The annual NFL Scouting Combine provides some of college football’s best players the opportunity to prove their worth in front of NFL personnel. In short, it’s one big job interview for those looking to play football at the highest level.

Among the Combine’s many events, which have become must-see television for die-hard fans, are the 40-yard dash, broad jump, vertical jump and the bench press. Players don’t have to partake in an event if they choose not to, however, and there have been more than a couple of Alabama players avoiding the bench press.

Through Saturday’s workouts, only two of Alabama’s seven representatives who performed on-field workouts lifted that 225-pound weight. O.J. Howard was among the top tight ends with 22 reps on bench press, and star defensive lineman Jonathan Allen busted out 21 reps of his own.

The notable Alabama players who didn’t partake in bench press were Ardarius Stewart, Cam Robinson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams. Robinson, considered by many to be the top offensive line prospect in the draft, likely skipped out due to a previous injury, but there isn’t an obvious reason for the others to have chosen not to lift.

Updated: On Sunday afternoon, former Crimson Tide safety Eddie Jackson told Saturday Down South’s John Crist that he would not be participating in the bench press, but that cornerback Marlon Humphrey would indeed lift with the other defensive backs at the Combine. Jackson then apparently changed his mind and decided to lift when his time came, putting up 10 reps in the event.

Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran is one of the best in the business, making it all the more interesting that so many Tide players have eschewed that portion of the Combine. Perhaps they will partake during Alabama’s Pro Day on March 8, but that remains to be seen.

Bench press no longer carries the same importance that it once did, and this won’t have a major effect on any of these players’ draft stock, but it was one of the few noticeable oddities over the weekend.