OTs Wirfs, Wills answer the bell … After Louisville OT Mehki Becton laid down a marker earlier this afternoon when the 360-pounder clocked a very quick (for a guy that size) 5.10 40 with a 1.77 split, the challenge was there for the other top rated tackles to match that effort. And by all accounts Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs and Jedrick Wills of Alabama answered that bell. Wirfs, in fact, had the best day of any OT as he ran a very quick 4.85 40 with a 1.69 10-yard split, making him the only offensive lineman in Indianapolis this week to crack the 1.70 mark. Wirfs then went out and lead the pack with a vertical leap of 36.5″, which would be about average for a WR, and a long jump over 10-feet. Meanwhile, Wills ran a very good 5.05 40, although his split was a little slow at 1.81. For good measure, Wills also added a very athletic 34.5″ vertical. On the other hand, Andrew Thomas of Georgia was only able to post middle of the pack numbers as he ran a 5.22 40 with a 1.83 split and very average jumps, although his shuttle times were much closer to the top. At the same time, a couple of relatively unknown OTs – Danny Pinter of Ball State and Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland – were the only other OTs to run under 5-flat today with Pinter clocking a 4.91 and Cleveland a 4.94. Cleveland also blew away the competition in the agility drills. Meanwhile, other tackles that helped themselves in their workout today included USC’s Austin Jackson (5.07 40 time; 1.73 split), Saahdiq Charles of LSU (5.05, 1.81), underrated Jake Driscoll of Auburn (5.02, 1.74), Matt Peart of UConn (5.06, 1.75), Terence Steele of Texas Tech (5.03, 1.74), and Alex Taylor of South Carolina State (5.09, 1.79). On the other hand, Josh Jones of Houston and Georgia’s Isaiah Wilson had to be a little disappointed with their 40 times in the 5.30 range, although both were quicker over the first ten yards. And it was kind of a disaster for Washington’s Trey Adams, who lumbered to a 5.60 40 clocking. Meanwhile, among the OGs Oregon’s Shane Lemieux had an outstanding day posting a 5.11 40, while Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz and Nick Harris of Washington were the quickest centers. Here are the full 40 times for the offensive linemen, as well as all the data courtesy of Steelers Depot.
