NCAA Football

Monday combine updates: Top prospects and sleepers alike steal the show.

On Monday, the defensive linemen and linebackers had their auditions in front of scouts at the combine.

There were several impressive performers, and at the same time, there were a few guys who fell flat on their faces.

Here’s a look back at many of the notable performances from the next-to-last day of competition at the RCA Dome.

Gholston and Long Lead the Way

With the #1 overall pick in the draft anything but certain, outside of the fact that a defensive player will likely go #1 (if the Dolphins don’t trade the pick), Monday could have very well been a defining day.

The best performer of the day among the defensive linemen was Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston.

Gholston had already lifted a joint-best 37 reps when he benched on Sunday, and he followed that up by finishing as one of the top performers in every drill.

Gholston posted a best of 4.69 in the 40, which was good for third, and had the best vertical (35.5 inches) and broad jump (10′5”). His times of 7.12 in the 3-cone drill and 4.40 in the 20-yard shuttle were also among the best of the D-linemen on the day.

Gholston certainly helped his case for being a top-five pick, and he may very well have worked himself onto the radar when it comes to that #1 pick.

Speaking of the #1 pick, the guy that is looking more and more the #1 in a lot of mock drafts certainly didn’t do anything to change those thoughts. Some have questions about Chris Long’s overall athleticism, but there isn’t anything in his makeup that you can call a glaring flaw, which you can’t say for a lot of people.

Long topped the charts for the defensive linemen in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.21, and finished among the best in everything but the bench press, but that’s because he didn’t bench.

Sleepers Shine

Georgia Tech’s Gary Guyton had the best day of the linebacker group, and thusly his stock continues to jump off the heels of impressive showings at the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. Guyton ran the best 40 of the linebackers with a 4.47, and also had the best vertical and broad jump as well.

After Purdue tight end Dustin Keller wowed scouts with a great performance over the weekend, a couple of Boilermakers on the other side of the ball followed suit on Monday.

Purdue end Cliff Avril came in as the highest-rated Boilermaker prospect, and likely solidified a place in the first couple of rounds with a solid performance. But, his less-heralded teammate, linebacker Stanford Keglar, joined Guyton in moving from a late-rounder to a middle-rounder by finishing among the top performers in every single drill.

There were a few lesser-knowns who also brought their best, in Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Goff, South Florida’s Ben Moffitt, Nebraska’s Steve Octavien, and Idaho’s David Vobora. Goff may have gained the most out of the quartet by finishing among the top performers in the linebacker group in all of the drills, and looks like a solid mid-rounder, or even a possible late first-day guy. Octavien, Moffitt, and Vobora all looked like late-round picks, at best, coming into the combine, but can now look forward to seeing their name on the screen sometime on the second day.

Struggles For Some Top Prospects

A few notable names didn’t really back their lofty status up on Monday.

LSU’s Ali Highsmith, who was supposed to be in the low 4.5s, at worst, ran a 4.96. Ouch.

Texas defensive tackle Frank Okam might have been better served to have skipped the combine, because he didn’t do himself any favors by showing up…or not showing up, to put it better. Okam, who I had rated as a first-rounder at one time, came into Indy at a hefty 347 pounds, and proceeded to run a 5.32 in his 40. Now, no one was expecting him to run a 4.2 or anything, but when you show up to your job interview a little…unkempt, to say the least, it’s not good.

Auburn’s Pat Sims could have put himself into late first-round status by impressing in Indy, but he didn’t quite do that, as he wasn’t impressive in any of the drills.

Unit Notes

Sedrick Ellis was my choice for #1 in my latest mock on FFToolbox after his monster Senior Bowl, but the USC defensive tackle ran a 5.24, which was a lot slower than expected. Still, he won’t be off the board after the first few picks.

Florida’s Derrick Harvey must be bulking up to stay at end, as he weighed in at 271 pounds. Harvey ran a best of 4.8 in his 40, but posted 31 reps in the bench press and a 32.5 inch vertical.

Harvey’s SEC counterpart, Quentin Groves of Auburn, had a good overall showing as well, running in the 4.5s in the 40, posting 30 reps in the bench press, and an impressive broad jump of 10 feet. Is he going to bulk up some more (he weighed in at 259) so he could be an end, or is he going to stay about that size to play linebacker? We’ll see, but he’ll be drafted somewhere in the mid-to-late first round either way.

While Okam and Sims didn’t really help themselves, Maryland’s Dre Moore and Iowa St.’s Athyba Rubin capitalized. Moore, who ran a very impressive 4.88 in his 40, is a solid second-rounder now, while Rubin, who improved his stock greatly in the postseason all-star games, looks like a first-day lock after a solid combine.

Notre Dame’s Trevor Laws isn’t the biggest or fastest guy, but 35 reps in the bench press shows he packs a lot of punch.

Linebackers

The top two linebackers on the board, USC’s Keith Rivers and Penn St.’s Dan Connor, left the working out to everyone else, as Rivers was dealing with an ankle issue, and Connor exited early because of the flu.

Virginia Tech’s Xavier Adibi could have vaulted himself into the first round, but his 4.69 40 was a little disappointing.

Oklahoma’s Curtis Lofton and Tennessee’s Jerod Mayo came into the combine with potential to make a move on nailing down a first-round pick, along with Adibi and Highsmith. Lofton posted a best of 4.77 in the 40, which is neither bad nor good, while a heavier Mayo may have fared the best of any of the potential risers, running a scorching 4.54 in the 40 and finishing among the leaders in the vert and the 20-yard shuttle.

Kentucky’s Wesley Woodyard played linebacker in college, but has been projected to play safety in the NFL. He put up a convincing argument to be drafted on the first day, whichever position he ends up at, by running a solid 4.51 40 and doing well in the other timed drills.

So, a good day for several, a bad day for some, and for others, a missed opportunity. That’s the story of the combine, though, and with that said, it’s wrapped up today with the defensive backs doing their drills, which I’ll be reporting on later.

Until then, you can check out the top performers on the NFL’s official site, and check out all of the 40 times and more at Walter Football.

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