As day five of the NFL Combine wrapped up, there was a great deal of hype surrounding the defensive linemen. Florida's Dante Fowler, Southern California's Leonard Williams and Nebraska's Randy Gregory headlined the list with a solid collective performance. The linebackers, on the other hand, did little to impress the NFL draft community.
Heading into the day, the three linebackers the headlined the group were TCU's Paul Dawson, Mississippi State's Benardrick McKinney and Miami (Fla.) tackling machine Denzel Perryman. None really wowed scouts during workouts. Dawson ran an unimpressive 4.95 in his 40-yard dash. McKinney ran an average 4.69 40 time, but looked very stiff and was caught multiple times with his head down during drills and didn't show good technique during the on-field workouts. Perryman, who was projected to perform admirably on-field due to his low center of gravity, struggled with stiff hips and poor recovery ability. Not only is his 5'10 measurement alarming for NFL franchises, but his 40 time of 4.81 didn't help his case as one of the top linebackers.
Former Terrapin linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil only participated in the bench press workout, as he posted 25 reps of 225 pounds.
Other Big Ten linebackers that participated were Michigan's Jake Ryan, Minnesota's Damien Wilson and Penn State's Mike Hull. Ryan ran a 4.68, had a vertical of 34" and a broad jump of 120". Wilson posted a 40 time of 4.8, had an impressive vertical of 37" and a broad jump of 110". Although Hull had a 40 time of 4.71,he performed very well during on-field drills and showed off his hand eye coordination while catching multiple balls.
Below is the list of all times and measurements from each participant.
No. |
Player |
College |
1st 10 yard split |
1st 40-yard |
2nd 10 yard split |
2nd 40-yard |
Vertical (inches) |
Broad Jump (inches) |
LB01 |
Alexander, Kwon |
LSU |
1.59 |
4.59 |
1.63 |
4.63 |
36" |
121 |
LB02 |
Anthony, Stephone |
Clemson |
1.57 |
4.59 |
1.66 |
4.69 |
37" |
122 |
LB03 |
Ball, Neiron |
Florida |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
LB04 |
Cudjoe-Virgil, Yannik |
Maryland |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
LB05 |
Davis, Aaron |
Colorado St. |
1.77 |
4.99 |
1.75 |
4.99 |
29" |
107 |
LB06 |
Dawson, Paul |
TCU |
1.69 |
4.95 |
1.73 |
4.96 |
28" |
109 |
LB07 |
Depriest, Trey |
Alabama |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
LB08 |
Dickson, Xzavier |
Alabama |
1.71 |
4.77 |
1.77 |
4.91 |
29.5" |
100 |
LB09 |
Dupree, Alvin "Bud" |
Kentucky |
1.6 |
4.57 |
1.71 |
4.73 |
42" |
138 |
LB10 |
Fua, Alani |
BYU |
1.67 |
4.75 |
1.7 |
4.8 |
34.5" |
112 |
LB11 |
Grissom, Geneo |
Oklahoma |
1.66 |
4.85 |
1.68 |
4.93 |
N/A |
N/A |
LB12 |
Owacham, Obum |
Oregon St. |
1.68 |
4.75 |
1.67 |
4.93 |
N/A |
N/A |
LB13 |
Hager, Bryce |
Baylor |
1.64 |
4.65 |
1.56 |
4.57 |
35" |
117 |
LB14 |
Heeney, Ben |
Kansas |
1.63 |
4.62 |
1.68 |
4.68 |
33.5" |
120 |
LB15 |
Herrera, Amarlo |
Georgia |
1.73 |
4.86 |
1.76 |
4.95 |
32" |
111 |
LB16 |
Hicks, Jordan |
Texas |
1.53 |
4.65 |
1.63 |
4.71 |
38" |
124 |
LB17 |
Hull, Mike |
Penn St. |
1.6 |
4.71 |
1.73 |
4.93 |
||
LB19 |
Jones, Taiwan |
Michigan St. |
1.56 |
4.84 |
1.79 |
5.01 |
32" |
115 |
LB20 |
Kendricks, Eric |
UCLA |
1.64 |
4.66 |
N/A |
N/A |
38" |
124 |
LB21 |
Kikaha, Hau'oli |
Washington |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A2 |
LB22 |
Mauldin, Lorenzo |
Louisville |
1.71 |
4.9 |
1.69 |
4.88 |
32" |
112 |
LB23 |
McKinney, Bernardick |
Mississippi St. |
1.74 |
4.78 |
1.64 |
4.69 |
40.5" |
121 |
LB24 |
Nzeocha, Mark |
Wyoming |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
LB25 |
Perryman, Denzel |
Miami (Fla.) |
1.69 |
4.81 |
1.68 |
4.81 |
32" |
113 |