2011 COMBINE BLOG

March 2

(1:00 PM): Official 40 times for CBs and safeties as we have them.


CBs Demarcus VanDyke, Miami            4.28 Pat Peterson, LSU                            4.34 Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State            4.40 Chris Culliver, South Carolina        4.40 Prince Amukamara, Nebraska         4.43 Jimmy Smith, Colorado                    4.46 Ras-I Dowling, Virginia                   4.46 Curtis Marsh, Utah State                4.46 Byron Maxwell, Clemson                4.46 Shareece Wright, USC                    4.46 Buster Skrine, UT-Chattanooga    4.48 Davon Harris, New Mexico State  4.50 Josh Thomas, Buffalo                     4.50 Justin Rogers, Richmond                4.50 Chykie Brown, Texas                       4.50 Cortez Allen, Citadel                        4.51 Marcus Gilchrest, Clemson            4.51 Brandon Harris, Miami                    4.53 Brandyn Thompson, Boise State  4.53 Vance Cuff, Georgia                        4.53 Brandon Burton, Utah                    4.53 Curtis Brown, Texas                        4.53 Jalil Brown, Colorado                      4.53 Rashad Carmichael, Va Tech         4.56 Richard Sherman, Stanford            4.56 Niles Brinkley, Wisconsin              4.56 Aaron Williams, Texas                    4.56 Johnny Patrick, Louisville              4.59          Kevin Rutland, Missouri                4.59 Mario Butler, Georgia Tech            4.65 Devon Torrence, Ohio State          4.68 Kendric Burney, North Carolina    4.75 Andrew McGee, Oklahoma State  4.79

Safeties Joe Lefeged, Rutgers                      4.43 David Sims, Iowa State                   4.50 Dejon Gomes, Nebraska                 4.53 Mark Legree, Appalachian State   4.53 Jeron Johnson, Boise State            4.53 Chris Conte, California                    4.53 Da'orris Searcey, UNC                     4.56 Robert Sands, West Virginia          4.57 Quinton Carter, Oklahoma             4.59 Rahim Moore, UCLA                      4.62 Tyler Sash, Iowa                             4.62 Jerrard Tarrant, Georgia Tech        4.62 Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple                4.65 Will Hill, Florida                              4.65 DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson       4.65 Jermale Hines, Ohio State              4.68 Eric Hagg, Nebraska                       4.69 Nate Williams, Washington          4.71 Shiloh Keo, Idaho                           4.75 Ahmad Black, Florida                     4.78

March 1

(1:45 PM): For those who have been sitting on the edge of their sheets, NFL Network host set a PB with a 6.18  unofficial hand-timed 40 clocking of 6.18 seconds.

(12:15 PM): Texas CB Aaron Williams, another of the contenders to be the #3 CB this year, ran a slowish 4.53 40 which could have teams looking at him more as a FS.

(12:10 PM): UT-Chattanooga CB Buster Skrine became the first player to break the 4.3 mark, at least unofficially, with a 4.29 40 clocking. More to the point, Colorado CB Jimmy Smith, who is in the hunt to be the #3 CB behind Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara, ran a quick 4.38.

(12:05 PM): Average times for three of the top safeties in the 2011 draft with UCLA's Rahim Moore posting an unofficial hand-timed 40 time of 4.53, while West Virginia's Robert Sands clocked a 4.56. Iowa's Tyler Sash was a little slower at 4.64.

(12:02 PM): #1 anyone? LSU CB Patrick Peterson may not become the first corner ever taken first overall, this coming Aprl but he certainly gave it a shot blitzing a 4.32 40.

(11:55 AM): Somewhat disappointing 40 clocking for Clemson S DeAndre McDaniel who only posted an unofficial hand-timed 4.64. For now, unheralded Joe Lefeged of Rutgers leads the safeties with a hand-timed 4.44 clocking.

(10:50 AM): Miami CB Brandon Harris continues to dominate positional drills for the CBs, while Curtis Brown of Texas also looks very smooth as does Rashad Carmichael of Virginia Tech.

