disappointing showing? Doesn’t Anybody Want to Throw?
2010 NFL Combine – Sunday Results, QB’s, WR’s and RB Results
The annual NFL Scouting Combine is under way in Indianapolis, IN as we reported yesterday. On Sunday the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers worked out. Live From The Press Box.Com highlights the impressive and disappointing performers as reported to us by a Scout attending the event. The NFL Network provided the following stats regarding the players.
WHO IMPRESSED
Stanford running back Toby Gerhart (6-0, 231)
Gerhart opened up eyes when he ran the 40-yard dash in with an unofficial times of 4.53 and 4.58, the official time is probably around 4.6. The power back Gerhart had a lot of questions on if he had enough speed to be an NFL running back. Gerhart’s 40 time was better than optimistic projections. Unsurprisingly, Gerhart was fourth in running backs on the bench press with 22 reps. He was in the top 10 in the board jump and vertical jump of the running backs. Some felt that Gerhart had the most important sprint of any player in the 40-yard dash, and the Stanford standout made the most of it.
Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty (6-0, 225)
The Volunteers back had a fabulous showing at the scouting combine. Hardesty led all running backs in the vertical jump and board jump. That was after Hardesty had the fifth fastest 40-yard dash time for a running back at 4.49 seconds. Hardesty was sixth in the bench press with 21 reps. It was an excellent all-around combine that could cause a lot of NFL teams to re-evaluate Hardesty, who was projected to be a mid-rounder. Hardesty was a backup for most of his career. Tennessee running backs have had a lot success in the NFL, and last year Arian Foster went undrafted but still had a significant impact as a rookie in 2009. Don’t be surprised if Hardesty starts to rise.
Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster (5-9, 172)
Since the Senior Bowl McCluster has added seven pounds, and it looks like all of it is muscle. Despite his small size, McCluster finished seventh among running backs in the 225-pound bench press with 20 reps. Like Gerhart, McCluster also was in the top 10 performers at the board jump and the vertical jump. Those reps were better than some bigger power backs like Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer (5-11, 229) and Mississippi State Anthony Dixon (6-1, 233) who both had 15 reps. The Largo, FL product has fabulous speed, but that couldn’t be seen on his first 40-yard dash when he stumbled early on and ran an official time of 4.58.
Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn (6-1, 219)
Benn was in need of a good combine. His junior season he was hampered by some injuries and poor quarterback play. In limited opportunities in college Benn showed a nice combination of size and speed. At the combine Benn showed his skill set. He tied for the lead on the bench press among wide receivers with 20. Benn followed that up with a quality 40-yard dash time. The unofficial time was 4.48 seconds, so the official time was in the 4.5 range. On the pass catching drills Benn did a good job of running routes and catching passes. The combine performance shows teams that Benn put in the work to be ready, and excel in a pressure packed environment.
Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford (5-9, 186)
Ford had one of the fastest 40-yard dash times with a blistering time of 4.28, and Ford had 13 reps on the bench press. In the receiving drills Ford looked solid. For Clemson Ford showed some game breaking speed at times, and he was a track champion in college. However, at the Senior Bowl Ford did not burn defensive backs regularly with that speed and there are legitimate concerns about if that speed will translate to the football field in the NFL. Still a great 40 time helped propel former Buccaneer Dexter Jackson into the second round, and teams that place a high value on track speed, like the Oakland Raiders, will be intrigued by Ford after his great sprint in Indianapolis.
Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate (5-10, 199)
The Fighting Irish standout had an excellent combine that should help his draft status. Tate is a speed receiver and does not have good height or bulk. Thus, it was important for Tate to showcase excellent speed to help his draft status. Tate did just that in the 40-yard dash when he had an official time of 4.42. It was the fourth best time for the wide receivers. Tate also was seventh for wide receivers in the bench press with 17 reps. It wasn’t all perfect for Tate as he dropped three passes in the gauntlet drill. Still, the combine performance from Tate should help him, and could solidify him as a late first-round pick.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Kansas wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe (6-2, 207)
The Jayhawks standout who had some character concerns had a rough combine showing. His 40-yard dash time of 4.61 was slower than expected. Briscoe also had a poor showing on the bench press with only nine reps. In the pass receiving drills Briscoe had a bad dropped pass. The lackluster combine performance from Briscoe won’t ease the concerns about his work ethic and character. With the importance of the combine Briscoe gave teams a red flag about his preparation skills.
