Wolverines at the NFL Combine
To get our minds off basketball for a minute, I thought it would be helpful to recap how the 9 UM players performed at the NFL combine:
- WR Ronnie Bell: Pretty good combine for Bell. Did well in drills but didn’t wow with his athletic feats, which were inconsistent. Went 4.54 in the 40, 1.52 in the 10yd split, 38.5in vertical, 10ft broad jump, 6.98 3 cone, 4.15 shuttle (top 5 among WRs), 14 reps on the bench.
- TE Luke Schoonmaker: Great combine for Schoony. Went 4.63 in the 40 (top 5 among TEs), 1.59 10yd split, 33.5in vert, 10’7” broad jump (2nd among TEs), and 4.27 short shuttle (top 5 among TEs). Probably secured a 3rd or 4th round selection for himself.
- OL Ryan Hayes: Similar to Bell, had some positives and negatives. Went 5.18 in the 40, 1.78 10yd split, 30in vert, 8’7” broad jump, 7.39 3cone (3rd among OL).
- OL Olu Oluwatimi: Not a great showing for Olu, but I’m not sure he needed to show out in the way that Hayes needed to. Went 5.38 in the 40, 1.86 10yd split, 29in vert, 9’2” broad jump.
- DE Mike Morris: Not a good combine for Mike. Was slipping in drills and didn’t seem to be on his best game. 4.95 in the 40, 1.72 10yd split, 28.5 vert, 9’2” broad, and 22 reps on the bench.
- DT Mazi Smith: Great combine, but maybe not the performance we expected from the “freak”. Topped all performers in the bench at 34 reps, but didn’t run or jump.
- CB DJ Turner: Probably the clear winner out of UMs combine participants. Best 40 of the combine with a verified 4.26, best 10yd split among CBs at 1.47, solid vert at 38.5 in, and good broad jump at 10’11”. Probably one of the best all around performances by a DB, might make him a 2nd rounder.
- P Brad Robbins and K Jake Moody measured in but didn’t participate in the athletic drills.
No locks for 1st rounders this year, but all 9 should have real shots at being drafted, with Schoon and Turner raising their stock significantly from the combine.
Thanks for the summary, OP.
This entire thread screams that Mike Morris should have returned to school. Nobody, even on Mgoblog, is talking about him.
robbins finished first in mustache drill: best overall, best all-time
That mustache alone will sell tickets to any NFL team fortunate enough to draft him.
I am pretty sure he was a British prisoner in Bridge over the River Kwi.
If not I deem thee Lord Cavendish. He uses the word kerfuffle.
Don't think UM will have a 1st rounder this year but Olu was and remains the closest. At one point I thought he'd get in there but now I think the mid-2nd is his peak. It'll be a battle between he and Mazi for the first to go and it probably won't be Mazi due to the gun stuff.
The guy that helped himself the most is obviously Turner. He very likely snuck into that 2nd round - early-3rd range at worst. I'd bet on late-2nd.
P/K being drafted are always a crapshoot as some do very well in college and don't get drafted and then other guys will sneak in the later rounds after questionable careers due to having a special trait. The one knock on Moody will be his distance/leg. He was rarely asked to kick beyond 50. I think he's drafted but The NFL is weird so it wouldn't shock me if he wasn't. Robbins is on a similar path, IMO. Could be grabbed or not and neither would shock me.
All the rest will be drafted, IMO. Some may fall a bit beyond what UM fans expect but they'll be drafted.
I respect your opinion but need to watch or know more about football. Turner was mocked as a 1st rounder in a couple drafts. Mazi gun thing shouldn't affect his stock at all. Olu will be lucky if if gets drafted in 2nd round. He has been drafted in most mocks around 4th Rd or later. Olu will not be the first Wolverine drafted or the second. Turner should be a 2nd rounder, Mazi will be a 2nd or 3rd pick, Schoon should be 3rd or later was rated as one of the most athletic TE in the combine. Hayes will be around 5th. I like Olu and it would seem the guy who won the Outland trophy and best center would be a higher pick but unfortunately as of now he isnt rated that high. His athleticism is avg at best and is rated around the 4th or 5th best center. As far as Moody he attempted 7 50 yard FGs this year with a long of 59. Those 50 yard attempts were the MOST in college football. Now in saying that his leg isn't say Matt Prater but it is decent.
