Indeed, the star of the show for the offensive linemen this week was unheralded G/T Ali Marpet from unheralded DII Hobart. If nothing else Marpet, who also held his own at last month’s Senior Bowl, proved that he can indeed play with the big guys. Marpet was the only offensive linemen this week to run under 5-flat as he broke the tape in the 40 in 4.98 seconds. Marpet also had the fastest 10-yard split among offensive lineman, along with the second fastest short shuttle time for the position, while he also had a very respectable 30 reps in the bench press and an athletic (for a 307-pound guy) vertical leap of over 30 inches.
Meanwhile, Mitch Morse of Missouri also put himself in the running for top 10 workout warriors at the combine as he ran the 40 in 5.14 seconds, was second among offensive linemen in both the bench press and short shuttle, and had an athletic 31-inch vertical. Similar story for Laurence Gibson of Virginia Tech who had a 5.04 40, along with a position leading vertical of 33 inches and a good time in the short shuttle. Gibson also looked the part at over 6-5, 305 with 10.5 inch arms and big hands. San Diego State’s terry Poole also showed some unexpected athleticism, but like both Morse and Gibson, though, is still considered to be more a third-day prospect for the upcoming draft.
Among more prominent offensive linemen, Jake Fisher of Oregon also had a great week as the 6-6, 306-pounder ran the 40 in 5.01 seconds with a quick 1.75 second split; he also had a 32-inch plus vertical while posting one of the fastest short shuttle times for an offensive lineman ever. Indeed, Fisher’s SS time of 4.33 seconds was almost two tenths faster than another lineman in Indianapolis this week. And while Fisher played RT at Oregon, there is just a hint of a buzz that he might get a try on the left side at the next level.
There were also some left tackle whispers for SEC OTs La’el Collins of LSU and D.J. Humphries of Florida. Collins, of course, played LT for the Tigers, but concerns about his overall athleticism and lateral agility reportedly had many NFL teams thinking his best fit at the next level would be inside at OG. Collins, though, ran a solid 40 in 5.12, while his short shuttle was among the top figures for the position. Collins also really excelled in positional drills where he showed consistently light feet. However, there is still the issue of those 33 inch arms for Collins, who also didn’t have a very good bench press (just 21 reps) although his functional football strength has never really been doubted by pro scouts. Meanwhile, Humphries has NFL teams headed back to the tapes as he showed nice athleticism and agility all day; more important for Humphries he weighed in at 307 pounds in Indianapolis after reportedly playing at an undersized 280-285 this season. And even though he had a decent 26 reps in the bench press, NFL teams are still concerned about whether he has the strength and technical consistency to sustain blocks in the pros. At the sae time, FSU C/T Cam Erving also had a solid workout to cement his status as the top C.
Pro teams will also have conflicting results to deal with regarding Andrus Peat of Stanford and T J Clemmings, arguably the top-rated pure LT prospects in the 2015 draft. Neither had the kind of 5.0 40s one tends to expect from top 5-10 LT prospects with Peat clocking a 5.18 and Clemmings a 5.14 – but both showed pretty good movement skills in positional drills, although more the stuff of projects rather than locks. The difference of opinion across the league may be sharpest for Peat who some teams feel has all the physical tools of a prototype LT, while others think that he may be just too stiff through the lower body to be more than a solid RT.
At the same time, a number of big RT prospects including Rob Havenstein of Wisconsin, Colorado State’s Ty Sambrailo, Daryl Williams of Oklahoma, Donovan Smith of Penn State, Austin Shepherd of Alabama and Jeremiah Poutasi of Utah didn’t show much in the way of athleticism.