In other news we have to ask ourselves, does anybody want to throw at this years NFL Combine?
“Quarterbacks worked out at the scouting combine Sunday. But most of the big-name ones did not throw here, preferring to wait for their colleges’ pro days, when they can throw to familiar receivers.
That’s understandable for quarterbacks like Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy, who are recovering from injuries. But the decision by others hasn’t pleased many coaches and general managers, who wanted to see quarterbacks, the healthy ones, throw on neutral ground. (Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour irked them in particular, because he is healthy and, unlike Tim Tebow, is not revamping his throwing motion.)
In fact, the quarterbacks also retreated from the workouts Saturday, with 16 of 19 opting not to bench-press. Does the bench press really matter to quarterbacks? No. But for a player like Tebow, who many believe could wind up playing another position in the N.F.L., the bench press would have provided an intriguing barometer.
Team executives and scouts also use the combine to judge players’ competitiveness, and they think agents who advise their clients to sit out do the players no favors. Quarterbacks have been the exception to the recent trend that has seen more top-flight players work out at the combine since the NFL Network began broadcasting it in 2004.
Two of the quarterbacks who did bench-press were impressive. Penn State’s Daryll Clark did 21 repetitions, good news for him because he might end up playing another position. Troy quarterback Levi Brown benched 225 pounds 20 times. To compare: Bruce Campbell, the chiseled Maryland offensive tackle who turned in the most impressive workout of the combine, benched 225 pounds 34 times.”
For many NFL prospects, life begins at 40 (yards).
Covering that distance in a scorching time, as Clemson’s Jacoby Ford did Sunday at the NFL scouting combine — can turn the heads of potential employers, just as a slow 40 time can send a player’s draft stock into a tailspin.
According to an NFL scout who, along with dozens of others, was keeping his own stopwatch on Ford, the 5-foot-8, 182-pound receiver clocked in at hand times ranging between 4.18 and 4.23 seconds. The official (electronic) combine record is 4.24, set in 2008 by Chris Johnson, now of the Tennessee Titans.
Ford’s electronic time posted on NFL.com was 4.28. Regardless, he was blistering fast, and that’s the type of performance that could significantly elevate him in some teams’ eyes.
Among the other players who performed especially well in drills and physical tests were Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson, who some felt upstaged Cincinnati’s Tony Pike (the elite quarterbacks are waiting for their campus pro days to throw), and receivers Golden Tate of Notre Dame; Taylor Price of Ohio University; Mike Williams of Syracuse; Damian Williams of USC; and Carlton Mitchell of South Florida.
Clemson’s C.J. Spiller appears to have a strong grip on the top spot among running backs, and Fresno State’s Ryan Matthews is widely regarded the second-best at that position.
Tim Tebow used a different approach to the 40-yard dash. He walked up to the starting line about 10 minutes before his run, felt the turf with his hand, took a step in each direction to figure out where he wanted to begin, then moved back to the center of the field to continue preparing.
It was an interesting routine, one that no other quarterback went through Sunday at the NFL Scouting Combine. And it worked.
Tebow ran in 4.72 seconds, the fourth-best time among the 16 quarterbacks who participated in the 40.
The University of Florida standout not only demonstrated his outstanding speed, but he also showed he can be a cheerleader. He consistently stood off the line about 5 yards to the left and yelled encouragement to his fellow competitors.
Here were the top eight finishers among quarterbacks in the 40:
West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown — 4.54 seconds
Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour — 4.66 seconds
Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson — 4.71 seconds
Tebow — 4.72 seconds
Texas’ Colt McCoy — 4.79 seconds
Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis — 4.84 seconds
Fordham’s John Skelton — 4.85 seconds
BYU’s Max Hall — 4.87 seconds
The drills Monday and Tuesday, the final two days of the combine, are mostly devoted to evaluating defensive players.