A staggering 330 former college football players have been invited to the 2013 NFL Combine. The list is heavy on linemen and defensive backs. Ten former Alabama players were invited.
It’s numbers like this that explain how Nick Saban and Alabama are able to consistently haul in jaw-dropping recruiting classes like the one signed yesterday. When players can see how successful this program is in getting guys into the NFL, it makes The Process that much more attractive.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive backs Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie will workout in front of NFL scouts today, the last day of the NFL Scouting Combine. Safety Mark Barron—recovering from surgery to repair a double hernia—will not participate in drills.
Kirkpatrick and Menzie will work with the second group of defensive backs during the afternoon session.
Kirkpatrick is either the No. 1 or No. 2 cornerback in the 2012 draft, depending on whose mock draft you read. Menzie grades out as a second to third rounder, but don’t expect him to last beyond the second day. Barron is the No. 1 safety in the draft, but very few projections had him going in the first round in pre-combine mock drafts.
A total of nine Alabama players were invited to the 2012 combine—most in the nation. The others invited were linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw; defensive lineman Josh Chapman; wideouts Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze and running back Trent Richardson.
Richardson and Chapman joined Barron as Tide players who did not workout during the combine. Upshaw participated only in the bench press exercise, opting to do other on-field workouts during Alabama’s Pro Day, set for March 7 on campus.
Richardson—whose minor knee surgery knocked him out of both the Combine and the Pro Day drills—has scheduled a private workout for NFL scouts on March 27.
The 2012 NFL Draft will be held April 26 – 28 in New York. Alabama could have as many as five players selected in the first round, with as many as 10 selected overall.
You want to see how fast he can run? Watch the tape.
Because you won’t see the Alabama running back timed in the 40-yard dash — or any on-field drills for that matter — at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine. A minor knee scope eliminated that possibility, but Richardson scoffed at the notion that his injury was a “minor setback.”
“I don’t even call it a setback, for real,” Richardson said Friday. “I just missed a little opportunity to run the 40 in front of everybody, show everybody what I can do. If you call it a setback, that’s for you to say.”
Richardson said you can go back as far as you want, but you’ll never find video of him being caught from behind, a testament to his speed. One more thing Richardson said you won’t find on tape is him coughing up the ball.
“The first thing that will get you on the bench is fumbling the ball, and that’s one thing I do not do,” Richardson said.
New York Jets coach Rex Ryan comments on former Alabama QB Greg McElroy’s ability to play as an NFL signal caller. McElroy earned high praise during the preseason for his gutsy, smart play.
But he ran afoul of Ryan and many Jets fans when he gave the following comments to Birmingham’s 97.3 The Zone radio:
"[The Jets locker room is] definitely not a fun place to be, I can assure you. It's the first time I've ever been around extremely selfish individuals. I think that's maybe the nature of the NFL, but there were people within our locker room that didn't care whether we won or lost as long as they ... had really had good games individually.
"That's the disappointing thing. It's going to take a lot to come together next year. I think the fact we struggled at times this year really led to ... this corrupt mindset within the locker room. But I think we're going to regroup. I think we'll be a better team because of the trials and tribulations this year."
McElroy comes from a background of winning. As a starter from his high school career through most of the 2010 season, he had never lost a game as a quarterback. As a product of the Nick Saban Process® he entered the Jets program as a focused, disciplined football player. What he saw when he got there shocked him.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see McElroy not on the Jets roster for the 2012 season.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if he signs with an organization that has a lot more discipline and leadership, from the head coach down to the waterboy. There are a handful of such programs in the NFL, including the Patriots, Steelers, 49ers and Texans.
Don’t be surprised if McElroy gets cut and signs with one of the above, and the Texans could probably use a capable backup, especially with their new tough-nosed approach to the game.
