Players from smaller schools use NFL Combine as springboard
INDIANAPOLIS -For NFL prospects from small schools like Saint Xavier, North Dakota State and Montana, getting an invitation to the scouting combine can be a boon.
Vincent Jackson, a Widefield High School graduate who played receiver at Northern Colorado, is an example. He ran 40-yard dashes in 4.44 seconds and 4.45 seconds at the combine in 2005 and was a second-round pick of the San Diego Chargers two months later.
Getting noticed is a big step for players that don’t play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), and the combine is the chance to make a name.
“It puts us on an even playing field,” Furman fullback Jerome Felton said. “They get to match me up against every running back and fullback in the country. I think it’s very important for someone in my situation. I had a good career in college, but at the same time I played in a lower division.”
Everyone doesn’t get the chance. Danny Woodhead gained a NCAA record 7,962 rushing yards for Chadron State, a small school in northwestern Nebraska. He twice won the Harlon Hill Award, given to the top Division II player each year.
Woodhead wasn’t among the 333 prospects selected for combine invitations by a committee of NFL scouts and team executives.
“Not going to the combine hasn’t broken me too much,” Woodhead said from his home in North Platte, Neb. “I’ve been passed up my whole life.”
Woodhead’s road to the NFL will be different than those small school players lucky enough to land a combine invitation.
Although the combine is convenient for NFL teams because most prospects are in the same place, it isn’t necessary for an individual player. Some of the top prospects don’t work out there, opting for more comfortable surroundings at their college’s pro day. Woodhead will work out with the University of Nebraska’s pro day in March, doing many of the same drills he would have done at the combine. He also participated in the Hula Bowl all-star game, which exposed him to NFL scouts.
The interview process is also cited as a major part of the combine. However, some teams don’t interview some players they are interested in, to not give away secrets. The Broncos didn’t interview quarterback Jay Cutler or defensive end Elvis Dumervil before picking them in 2006.
Woodhead, who is considered small for an NFL running back at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, has been working out six days a week with a personal trainer, getting ready for his pro day workout. Because he got some publicity for breaking the rushing record, he has an advantage over some other small-school players.
“Every team knows about Danny Woodhead,” Woodhead’s agent Chris Gittings said. “They’re going to say ‘He’s the kid that broke the record, right?’”
Woodhead said he thinks he has NFL speed and can run the 40-yard dash in a little more than 4.4 seconds. He also has the gaudy college stats on his resume.
Woodhead also is aware of one high-profile NFL player who took his route. In Denver, receiver Rod Smith still holds a grudge over not being invited to the combine.
Smith, who went undrafted, is the Broncos’ all-time leading receiver.
“He turned out OK,” Woodhead said.