Agree to disagree. I've actually worked in the UM AD specifically for the football team and have spent my entire life around the sport but ok.
Could I be wrong? Sure. Always leave that open as a possibility.
My opinion on Olu as a pro prospect fell a lot during the season but I think he was a late-1st early in this past season. Some deficiencies started to show later on but his athleticism in play is still going to be highly prized, IMO. I think he'll surprise with how high he goes.
Turner being mocked as a 1st pre-season is on par with any number of UM guys mocked that high that go way later or not at all. If we imagine that the 2022 season wasn't played, Turner is a mid-round pick at best, IMO.
Mazi is the best pro prospect in this UM class, IMO. He also has the most positional/skillset competition. A lot of guys playing the roles he'll be asked to play as a pro can do similar things (regardless of meaningless Freak Lists). It's the fact of the game now. My bet is that he'll be the first UM player taken but I'm not 100% sure of that. Though, will concede that it wouldn't shock me if Turner went as the first or second UM player. I'm probably 51% on a Mazi, Olu, Turner order and 49% on Mazi, Turner, Olu order.
Not saying you're doing this but every year this board is full of UM fans predicting UM guys to go WAY earlier than they do. Why? We're UM fans. We see them a lot and like them. That's obviously not what NFL teams care about. Over the years I'd say I'm pretty accurate in my UM Draft Pick assessments. Definitely higher than the average here but that doesn't make me infallible by any means. I openly admit that so we'll see.
I'll end by saying that my pick to be wrong in a worse direction IS Olu. For sure. If he went in the 4th I wouldn't be shocked but I still think he sneaks in day 2. I just wouldn't bet my house on it.
My pick to be wrong in the opposite direction is not Turner but Mazi. If Mazi snuck in the late 1st or early 2nd it also wouldn't shock me but I'd be stunned if Turner went in the 1st. That would be on par with my last really bad Draft take of "Josh Allen won't be a good pro". Which I still make fun of myself for haha
Agree with much of your analysis but don't imagine Mazi's situation will affect him at all.
Those numbers are the obvious reason why Oluwatimi didn’t enter last year’s draft. Playing one more college season gave him the chance to put another year’s worth of excellent game play on video, I’m sure in the hope it would make up a bit for not testing well, while also allowing him another year of training to improve his combine numbers. It would be interesting to know how he would’ve tested last year.
My recollection is that is was far down the center list before he came to Michigan and one of his main weak spots was his run blocking ability. I would he think that he showed enough to improve that aspect a bit. So he probably improved his draft stock a bit last year.
Pretty sure he was like the #2 or #3 graded run blocker among centers on PFF when he transferred. Run blocking wasn’t an issue for him. It wasn’t showcased much due to Virginia’s offense (pass heavy, QB runs accounting for majority of rushes) but he graded out very well. Hard to be a Rimington Finalist and have run blocking as a weak spot.
We're generally on the same track but the article I read said that he wasn't ranked higher because Virginia's passing focused offense didn't give him the chance to establish his run blocking ability. That was a weakness in his rating.
Well on the broadcast they were basically saying that while Olu was a terrific college player, scouts don’t think of him as highly as his accolades would make you think. They said he will be a likely day 3 pick.
Thing to keep in mind is that the draft isn't the be-all, end-all of NFL careers. Like college recruiting and star ratings, it matters, but the NFL is back-filled with obscure depth players replacing 1st-rounders who were drafted purely for athletic ceiling and washed out.
I'd say it's a given Olu knows this; going to Michigan had to have been part of a plan to show he can learn, master and lead a complex pro-style offense in a single offseason.
So yeah, Olu doesn't project to get drafted early because he's athletically marginal by NFL standards, but he's strong enough to survive and crazy smart. In the pass-happy NFL, every team needs a center that can master complex blocking schemes, adjust on the fly, and protect the QB. Teams tend to scramble for a guy like Olu after their heralded 1st-rounder blocks the wrong guy for the twelfth time and knocks their starting QB out of the season. With a little luck he'll work his way up, stick on a team and have an unheralded 10-year career. . .
But yeah, it's probably going to start as a 4th-5th round pick.
I love Olu but I think it is only 50/50 he gets drafted on Day Two.
Mazi is the guy who will go highest, I'm confident on that. I think if he ran at the combine he'd have been a first rounder, I think sitting was a mistake. He'll still go top half of the 2nd. Olu *should* go earlier but that's not the buzz around him unfortunately.
