Day Two At The Combine
Next Level's John Murphy reports live from Indianapolis

posted February 25, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com

12:00noon (Indianapolis)

Southern Illinois senior running back BRANDON JACOBS was 6043, 267 pounds at his weigh-in, and intends to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He was timed in the early-to-mid 4.4's this past summer by his coaching staff, while weighing 257 pounds. Will need to work on his blitz pickup and receiving skills, but actually plays with decent pad level for a back of his size. It would not be surprising to see him run 4.5 or better on Sunday.

Louisiana Tech junior running back RYAN MOATS was 5080, 210 pounds at his weigh-in, and intends to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. Has also been told by teams that they would be expecting to use him on special teams, as a kickoff returner early in his career.

Auburn senior running back CARNELL "CADILLAC" WILLIAMS was 5107, 217 pounds at his weigh-in, and intends to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. Has gained over ten pounds (12), since the end of the season. He did 19 reps of 225 pounds today.

Utah junior wide receiver STEVE SAVOY was 5110, 192 pounds at his weigh-in, and intends to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend.

Miami senior tight end KEVIN EVERETT will not be working out at the Combine, as he continues to rehab from off-season shoulder surgery. He has dropped down from the 250-252 pound range to 240 pounds, currently. Plans to setup a secondary Pro Day event at Miami in late March or early April, so that he can catch passes and possible run the 40-yard dash.

Montana senior fullback JUSTIN GREEN was 5113, 251 pounds at his weigh-in, but is expected to run among the fastest 40-yard dash times for his position.

Texas A&M senior fullback KEITH JOSEPH was 6017, 254 pounds at his weigh-in, and intends to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend.

New Mexico senior offensive guard CLAUDE TERRELL is scheduled to meet with the Dallas Cowboys later on this evening.

Ball State junior wide receiver DANTE' RIDGEWAY was 5110, 212 poiunds at his weigh-in, and does not intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. Has opted to wait until his Pro Day, which may effect the second round grade that he said he received from the NFL Advisory Commitee before deciding to declare.

2:00pm (Indianapolis)

Auburn senior quarterback JASON CAMPBELL was 6046, 230 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He doesn’t think that he will have any problem in competing passes in the NFL, has a strong arm, also thinks that he could be a first day pick (third round). According to some of the other players who have been training with him, he could run between 4.60-4.67 in the 40 at his Pro Day.

Kansas State senior running back/return man DARREN SPROLES has spoken to Cincinnati, Cleveland and Kansas City. Will do everything at the Combine, but still needs to work on pass blocking, although he will likely be a third-down back and kick-off guy. He did 23 reps of 225 pounds today.

South Carolina junior wide receiver TROY WILLIAMSON was 6012, 203 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. Says that he would be disappointed if he ran above 4.40, but has also done a very good job of impressing several teams, including the Minnesota Vikings, who could own the 7th pick of the first round if their trade with the Oakland Raiders goes through. He has also spoken to Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay and Tampa Bay.

Arkansas senior quarterback/tight end MATT JONES was 6060, 242 pounds at his weigh-in, and has spoken to Dallas, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, but has also gotten a lot of praise from members of Cleveland and Miami, including Dolphins head coach Nick Saban, who said "(I) think that over the past few years Matt Jones was responsible for more wins single-handedly than any other player in the SEC". He was recently timed at sub-4.45, while training for the Combine.

Florida A&M senior quarterback BEN DOUGHERTY was 6024, 222 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He has gained 15 pounds, since the HBCU All-Star Classic, but what has impressed teams the most is that he called his own plays in college, as well as the offensive line protections in the huddle. Several teams had him drawing up protections and offensive plays last night, as he has spoken to Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Washington.

Michigan senior wide receiver BRAYLON EDWARDS was 6031, 212 pounds at his weigh-in, and does not intend to perform a full workout with his group this weekend. He did 23 reps of 225 pounds today, but will wait until his Pro Day on March 18th to complete the rest of his workout.

Hawaii senior wide receiver/return man CHAD OWENS did 23 reps of 225 pounds today.

California senior wide receiver CHASE LYMAN did 16 reps of 225 pounds today.

Former Florida State and AFL quarterback ADRIAN MCPHERSON was 6034, 218 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He did 22 reps of 225 pounds today, which drew rave reviews from the scouts/coaches in attendance who also had marveled at his athletic physique at the earlier weigh-in.

California junior quarterback AARON RODGERS was 6020, 223 pounds at his weigh-in, and does not intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He will run the 40-yard dash, but will wait for the passing portion of his workout until his Pro Day on March 17th. Said he feels that he will time in the mid-to-late 4.7 range.

Hawaii senior quarterback TIMMY CHANG was 6012, 211 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He said he might have to adjust to playing in more of an NFL scheme offense after taking most of his college snaps out of the shotgun formation, which was evident in his post-season appearance, as he struggled with his footwork and taking the ball from center at the East-West Shrine game practices.

Former USC wide receiver MIKE WILLIAMS was 6044, 228 pounds at his weigh-in, and does not intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He decided to hold off until a private workout that he has scheduled for March 10th on the campus of South Florida. Said he was down to 215 pounds in November, but felt he had lost some of his strength, but then bulked up back to the 230-232 pound range; hopes to be right at 225 pounds on March 10th. Has been training in California with several current and former NFL players, including Cris Carter, where he says he has beaten Virginia Tech senior defensive back Vincent Fuller in the 40-yard dash on three occasions, while training, which would put him in the 4.40-to-4.45 range.

Washington senior offensive tackle KHALIF BARNES was 6051, 305 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to peform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He has already completed 26 reps of 225 pounds with the intention of running between 4.85 and 4.95 in the 40 on Saturday.

