Getting invited to the NFL Scouting Combine is a privilege… a privilege not available to more than 2,000 NFL Draft-eligible players from numerous colleges around the United States and Canada. But for the more than 300 players who do get invited, it is a rite of passage. And yes, the combine is a no-nonsense annual meat market, but it can help a player get exposure and gain progress towards his dream of making it in the National Football League.
For the 2012 combine, 328 players were invited with a few of them deciding not to participate. Of those 328 players, 222 of them, or 67.6 percent, were drafted, 32 of them were first round draft picks (Alabama stars TRENT RICHARDSON and MARK BARRON were of course invited but didn’t chart any stats at the combine and neither did Texas A&M quarterback RYAN TANNEHILL). Finally, 107 of the players invited to the combine were not drafted.
As mentioned before, the combine is a serious event. Just take a look at the mugshots that accompany every combine participant, and the fact that hardly any of them are smiling. And the ones who were smiling probably wiped those smiles away as soon as their pictures were finished. The Combine is the most intense job interview in the world, and these players learned that first-hand in February.
Like drafts every year, there are always going to be those players who had good or great college careers but who don’t get drafted. Some of the notable players who fall into that vein are these guys (every single one of these players were invited to the combine):
1.) MATT REYNOLDS Offensive Line/Brigham Young
Notes: Had one of the better and more helpful blocks one will see in the Armed Forced Bowl versus Tulsa back in December, and he put together a decorated career for the Cougars as this talented/overachieving offensive tackle from 2008-2011. He started every game he played at that school (52 games).
2.) JARRETT BOYKIN Wide Receiver/Virginia Tech
Notes: The all-time leader in receiving yards (2,884) and catches (184) in Virginia Tech history, Boykin was a talented possession receiver and occasional deep threat for the Hokies from 2008-2011 but that wasn’t enough for scouts and coaches to draft him. Boykin was not a star at VT but he was good enough for defenses to worry about.
3.) MICHAEL BREWSTER Offensive Line/Ohio State
Notes: This Rimington Award candidate for the last two years was in the lineup for the Buckeyes for just about every game from his freshman season on. He was not nearly a special player but a solid and helpful center no less.
4.) VONTAZE BURFICT Linebacker/Arizona State
Notes: Watched this guy since he played at Corona Centennial in the Riverside County part of Southern California. A talented linebacker who could have been so much more at ASU but his chronic underachievement left him undrafted.
5.) JOSH COOPER Wide Receiver/Oklahoma State
Notes: Everyone in the college football world (fans. media, etc.) paid attention to Oklahoma State for the last two years because of star receiver JUSTIN BLACKMON, quarterback BRANDON WEEDEN, and their great head coach MIKE GUNDY. But beneath the obvious stars was the unheralded but talented inside receiver Cooper who had solid speed, favorable hands, and he could make defenses pay for just worrying about Blackmon, Weeden, and running backs JOSEPH RANDLE and KENDALL HUNTER.
6.) PAUL CORNICK Offensive Line/North Dakota State
Notes: Way out in the freezing cold/peaceful country that is North Dakota, Cornick was a competitive and huge (6 feet 5 and 310 pounds) offensive tackle for the Bison. With his help the Bison had balanced offenses for most of the time he was with them.
7.) KELLEN MOORE Quarterback/Boise State
Notes: What more could this kid do for four years at Boise State? Moore was fun to watch and one of the biggest reasons why that school’s football program was even relevant nationwide. But Moore didn’t have a bazooka for a left arm, he was short by NFL standards, and he played in the Western Athletic Conference (2008-2010) and Mountain West Conference (2011) which weren’t BCS conferences or on the cutting edge as far as big-time competition.
8.) JACORY HARRIS Quarterback/Miami
Notes: Every year it was always something with him or the Miami program. There weren’t too many football fans or those in the media who were surprised when he went undrafted this weekend.
9.) CHRIS GALIPPO Linebacker/University of Southern California
Notes: Injuries, better linebackers, scheme changes, and underachievement doomed much of his career at USC. But at the heart of the matter Galippo does have enough talent to play on Sundays. But he has to stay hungry and toil on the special teams for a while though to make it.
10.) CLIFF HARRIS Oregon/Defensive Back
Notes: A heck of a competitor for the Ducks and he does have the ability to play in the NFL but his off the field transgressions killed his chances of getting drafted (he was thrown off the Ducks a couple weeks before bowl season). This guy could be a helpful punt returner and alternate/starter at cornerback though.
11.) JERMAINE KEARSE Washington/Wide Receiver
Notes: A big possession receiver who was at the height of his popularity when JAKE LOCKER was the Huskies quarterback in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. But last year other receivers helped out more than before and running back CHRIS POLK cut into Kearse’s production.
