Saturday’s running NFL Combine blog post
Finally, some of the interesting stuff is starting to take place at the NFL Combine.
Offensive linemen have their on-field workouts today. Quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs will go through psychological testing, interviews and the bench press.
That means from Virginia Tech, Nick Becton, Vinston Painter, Marcus Davis and Corey Fuller will be in action in some form or fashion today.
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I’ll be checking in periodically on the results and updating this post throughout the afternoon, so check back. To get things started, here’s where everything stands coming into the day …
– Offensive linemen did the bench press portion of their workout Friday. Painter repped 225 pounds 32 times, putting him in a tie for fifth among offensive linemen. Becton did 19 reps. Ohio’s Eric Herman had the most with 36 reps.
– Painter’s total was the third-most by a Virginia Tech player at the combine since 1999. Only Will Montgomery (35 reps in 2006) and Brandon Frye (34 reps in 2007) did more. I wrote a whole blog post on past Hokies performances yesterday.
– Our papers don’t have any reporters at the combine itself this year, so I’ll be relying on reports and videos coming out of Indianapolis to keep up with Tech’s players during the combine itself. Here’s video of Painter talking with reporters.
– Receivers weighed in Friday. Apparently Davis, at 6-foot-3, 233 pounds, was the heaviest of the group. He was listed as 6-4, 232 at Tech. He also had the biggest hands of the receivers at 10 1/4 inches.
– The Washington Post has a story on Fuller trying to follow in his older brother, Vinnie’s, footsteps and make the NFL.
– Colleague Tom Robinson has an interesting story on Tennessee receiver and Ocean Lakes product Justin Hunter‘s preparation for the combine.
9:35 a.m.: A couple of 40 times for Becton this morning. He ran a 5.12 and a 5.13 unofficially. Those times will be updated later. That was seventh for his group. His 1.76 10-yard split time was eighth.
10:30 a.m.: Hey, an interview with Davis is up on YouTube. Give it a watch.
10:32 a.m.: And there’s a Fuller one too.
11:19 a.m.: Painter ran a 4.87 40 time unofficially in his first attempt. That puts him third among offensive linemen so far. Mike Mayock of the NFL had this to say after Painter’s run: “Look at the build on him. A little bit like Kyle Long. He does not look like what our perception of offensive linemen look like.” Mayock called him a late-bloomer at Virginia Tech since Painter didn’t start until he was a senior.
11:43 a.m.: Painter ran a 4.87 40 on his second attempt too. His 10-yard split from his first effort was 1.69 seconds, which put him seventh of the offensive linemen overall.
12:32 p.m.: Slight adjustment to the official 40 times. Painter clocked in at 4.95 seconds. That’s tied for fourth among offensive linemen. Five linemen went sub-5.0 this year. Only two did it last year.
Here are the top times for the linemen:
- 4.71 seconds — Terron Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- 4.72 seconds – Lane Johnson, Oklahoma
- 4.94 seconds – Kyle Long, Oregon
- 4.95 seconds – Vinston Painter, Virginia Tech
- 4.95 seconds – Alvin Bailey, Arkansas
Becton’s official time was 5.20 seconds. Here’s a link to the combine tracker, by the way.
2:16 p.m.: The NFL has updated some other events for Painter and Becton. Here’s how they fared (rank of OL in parentheses):
Painter: 30.5-inch vertical (4th), 97-inch broad jump (34th)
Becton: 29.5-inch vertical (t-8th), 109-inch broad jump (9th)
2:48 p.m.: Painter 4.56-second time in the 20-yard shuttle. Becton finished at 4.57. That was good for sixth and seventh among linemen, respectively.
4:26 p.m.: Here’s the last of the o-line updates. Painter had a 7.71-second time in the three-cone drill (17th of OL). Becton clocked in at 7.77 seconds (t-19th).
4:32 p.m.: Nearly forgot that the wide receivers did the bench press today. Davis repped 225 pounds 19 times, sixth most of receivers. Fuller had 12 reps, in 16th place for receivers.
Here are the top bench press numbers for receivers:
- 26 reps — T.J. Moe, Missouri
- 22 reps — Josh Boyce, TCU
- 20 reps — Markus Wheaton, Oregon St.
