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The 2015 NFL combine is officially in the books, and per the usual NFL Draft tradition we’re all spending the next few days marveling over the superhuman athletes we saw workout in Indy last week.
Kentucky’s Bud Dupree ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash and showed off a 42 inch vertical leap all in a 6-foot-4, 269-pound frame. That’s so ridiculous most of us would’ve simply laughed it off were there not video evidence of the workout.
UConn’s Byron Jones broke an Olympic record with a broad jump of 12 feet and 3 inches. That’s right, in aiming to simply prove his football worth he out-jumped some of the greatest leapers in recorded human history. And for what it’s worth, Kentucky and UConn both still consider themselves basketball schools.
But those two stars and many others are proof of how physically incredible many of college football’s top talents have become in the 21st century, and the combine is the arena in which they can put their abilities on display. For scouts and executives, the combine is a business trip. But for fans tuning in on television, it’s a source of entertainment.
So before we move on from the combine to the next stage of the ongoing draft process, let’s take a look 12 months into the future and try to determine which SEC stars might cause our jaws to drop at the 2016 combine.
We came up with three guys who should leave us all in awe:
40-yard dash — Auburn WR D’haquille Williams: Perhaps the SEC’s top returning wideout in 2015, Williams is a candidate to dazzle scouts at next year’s combine so long as he stays in shape and avoids injuries during his senior season on the plains. He recently shared a photo via his Instagram account in which he weighed in at 232 pounds, 16 pounds heavier than his playing weight as a junior in 2014. However, that doesn’t mean Williams won’t move well at that size; his ability to use his size and hands to best opposing cornerbacks is what makes him such a special talent. But many forget the 6-foot-3 wideout ran a 40-yard dash in the neighborhood of 4.4 seconds when he transferred to Auburn from junior college, and if he can run a 40 in under 4.5 seconds at 230 pounds he’ll leave scouts wanting to see more at next year’s combine regardless of how many receivers post a faster time than he does.
Bench press — Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche: The former No. 1 overall recruit from the 2013 class could turn out to be the No. 1 NFL Draft selection from the 2016 class if he stays healthy and continues on his current path at Ole Miss. Nkemdiche is a fantastic athlete for his size, arriving at Ole Miss as an athletic and powerful defensive end before being moved inside to tackle. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound mammoth in the middle is a dominant force in the weight room, and he’s a near lock to finish among the top 3 prospects on the bench at next year’s combine. In case you forgot, Nkemdiche has biceps so large fellow Division I football players actually marveled at them on the field like some sort of circus attraction. Again, Nkemdiche is going to dominate the bench when his time comes.
Vertical leap — Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III: The Florida Gators star and 2015 All-American candidate will almost certainly leave Gainesville a year early for the NFL provided he stays healthy this fall, and when he arrives at next year’s combine he’s going to be ready to impress. The two-time first-team All-SEC honoree has a vertical leap greater than 41 inches and can squat more than 500 pounds despite standing just 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds (according to the SEC Network). He has stronger legs than most linebackers and uses those legs to out-leap larger wideouts on a weekly basis. He’s as savvy a cover corner as there is in the 2016 draft class, and he might just jump out of Lucal Oil Stadium altogether at next year’s combine.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