12.) JORDAN JEFFERSON LSU/Quarterback
Notes: Jefferson was never a big-time quarterback at LSU and it didn’t help matters with that infamous bar brawl he had before the 2011 season started. Then of course there was that meltdown he had in the BCS title game versus a blood thirsty Alabama defense. Although some of the greatest offensive players in college football history couldn’t have done much better than Jefferson did in that game versus Alabama.
13.) CASE KEENUM Quarterback/Houston
Notes: Had astronomical numbers at Houston, but scouts and coaches weren’t fooled by the fact that many of his passing yards were the result of a short and intermediate-style offensive playbook. Very athletic receivers like DONNIE AVERY (All-Conference USA receiver and 2nd round pick of the St.Louis Rams in 2008), PATRICK EDWARDS (not drafted but one of the most effective and big play receivers in college ball in 2011 with a 19.6 yards per catch average), TYRON CARRIER (one of the most breathtaking offensive players at that school in recent memory), and others take a short flat (near the sideline) route, cross, whatever and take it upfield for a big gain or score. Keenum actually has a good arm and solid athletic ability but the offensive system at Houston made him (past Houston star quarterbacks like ANDRE WARE and DAVID KLINGLER) look better than he really was.
14.) ERIC PAGE Wide Receiver/Toledo
Notes: One of the more exciting players to ever play for the Rockets, but the NFL didn’t want to use a pick on a man who made his name mostly as a return specialist although he had 3,346 yards receiving at Toledo over the last three seasons. Page was to many, one of the biggest surprises to go undrafted.
15.) CHASE MINNIFIELD Defensive Back/Virginia
Notes: Minnifield was an undersized corner who wasn’t anything special at Virginia, but he can be a sub package corner in the league and special teams player. He must go to the right team.
16.) DAVIN MEGGETT Running Back/Maryland
Notes: An exciting player at times who could help a team as an occasional-carry/change of pace back or returner.
17.) CHRIS POLK Running Back/Washington
Notes: Polk should have been drafted. Enough said.
18.) BRETT ROY Defensive Line/Nevada
Notes: A consummate overachiever and his being undrafted will only help this highly motivated player.
19.) JAMES RODGERS Wide Receiver/Oregon State
Notes: Rodgers carved out his own niche for the Beavers but the NFL wasn’t paying attention. His lack of size hurts him too but like his brother Jacquizz, he is a competitive player who may surprise some people.
20.) GERELL ROBINSON Wide Receiver/Arizona State
Notes: Went off on the Boise State defense in the Maaco Car Care Bowl this past winter (13 catches for 241 yards and a score) but it was too little and too late, as Arizona State was toast throughout that game. The point for bringing up that game is the fact that bowl games are showcases for NFL prospects, and Robinson passed the test albeit a little late.
21.) DE’ANDRE PRESLEY Defensive Back/Appalachian State
Notes: Making the switch from quarterback to defensive back on the NFL level may take some time but this kid is a marvelous athlete.
22.) DARRON THOMAS Quarterback/Oregon
Notes: Should have stayed in school.
23.) MARC TYLER Running Back/University of Southern California
Notes: Outside of MATT KALIL and NICK PERRY, the Trojans had a weak draft class for 2012. Tyler was an underachiever at USC but he still played a lot. But in the NFL he better care about the game more than he did at USC or he could be out of this league faster than a New York minute.
24.) PATRICK WITT Quarterback/Yale
Notes: Witt needs to go to the right team that can teach him to use his talents and be a pro quarterback either in the NFL or United States Football League (UFL). Witt is not just some Ivy-League smarty-pants, this kid can play.
25.) AUSTIN DAVIS Quarterback/Southern Mississippi
Notes: Davis was a prolific and efficient passer for the Eagles for the better part of the last four years. But no team wanted to use a pick on him as he is just a developmental prospect as of now.
Every single one of those 25 players are in the memory of coaches, scouts, and of general managers and they will be signed sooner or later, and partly because they chose to participate or were invited to the combine. And those players who played in BCS conferences or even mid-major Division-I leagues from the above list got more attention from important NFL personnel than they’ll ever know.
If anyone wonders why so many high school upperclassmen would darn near kill to get a Division-I scholarship, it is because of all the attention, connections, etc. it can bring. It’s hard making it to the NFL, but playing D-I college football brings TV exposure, media attention, and so much more. Don’t feel bad for these 25 players, because they will get their shot. It may start in the NFL, the UFL, or even the Arena League, but talent will get noticed.
By Matthew Robinson