My understanding is that he sustained some sort of a hamstring problem during workouts prior to the combine. It was perfectly reasonable to wait until the Michigan team day to do the running events and hope he is healed by then. If he is able to run then I doubt anyone will hold the wait against him. If is is not able to run then it could hurt him.
I would love for the Giants to get Olu, Mazi, DJ and Schoon since we have holes in those areas. I'll take Brad too.
Turner moved himself into the late 1sr, early 2nd range.
That might be a little generous. This is a deep corner class and most mocks have Turner ranked outside of the top 5 corners on the board. I could see a run on corners in the late first that moves him up to the mid 2nd, but late 2nd or 3rd seems more likely.
Book on Turner is that he's fast, and all he did was prove it.
Turner's kryptonite is that even small-ish receivers can push off without drawing a flag. Some of that can be chalked up to "college refs are terrible" but he's bumped so easily that that trick will translate in the NFL, it's on film, and he likely can't bulk up without losing speed.
I can see him going anywhere from late 1st round to day 3 depending on what scouts think of his ceiling.
Super bummed we didn't get to see Mazi run athleticism drills. And Olu probably should have abstained from anything but strength drills, I worry he's being overscouted ATM. Seeing some people saying he's a mid day 3 pick which is crazy to me. I'd love my Colts to take him in the mid rounds to push Ryan Kelly.
Presumably, Saturday knows a good center when he sees one, and might be in his GM’s ear about Olu if he slips down the board.
As an aside, our rivals down in Ohio had a weird combine. Out of 8 participants, only 2 OL ran the 40 despite that being a key need for most of their prospects. JSN ran an absolutely elite short shuttle, but nobody else did anything much of note besides Stroud looking good throwing in drills. For all of their chest beating about being an NFL factory I feel like our S&C and coaching staff consistently do more with lesser athletes.
I've always wondered what goes into the decision to skip certain tests at the combine. I get if you're injured, there's no sense in putting up a number that's not representative of when you're healthy. But these teams aren't dumb. For everyone without a demonstratable injury, wouldn't they take the DUI approach, i.e. if you refuse a breathalyzer you get charged with DUI under the presumption you're intoxicated? Aren't teams going to assume you run a horrendously slow 40 if you decline to run?
If I'm looking at the combine site correctly, it looks like Zach Harrison did the bench press but nothing else, and Stroud and their CB and S didn't do any of the physical testing. And like you said, JSN ran the shuttle but not the 40. Why? I guess Stroud wasn't alone in skipping the tests, a bunch of QBs did, but still (and again why? Tom Brady ran the f***ing 40...). It just boggles my mind that players are better off (or at least think they are) skipping offered tests instead of doing them...
Because teams will argue themselves out of talent (see Olu projections).... For example, we know JSN is fast. Teams know its an asset of his, and there's no time he can run to raise his draft stock. However if he runs it and comes in "average" or just not what was expected, teams will use it against him.
Anyone know why they bench at these things? As someone who lifts a bit (but never played football) I would guess that deadlifts, cleans and squats would be a more valuable metric. I would also think that max strength and power tests would be better than the “how many reps of 225 can these guys bounce off their chests”. But obviously I’m no expert so I’d love for someone who actually knows what they’re talking about to chime in!
Had the same thoughts before. Seems like squats and power cleans would be a good sampling of strength and explosion, but maybe there's some concern over doing those for high reps and the risk of injury.
I’m guessing they think it demonstrates the explosiveness of their punch and the ability to sustain that explosiveness throughout the game.
The other tests you mention make sense, but they must think that the various running/jumping events are a better test of their game usable combination of lower body strength, explosiveness, flexibility, agility, and bend.
When I was younger, I remember doing 135 25 times to warm up and then working out with 225 and maxing out at 260 but I hurt my right shoulder and now am lucky at nearly age 60 to get sets of 135 10 times.
something like 80% of all athletic movement with the arm is using the tricep - throw, punch, block, etc. by close proximity, the bench press tests that and more of an overall strength since you are using shoulders, chest, a tiny bit of back to get the lift done.
if you only get three exercises to do: bench, pull-ups, and squats are the 3.
They should test strength over distance simulating an NFL. Like force and speed with a sled. And it should be done in one’s underwear.
Thanks for the summary. Much appreciated!
Thanks, OP. Great summary.
I would be willing to bet they all improve for Michigan pro day