(10:15 AM): Miami CB Brandon Harris very smooth in transition; on the other hand, CBs Prince Amukamara  and Chidi Chekwa who ran sub-4.4 40s were both real high in transition and not all that smooth, although the latter was better on his second try at the transition drill.

(9:45 AM): Exceptional run by Ohio State CB Chimdi Chekwa who posted an unofficial and-timed 40 clocking of 4.33. He's a little thin through the lower body but obviously can run and was a solid player for the Buckeyes.

(9:30 AM): Interesting run by Ras-I Dowling of Virginia who posted an unofficial and-timed 40 clocking of 4.40. Dowling had oncve been considerd a first round prospect but has since dropped for a number of reasons including suspect top-end speed, but that time will have NFL personnel people heading back to the tape of this guy. Update: Unfortunately, Dowling who has had durability issues in the past, tweaked a hamstring during his 40 and did not particiapte in any further drills. Meanwhile, okay run for Brandon Harris of Miami who clocked a 4.43 but was probably hoping to match Dowling's time.

(9:20 AM): Somewhat disappointing runs by CBs Brandon Burton of Utah and Colorado's Jalil Brown who posted unofficial hand-timed 40 clockings of 4.50 and 4.55 respectively. Same for Rashad Carmichael of Virginia Teh who only ran an unofficial 4.49 which likely translates to a final time of something in the low 4.5 range.

(9:15 AM): Very disappointing run by Florida FS Ahmad Black who posted an unofficial hand-timed 40 clocking of 4.78. There had been talk of Black, who also isn't very big maybe sneaking into the third round, but not with a time like that. Indeed, that's free-agent type stuff.

(9:10 AM): Hello top 10. CB Prince Amukamara of Nebraska ran an unofficial hand-timed 40 of 4.37 seconds. There had been concerns that Amukamara might struggle to get under 4.5 which could have bumped him out of the top 10 but no such worries.

(9:05 AM): And we are off with an unofficial hand-timed 40 clocking of 4.45 for CB Cortez Allen of the Citadel.

February 28

(6:55 PM): Official LB times. Note that we have included several of the hybrid DEs who ran with the defensive linemen this morning, but project to an OLB in a 3-4 with the OLBs.


ILBs Martez Wilson, Illinois                              4.49 Ross Homan, Ohio State                           4.68 Scott Lutrus, UConn                                  4.68 Greg Jones, Michigan State                      4.80 Nick Bellore, Central Michigan                 4.84 Greg Lloyd, UConn                                    4.84 Orie Lemon, Oklahoma State                    4.99 OLBs Dontay Moch                                             4.44 Von Miller, Texas A&M                           4.53 Brian Rolle, Ohio State                              4.56 Adrien Moten, Maryland                         4.62 Chris Carter, Fresno State                         4.62 Doug Hogue, Syracuse                             4.63 Colin McCarthy, Miami                             4.65 Justin Houston, Georgia                           4.68 Brooks Reed, Arizona                               4.68 J.T. Thomas, West Virginia                      4.68 Lawrence Wilson, UConn                        4.75 Mason Foster, Washington                     4.75 K.J. Wright, Mississippi State                 4.75 Jeremiha Hunter, Iowa                               4.78 D.J. Smith, Appalachian State                  4.78 Bruce Miller, Central Florida                    4.85 Jonas Mouton, Michigan                         4.87 Akeem Ayers, UCLA                                4.88 Mark Herzlich, Boston College                4.92

(1:25 PM): Illinois MLB Martez Wilson made some waves running an unofficial 4.44 40 time at 250 pounds. UCLA OLB Akeem Ayers, though, ran a disappointing hand-timed 4.80 40.

