NFL Combine Wrap-Up

The NFL draft is still about a month and half away, but the all-important combine took place last week, with hundreds of college standouts from all types of schools coming together to put forth their best efforts in various drills, tests, and interviews. While most of the talk in the media has been about Tim Tebow, the reality is that the combine is one of the last opportunities (besides pro day workouts) to convince scouts to invest money and other resources into a player. As a result, the combine results have become more and more important, with fast 40-yard dash times and bench press reps quickly becoming some of the necessities needed to leave a positive impression on general managers and scouts. The fastest official 40 time of the combine was run by former Clemson WR Jacoby Ford, who clocked in at 4.28. Taylor Mays of U$C (woops my bad I swear it was a typo) clocked an unofficial 4.24, which would have tied the record for the fastest 40 time ever. That's almost Olympic track-like fast. Alas he ended up with 4.43 as his official time, still the fastest time for a defensive back. Mitch Petrus, a former offensive lineman from Arkansas, took home the title for most bench press reps, with 45!

Players like Mays used the Combine to show that they belonged higher up on draft boards, but other players used the Combine to simply make a name for themselves. Joique Bell, a tiny running back from powerhouse Wayne St., ran the fastest 60-yard dash time of anyone, and this performance could prove to be the difference maker in a team investing a late-round draft pick on him. On the other hand, players like Florida CB Joe Haden are wishing that the Combine never took place. Projected as a top ten draft pick on mock drafts before the combine, Haden, known primarily for his speed, showed up and ran a 4.57 40-yard dash. That's definitely not a number that is going to wow anyone, and he has subsequently slid to the middle/lower part of the first round on many of these draft board.

But in reality, the combine is only a part of a player's body of work. Their performance in college both on and off the field will prove just as important in many cases for determining where they are drafted. Questions will always remain ("What about injuries, inferior competition, character issues, etc.?"), and in the process, talent may be overshadowed.

Besides examining every aspect of a player's physical and psychological makeup, the real fun of the combine is finding those names that are just so bizarre that you wonder what their parents were thinking. Without further ado, here is the 2010 NFL Combine All-Name team:

Selvish Capers, OL West Virginia
Colt McCoy, QB Texas
Golden Tate, WR Notre Dame
Pat Angerer, LB Iowa
Cody Grimm, LB Virginia Tech
Michael Hoomanawanui (say that three times fast), TE Illinois
Roddrick Muckelroy, LB Texas
Zoltan Mesko (obviously), P Michigan
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB Indiana (PA)
Vern Verner, CB UCLA

and the All-Name Team MVP: Ndamukong Suh, DT Nebraska. Not only a great football player, but a great name. Here's his Heisman Feature: