More than 300 former college football players gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this past weekend to showcase their football skills and attempt to impress potential employers. Among them were 12 former LSU athletes — the most from any school at the combine this year.The NFL Scouting Combine, held Feb. 24 to March 2, showcased some of the best potential pro prospects who will be participating in this year’s draft.”There is no doubt that there is great correlation between putting many players in the draft and winning on Saturdays,” said NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier. “When you look at who has put the most players in the NFL draft, it’s been Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Texas, LSU and Florida. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see those are the people that are playing for national championships.”Only two other teams, Florida State and Miami (Fla.) have also put many players into the draft without consistently competing for championships. Players at the combine are evaluated based on their performance in a multitude of physical and mental tests along with how they fair in position-specific drills. They are also given full medical evaluations and participate in one-on-one interviews with teams. Detillier said former LSU cornerback Chris Hawkins, and former linebackers Harry Coleman and Perry Riley all put in surprising performances at the combine and have improved their respective draft stocks. “[Hawkins] held up well and I think he has a chance to play in this league,” he said. “He ran well, did pretty well in all of the drills and will end up being a late-round pick.”Hawkins ran a 4.43 second forty-yard dash and did 16 repetitions of a 225 pound bench press. The linebackers’ performances were a direct result of LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis’ taking over defensive duties prior to the 2009 season, Detilier said. Coleman ran a 4.65 40-yard dash and lifted 13 repetitions. Riley ran a 4.64 second 40.Much hyped former LSU receiver Brandon LaFell, a player that Detillier said needed a big performance at the Combine, did not deliver. LaFell has been listed as high as the No. 5 wide receiver in some mock NFL drafts but has lost some steam as a result of his lackluster performance. LaFell ran a 4.59 second 40.”He’s been on a slow fall now since the start of the season,” Detillier said. “Most people would have probably liked for him to run better, and he’s got kind of a diva personality to begin with, so you can see sort of this drop-off from being a first round pick.”Detillier predicted LaFell would slip into the second round. Another Tiger expected to be in the second round is former two-sport standout Chad Jones. Jones declared early for the draft and put together a solid showing at the combine. He ran a 4.57 second 40-yard dash and did nine repetitions of the 225 pound bench press. “4.57 for a man who is 220 pounds is pretty good,” Detillier said. “He was fairly smooth in most of the drills, but the nine reps surprised me that he didn’t do a little better. I know in the offseason, he’s spent a lot of time with baseball so he hasnt spent a lot of time with the weights.”Most of the other players are expected to be mid-to-late round draft selections or undrafted free agents in April. Although he is expected to be a later-round selection, one former Tiger turned a few heads with his 40 time.
Trindon Holliday ran the second-fastest 40, officially, with his 4.34 second effort. “The guy’s a world-class sprinter,” Detillier said. “You knew he was going to run fast.”—————Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]