Former Auburn OL Braden Smith posts big bench press numbers at combine for Austism Speaks
Published:
Braden Smith bench pressed for more than a few extra dollars in his pocket on Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The former Auburn All-American offensive lineman had plenty of extra motivation. He pledged to raise money for Autism Speaks based on every bench press rep he performed in Indianapolis.
Fortunately for the worthy cause, Smith fired off plenty of reps and raised plenty of money.
Smith finished with a whopping 35 bench press reps of 220 pounds, which raised $3,084 for Autism Speaks:
Former Auburn OL Braden Smith did 35 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press today, raising $3084 for Autism Speaks. Smith said he worked with a program in elementary school to help autistic kids adjust to school, and he wanted to keep giving back. https://t.co/IGlcHXlSYa pic.twitter.com/v1bHNrJF4g
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) March 1, 2018
Each rep was worth a total of $89.11. Smith surpassed his $3,000 goal he set in motion a couple weeks ago.
So far, Smith did the most bench press reps of any of the Thursday participants in Indianapolis.
Here’s video of Smith pushing for every last rep:
End portion of Auburn’s Braden Smith doing 35 bench press reps. That’s tied for 10th among all OL at NFL Combine in past 5 years. https://t.co/hTjRPMD8AO
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) March 1, 2018
According to former Auburn teammate Kerryon Johnson, watching Smith struggle on his final rep was an extremely rare sight:
Well today marks the first day I’ve ever seen Braden Smith not complete a bench press rep
— Kerryon Johnson (@CoachKerryon) March 1, 2018
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