(1:10 PM): Teaxs A&M Von Miller makes a top 5 statement as he runs an unofficial 4.46 hand-timed 40. For the most part, though, there hasn't been the same kind of speed among the LBs as the defensive linemen, although Mason Foster of Washington, Justin Houston of Georgia, Scott Lurus of UConn and Colin McCarthy of Miami were all around 4.65. Very disappointing time, though, for Boston CollegeLB Mark Herzlich who couldn't break 4.90. Greg Jones of Michigan State came in as a tweener with a 4.76 clocking which will probably translate to a 4.8 type official time.

(11:40 PM): Oregon LB Casey Matthews will not work out after suffering a shoulder injury in the bench press.

(11:35 PM): North Carolina DE Robert Quinn improved his unofficial 40 time from 4.73 to a 4.67, which is very good, but is still slower than the 4.55 type time scouts were expecting. Meanwhile, Missouri DE Aldon Smith ran a hand-timed 4.74 and Pitt's Jabaal Sheard posted a 4.70.

(11:25 PM): Emerging Temple DE/DT Muhammad Wilkerson ran a 4.99 hand-timed 40 running at 315 pounds.

(11:20 PM): Wisconsin DE J.J. Watt helped himself as he ran a fast 4.78 hand-timed 40 at over 290 pounds with a 10-yard split of 1.75.

(11:05 PM): Nevada DE Dontay Moch, wasn't quite as fast as expected, but still ran a very fast 4.45 hand-timed 40 whether he's a D or OLB. Moch also posted a very athletic 42 inch vertical.

(10:05 PM): Illinois DT Corey Liuget posted an okay 5.06 hand-timed 40 for a big interior defensive linemen, but was very quick (1.75) over 10 yards.

(9:45 PM): More impressive quickness from Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan and California tweener Cam Jordan. Kerrigan ran a 4.67 hand-timed 40 with 1.65 10-yard split which should help the former Boilermakers' grade. No one doubts Kerrigan's motor and intensity but there were concerns he was only a 4.8 type guy. Meanwhile, Jordan ran a 4.71 hand-timed 40 with a 1.69 10-yard split, again an excellent time for 285-pound plus DE.

(9:25 PM): Auburn DT Nick Fairley kept pace with the other top DT as he ran a 4.86 unofficial hand-timed 40 time with a 10-yard split of 1.76 running at 291 pounds.

(9:20 PM): Alabama Marcel Dareus wanted to play too as he ran a 4.94 unofficial hand-timed 40 with a 1.66  10-yard split. Given the times of some of the other players a somewhat disppointing time for Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn with a 4.81unofficial hand-timed 40 time.

(9:15 PM): Somebody put some juice in the guy's Wheaties this AM because the first DL guys down the line have been fast. Iowa tweener Christian Ballard ran a 4.70 unofficial hand-timed 40 time with a quick 10-yard split of 1.66.

(9:10 PM): UNC DT Marvin Austin, who didn't play last because of improper benefits, just ripped off a 4.80 unofficial hand-timed 40 time with a super quick 10-yard split of 1.63 for a 310-pounder.

(9:05 PM): And we're off with Sam Acho of Texas running an unofficial hand-timed 40 time of 4.67 with a very quick 10-yard split of 1.60.

February 27

(5:30 PM): Official 40 times for the offensive backs today. Great time for DeMarco Murray of Oklahoma, who ran in the low 4.4s. Same for Jordan Todman of UConn and Kentucky's Derrick Locke, although neither of the latter projects to be a feature back at the next level. For the most part, though, there wasn't a ton of speed at the position this year with none of the top guys running all that fast. Mark Ingram of Alabama, for example, only stopped the clock in 4.62 seconds, about the same as Mikel Leshoure (4.59) of Illinois and Ryan Williams (4.61) of Virginia Tech ran the 40 in 4.59 and Oregon State scatback Quizz Rodgers ran a 4.64. Meanwhile, it was a downright disastrous day for Wisconsin's John Clay who barely broke the 4.9 mark despite dropping almost 20 pounds to improve his quickness.


