NFL Scouting Combine: Day Four
This is always the most interesting part of the Combine for me. The “skill” position players — QBs, RBs and WRs — face-off with all their drills. And there were plenty of high-profile athletes to watch.
Since JaMarcus Russell and Ted Ginn Jr. were sitting this out, both watching from the sidelines, projected top-five pick Calvin Johnson was on center stage and although he chose not to work out, he apparently borrowed a pair of shoes to run. And run he did. Johnson is 6-5, 239 pounds and he ran a stunning 4.35 40-yard dash. Not only was that one of the best times among ALL WRs, but for someone his size, that is amazing. This guy is a freak of nature. When you factor in his body control, hands, strength, and endurance (he never missed a game in college) with his long-striding speed, in my opinion, he is the best player in this Draft class. Anyway, here are the best results from Sunday’s workouts:
Quarterbacks: Ball Speed (Toby Korrodi, Central Missouri State, 63)
Running Backs: 20 Shuttle (Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, 4.08); 60 Shuttle (Kenny Irons, Auburn, 11.47); Three Cone (Garrett Wolfe, 6.69); Vert Jump (Darius Walker, Notre Dame, 40.5); Broad Jump (Chris Henry, Arizona and Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma, 10′7″); 40-yard Dash (Chris Henry, Adrian Peterson and Antonio Pittman, Ohio State, 4.40)
Wide Receivers: 20 Shuttle (Mike Mason, Tennessee State, Jared Zabransky, Boise State, and Anthony Gonzales, Ohio State, 4.08); 60 Shuttle (Rhema McKnight, Notre Dame, 11.28); Three Cone (Anthony Gonzales, 6.54); Vert Jump (Legeda Naanee, Boise State, 40); Broad Jump (Mike Mason, Dallas Baker, Florida, Jacoby Jones, Lane, Drisan James, Boise State, 10′9″); 40-yard Dash (Yamon Figurs, Kansas State, 4.30)
For a while, Illinois State’s Laurent Robinson (who appeared on BPR61) was holding the lead with an impressive 4.38-40 time and it brought to mind one of his comments to another reporter after I had interviewed him. When asked what his plan was in the 40, Laurent said: “To run as fast as I can.” And then when asked how fast he thought he would run, he laughed and said, “Fast!” There’s no question that with his speed and strength (he had 19 reps on the bench press), he’s moving up the Draft boards of those teams needing a WR. (Note: There were eight wide receivers who ran under 4.4-40s.)
Off the RCA Dome floor, in an AP wire report, Jeff Foster, president of National Football Scouting, said the Combine would return to the RCA Dome next year and organizers plan to open negotiations with the city to move into the new Lucas Oil Stadium here in Indy in 2009. The new retractable-roof facility will be the Colts new home starting in late summer of 2008, and also has a deal to become a regular site for the NCAA’s men’s and women’s final fours. I saw the construction going on but never really had an opportunity to wander around the area. An AP reporter from Indy told me over lunch one day that the current RCA Dome will be renovated to become part of the Convention Center and that the new Lucas Oil building will not surprisingly be connected, as most things in Indy are.
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