Mississippi senior offensive lineman MARCUS JOHNSON did 21 reps of 225 pounds yesterday, but that is actually quite an improvement, as before he started to train out at API in Arizona, he had been doing just 12-15 reps on the average. Pittsburgh seems to like his upside potential, as much as anyone.

Central Michigan senior offensive tackle ADAM KIEFT did 28 reps of 225 pounds yesterday, while his college teammate, center ERIC GHIACIUC beat him by two reps, as he posted 30 reps of 225 pounds.

LSU senior defensive end MARCUS SPEARS, who as was reported yesterday will not workout at the Combine due to the fact that he had suffered a minor knee injury while training, may have in fact needed an arthroscopic procedure to remedy the injury. It has not been fully admitted or denied by Spears or his representatives, but some team officials were saying a second LSU Pro Day would now be setup for late March or early April.

Pearl River CC (MS) sophomore wide receiver LARRY BRACKINS was 6046, 205 pounds at his weigh-in, and does intend to perform a full workout with his group over the weekend. He expects to run in the early-to-mid 4.4 range with a 38" or better vertical.

Virginia senior offensive lineman ELTON BROWN has met with officials of the Kansas City Chiefs, who also seem to have taken interest in Fresno State offensive lineman LOGAN MANKINS.

5:00pm (Indianapolis)

Auburn senior running back RONNIE BROWN was 6001, 233 pounds at his weigh-in, has already spoken to Chicago, Dallas and the New York Jets.

Oklahoma State senior punter/kicker COLE FARDEN made a very good impression on scouts/coaches during his on-field workout, according to several in attendance, as he was able to boom a number of his punts, and then landed 5-of-8 kickoffs inside the five yard line, including one in the end zone, while most of the other kickers did not reach inside the 5-to-10 yard line consistently.

Ball State senior punter REGGIE HODGES made a very good showing at his on-field workout, which might allow him to move up the draft board at his position, as he is also a better-than-average athlete, who handled himself well for a guy whose name raised a lot of eyebrows when he was first selected to the Combine.

UTEP senior punter BRYCE BENEKOS did fairly well during his on-field workout, but probably did not do enough to move up the draft board based on his performance today.

Tennessee senior punter DUSTIN COLQUITT, who has clearly been rated as the #1 punter for this year's draft, had an inconsistent performance at his on-field workout, according to two people in attendance, as he did not see many of his punts turnover, and was rated below 2-3 other punters by both sources.

Ohio State senior kicker MIKE NUGENT was the most consistent of the placekickers today in terms of accuracy and leg strength, although he started to struggle once he reached the 45 yard-line, as his final few kicks from beyond that distance were erractic.

OTHER COMBINE NOTES:

Of the 60 offensive linemen in attendance only three of them weighed under 300 pounds, but those three were no less than 298 pounds.

Only one running back weighed in at less than 200 pounds; Michigan State's DEANDRA COBB at 196 pounds.

According to NFLPA officials draft-eligible prospects from Division I-AA, Division II and Division III programs will now be allowed to workout at any Pro Day scheduled within their respected state. Example: Players from Saginaw Valley State, Grand Valley State and Michigan Tech would be allowed to workout at either Michigan or Michigan State's Pro Day, although a number of agents speculated that the bigger schools would say there is a liability issue with having non-students workout on their campus, which would result in a similar situation to what currently goes on.

Connecticut senior cornerback JUSTIN PERKINS will be working out at Miami's Pro Day on March 3rd, as well as his own later in the month.

Georgia defensive end WILL THOMPSON has received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, so he will be returning to the Bulldogs for his senior campaign.

Georgia Tech senior offensive tackle KYLE WALLACE has been timed at 5.00 in the 40 at 6055, 305 pounds, while training for his Pro Day.

South Carolina senior offensive lineman JONATHON ALSTON has been timed at 5.25 in the 40 at 6042, 311 pounds, while training for his Pro Day.

Southern Illinois senior running back TERRY JACKSON has bulked up, since the end of the season, as he is now close to 210 pounds after playing at around 190-195 pounds during the year, but has also seen his 40-time drop into the high 4.4 to low 4.5 range.

Michigan senior linebacker ROY MANNING has been timed in the late 4.5 to low 4.6 range at 255 pounds, while training for his Pro Day.

Several high-priced NFL veterans were cut on Thursday, including Patriots cornerback TY LAW, Panthers wide receiver MUHSIN MUHAMMAD, Steelers cornerback CHAD SCOTT and tight end JAY RIEMERSMA and Seahawks wide receiver JERRY RICE, who may have played in his last NFL game, as he says he will not return to be just a backup player in 2005.

In other NFL related news, the Denver Broncos continue to pursue a possible deal involving former All-Pro defensive lineman TREVOR PRYCE, as they have let it be known that he can be had for either a 2005 second round choice or future (2006) first round choice. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns have given former first round draft pick, defensive tackle GERARD WARREN, the freedom to seek a trade for himself, as they would like to rid themselves of his salary before March 2nd, as he is owed a roster bonus on that day, which could lead to his release if they do not find a willing partner. The key to any trade involving Warren would be that his new team would most likely want him to agree to renogiating his contract before making a deal.

*Next Level Scouting Staff members Justin Van Fulpen, Dean Zarafonetis and Jared Van Fulpen also contributed to this report.

*All rights reserved by Next Level Scouting, Inc. and John Murphy... any use of the material enclosed without the express written or verbal consent of Next Level Scouting, Inc. or John Murphy is prohibited... John Murphy can be reached via phone or email at 504.415.9979 and draftjm13@aol.com.

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