RBs Da'rel Scott, Maryland                              4.34 Mario Fannin, Auburn                              4.38 Derrick Locke, Kentucky                          4.40 Jordan Todman, UConn                           4.40 DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma                   4.41 Roy Helu, Nebraska                                  4.42 Brandon Saine, Ohio State                       4.43 Shane Vereen, California                          4.50 Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State             4.53 Alex Green, Hawaii                                     4.53 Deleone Carter, Syracuse                         4.56 Johnny White, North Carolina                4.56 Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh                             4.57 Allen Bradford, USC                                 4.58 Darren Evans, Virginia Tech                    4.58 Mikel Leshoure, Illinois                            4.59 Jamie Harper, Clemson                              4.59 Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech                   4.61 Mark Ingram, Alabama                              4.62 Damien Berry, Miami                                 4.63 Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State              4.64 Evan Royster, Penn State                         4.65 Graig Cooper, Miami                                  4.65 Stephen Ridley, LSU                                  4.66 Vai Taua, Nevada                                       4.71 Shaun Draughn, North Carolina              4.75 Matt Asiata, Utah                                      4.81 John Clay, Wisconsin                               4.87 FBs Anthony Sherman, UConn                       4.75 Owen Marecic, Stanford                           4.91 Shaun Chapas, Georgia                             4.91 Henry Hynoski, Pittsburgh                       5.06



(4:10 PM): Oregon State DT Stephen Paea shattered the all-time combine bench press record of 45 reps when he did 49 reps - and came within inches of a 50th - pressing 225 pounds.

(2:40 PM): Some interesting speed among the second-tier RBs. Both Demarco Murray of Oklahoma and Maryland's Da'rel Scott had unofficial hand-timed 40 times under 4.4, while Roy Helu of Nebraska, UConn's Jordan Todman and Kendall Hunter of Okaloma State were in the mid-4.4 range. On the other hand, Ryan Williams of Virginia Tech had an unofficial time of 4.55. Scouts were disappointed though that Kansas State RB Daniel Thomas, who more than one team has rated as the #2 back behind Alabama's Mark Ingam, chose not to run today.

(2:30 PM): Official 40 times for the QBs and WRs below. Star of the day today was Alabama's Julio Jones who put up great numbers on all the tests including a 4.39 40 clocking. Also a big day for Miami WR Leonard Hankerson, a big receiver who ran a 4.43. Other WRs who helped themselves in the 40 include SMU's Al Robinson (4.45), Ron Johnson of USC (4.46), Troy's Jerrel Jernigan (4.46), Randall Cobb (4.46) of Kentucky and Nebraska's Niles Paul (4.51).


QBs: Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech              4.51 Colin Kaepernick, Nevada                 4.53 Jake Locker, Washington                  4.59 Cam Newton, Auburn                         4.59 Blaine Gabbert, Missouri                   4.62 Josh Portis, California (PA)               4.62 Christian Ponder, Florida State         4.65 Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M            4.80 Jeff Van Camp, Florida Atlantic        4.84 Pat Devlin, Delaware                           4.86 Andy Dalton,. Texas Christian          4.87 Greg McElroy, Alabama                     4.91 Ricky Stanzi, Iowa                               4.93 Scott Tolzein, Wisconsin                   4.93 T.Y. Yates, North Carolina                 5.10 Nathan Enderle, Idaho                        5.15 Ryan Colburn, Fresno State              5.18

WRs Edmond Gates, Abilene Christian        4.37 Ricardo Lockette, Fort Valley State     4.37 Julio Jones, Alabama                             4.39 Torrey Smith, Maryland                        4.43 Leonard Hankerson, Miami                   4.43 Joe Morgan, Walsh                                4.44 Denarius Moore, Tennessee                4.45 Al Robinson, SMU                                 4.45 Randall Cobb, Kentucky                       4.46 Jerrel Jernigan, Troy                              4.46 Ron Johnson, USC                                 4.46 A.J. Green, Georgia                                4.50 Jon Baldwin, Pitsburgh                          4.50 Jamar Newsome, Central Florida          4.51 Terrance Turner, Indiana                       4.51 Niles Paul, Nebraska                               4.51 Jimmy Young, Texas Christian              4.55 Titus Young, Boise State                       4.53 Armon Binns, Cincinnati                       4.53 Stephen Burton, West Texas A&M    4.53 Andre Holmes, Hillsdale                        4.53 Jock Sanders, West Virginia                 4.53 Greg Little, North Carolina                     4.53 Owen Spencer, NC State                        4.54 Dwayne Harris, East Carolina               4.55 Darvin Adams, Auburn                         4.56 Marshall Williams, Wake Forest          4.56 OJ Murdock, Ft Hays State                   4.56 Tori Gurley, South Carolina                   4.56 Greg Salas, Hawaii                                   4.56 Terrence Tolliver, LSU                           4.59 Lester Jean, Florida Atlantic                  4.59 Cecil Shorts, Mount Union                    4.59 Jeremy Kerley, Texas Christian             4.59 DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss          4.59 Dane Sansenbacher, Ohio State           4.59 Austin Pettis, Boise State                      4.61 Jeff Maehl Oregon                                   4.62 Jason Hamler, Fresno State                    4.62 Jeremy Kerley, Texas Christian              4.62 Lester Jean, Florida Atlantic                  4.65 Vincent Brown, San Diego State           4.71

(2:25 PM): Slowish time for Alabama RB Mark Ingram who only clocked a 4.58 hand-timed 40. Meanwhile, Illinois RB Mikel Leshoure was slightly faster at 4.56.

(1:30 PM): Just not enough reps to get a great feel, but unheralded receivers who look very comfortable catching the ball include Al Robinson of SMU, Hawaii's Greg Salas, Jimmy Young of TCU and Owen Spencer of NC State.

(1:20 PM): We stand corrected Cam Newton is throwing this afteroon. So far has showed excellent arm strength, but accuracy has been a touch off.

(12:25 PM): Its not football, but Alabama WR Julio Jones, the #2 receiver in the 2011 draft, gets the decision over Georgia's A.J. Green, the #1 guy in combine athleticism. Indeed, Jones put on a show with a sub-4.4 (unofficial) 40 time, a 38.5" vertical and an explosive 11-3 standing boad jump. On the other hand, Green has been rather pedestrian with a 40 time that likely will be over 4.5, and a 34.5" vertical.

(12:05 PM): Good time for Maryland WR Torrey Smith who ran a hand-timed 4.37.

(12:00 PM): Overall somewhat disappointing times for the WRs so far. The track guys haven't set ny records to date. Slowish times for Niles Paul of Nebraska and Austin Pettis of Boise State both of whom ran in the 4.6 range.

(11:35 PM): Solid unofficial 40 time of 4.58 for Auburn QB Cam Newton; Newton also had an outstanding broad jump earlier in the day.

(10:45 PM): Washington QB Jake Locker looks relaxed throwing the ball and has had the ball between the numbers on just about every throw. Meanwhile, as expected Ryan Mallett has been throwig darts. WR A.J. Green of Georgia, though, continues to struggle some in the receiving drills.

(10:30 PM): A.J. Green of Georgia didn't look all that smooth catching the ball in the gauntlet receiving drill, while Miami's Leonard Hankerson didn't appeared to drop them all on his first try. Ouch

(9:45 PM): Ricardo Lockette of Fort Valley State, a former national sprint champion ran an okay 4.41 unofficial 40 time but not the 4.3 type of effort he was hoping for. Greg Little of North Carolina, who did not play last fall after being suspended for accepting improper benefits ran a 4.56 hand-timed 40 at 231 pounds. So far the best WR time is a 4.35 posted by Edmond Gates of DII Abilene Christian. In fact he's the only wideout under 4.4 to date.

(9:35 PM): Solid unofficial 40 time of 4.43 for Julio Jones of Alabama running at 220 pounds.

(9:32 PM): Somewhat disappointing unofficial 40 time of 4.51 for Jerrel Jernigan of Troy who had hoped to get under 4.4.