- 20 reps — Lanear Sampson, Baylor
- 20 reps — Chris Harper, Kansas St.
- 19 reps — Marcus Davis, Virginia Tech
February 23, 2013 - 12:24 AM
Good luck to these players.
AB thx for what your doing. The list of participants is a walk down memory lane for me. I really thought Vince Hall was gonna be an impact player. I also predicted David Wilson would be the next Barry Sanders. I still think he can be just got off to a slow start.
AB, excellent work once again. You are definitely spoiling us. I thought the video of Painter was very interesting in a good way. He seems mature, confident, and a very solid representative of VaTech. That was nice to see. I don’t know if you’ve access to clips of the other Hokies at the combine, or if that was just a pone off circumstance. If there are more available, I’d welcome them. If not, I’m glad that we got to see an off field view of Painter.
The article on Corey Fuller just reinforces what a good guy he is, from a solid family. I know he won’t go high, but once he gets into camp, I hope he really impresses his coaches.
It was enlightening to read the factoids on all the players via the walterfootball link. I also took the sample Wonderlic. Those are always fun.
I know you report for VT but down the road a short distance have you seen any info on Marcus Mayo from Ferrum.
Thanks
Don’t get me wrong, because I am a huge NASCAR fan, but following what happens at the NFL Combine is about as exciting as watching qualifying for a race – and about as important. This is a bunch of solo effort – not much matters until you put these guys in the race, with everybody else.
True, it’s not exciting. But it’s an important factor in where these guys get drafted.
Again, does it matter that Danica is on the pole for the 500 tomorrow – if she finishes last? I guess one can say it is a $$ thing for these guys, but only in signing bonus, since so little in the NFL is guaranteed.
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I guess I am just tainted by guys like Arian Foster. There have been so many undrafted guys in the NFL that have made a difference, and Combine superstars that were duds. The Combine is pretty silly.
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Again, it is like NASCAR qualifying. Where you start isn’t all that important – it is where you finish.
I’m not disagreeing with you. The combine is something just one part of the evaluation process. But it’s still a part.
The NFL guys often get TOO caught up in the numbers, but the numbers are fascinating when you want to compare players. Knowing an OL can run a 4.65 or a 4.8 40, when there are some WR’s that run 4.6′s is pretty impressive. Other things, too, like Becton’s poor bench press numbers. Makes you wonder why, etc.
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True, the combine is overhyped in some respects, but it is a fascinating event.
Yeah, there’s always more to it than just numbers. Painter will put up outstanding numbers, but it’s not a track meet they’re preparing for. It’s football. And Becton probably still has a better chance of catching on that Painter, just because his body of work, you know, actually playing the game.
As for Becton’s bench press, he’s got pretty long arms. I’ve heard sometimes it’s tougher for those guys to put up big bench numbers. Obviously, long arms are helpful as a linemen though. This is why I leave the analyzing to the scouts.
If the evaluating made possible by the combines wasn’t important Rick then they wouldn’t have them go through all the trouble. “They” meaning the experts at scouting whose job it is to pick the right player
The important thing about this Combine is hoping that these players do not suffer serious injuries while strutting their stuff. Lots of $$$ out the window if that happens. Davis has the physical talent necessary but other questions remain.
The NFL’s been doing this stuff a long time. Don’t think for a second that this stuff isn’t important -they’re not doing for giggles.
College success is incredibly important, but practice time is limited by the NCAA, school work takes time and the teams have limited offseason opportunities. The NFL knows it can build a guy with the right genes into a great football player at less risk than a guy who succeeded in college but doesn’t have to the physical ability to compete against NFL talent.
Look at the the New Orleans TE from Miami (sorry I forgot the guys name). Guy played one year of college football after 4 years of basketball. Was incredibly raw, but he had the physical tools. Look what they’ve turned him into.
Yeah sometimes the NFL’s adherence to physical size and statistics gets them in trouble – look at Russell Wilson, but in general there’s less risk if they can pick a guy who can produce physically and has the prototypical size.
Painter running a 4.95 40 shows he can play more than one spot on the line.Davis was articulate in his interview and talked team more than me.
Sounded like he was battling some upper congestion stuff during the interview.
Evaluating and prodding the herd continues tomorrow. Good Luck to all!