(9:30 PM): Unofficial 40 time of 4.47 for Leonard Hankerson of Miami. Not bad for someone that size.

(9:25 PM): Unofficial 40 time of 4.48 for A.J. Green of Georgia. Good, but again not off the charts.

(9:20 PM): Pitt WR Jon Baldwin ran okay posting an unofficial hand-timed 4.52 40 time which is okay, but will probably translate to something in the 4.55-4.60 range; again not bad for a big man, but borderline for a WR looking to get into the opening round. Very disappointing time for Southern Miss' DeAndre Brown who had an unofficial time of 4.63.

(9:10 PM): Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert, the one top-rated QB who won't throw today, ran very well posting a n unofficial hand-timed 40 time of 4.61 seconds. In fact, they had the QBs run and a track meet broke as Jake Locker of Washington and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick blitzed 4.52 and 4.53 times respectively.

February 26

(2:40 PM): Emerging Florida Atlantic TE Rob Housler led the TEs in their 40-yard run with an official clocking of 4.55. Housler edged out USC's Jordan Cameron (4.59), while Nevada's Virgil Green (4.64), D.J. Williams (4.67) of Arkansas, and Schuyler Oordt (4.67) of Northern Iowa rounded out the top 5. South Carolina's Weslye Saunders didn't run after a broken bone was discovered in his foot during medical testing.

(12:30 PM): Official times for offensive linemen this morning.


Offensive tackles: Derek Newton, Arkansas State        5.01 Nate Solder, Colorado                        5.05 Jarriel King, South Carolina              5.09 Mike Person, Montana State            5.19 Orlando Franklin, Miami                    5.20 Anthony Castonzo, BC                      5.23 Marcus Cannon, TCU                        5.26 Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin                    5.27 James Brewer, Indiana                       5.27 James Carpenter, Alabama                5.28 Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State     5.28 Demarcus Love, Arkansas                5.31 Keith Hughes, SE Louisiana             5.36 Joe Barksdale, LSU                             5.38 Jah Reid, Central Florida                    5.40 Chris Hairston, Clemson                    5.43 Marcus Gilbert, Florida                      5.46 Kyle Hix, Texas                                    5.46 Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh               5.47 Ray Dominquez, Arkansas                5.48 Josh Davis, Georgia                           5.50 Willie Smith, East Carolina                5.50 Adam Grant, Arizona                         5.54 Lee Ziemba, Auburn                          5.60

Offensive guards: Julian Vandervelde, Iowa                     5.21 Steve Schilling, Michigan                    5.29 Rodney Hudson, Florida State            5.31 Dan Kilgore, Appalachian State          5.33 Zach Hurd, UConn                                5.34 Keith Williams, Nebraska                     5.36 Andrew Jackson, Fresno State            5.38 Clint Boling, Georgia                             5.40 Danny Watkins, Baylor                        5.40 Carl Johnson, Florida                            5.43 David Arkin, Missouri State                5.36 Justin Boren, Ohio State                       5.54 John Moffitt, Wisconsin                      5.55 Ricky Henry, Nebraska                         5.73 Isaiah Thompson, Houston                 6.06 Centers: Jason Kelce, Cincinnati                         4.93 Ryan Bartholomew, Syracuse              4.97 Kris O'Dowd, USC                                 5.16 Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock            5.21 Zach Williams, Washington                5.27 Mike Pouncey, Florida                          5.28 Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State            5.35 Alex Linnenkohl, Oregon State           5.37 Zane Taylor, Utah                                 5.61
  
(1:20 PM): After a very disappointing performance in yesterday's  bench press, Colorado OT Nate Solder has had a very strong day at the on-field workouts for offensive linemen. Solder has looked very athletic and flexible in all the positional drills. As a result, Solder will challenge NFL personnel people as he appears to have the most upside of anyone at the position this year, but is still a work in progress. In fact, most of the top names among the offensive linemen including OTs Gabe Carimi and Anthony Castonzo and C Mike Pouncey have done nothing to hurt their grades today.