Top OL keep pace in combine drills … If there is any group that one can really say “who the heck cares” about the on-field portion of the combine program its that for the offensive linemen who definitely do not play the game in shorts. However, if there was anything to be learned at the OL workout today its that most of the top names that did participate certainly held serve. NC State OT Ickey Ekwonu, who is trying to make the case the case to be the first offensive lineman off the board this coming April, if not the first player picked period, for example, posted an exce3llent 4.93 40 time with a good 1.78 10-yard split. Same for Mississippi State OT Charles Cross who ran in the same 4.95 second range and was even a tad quicker over 10 yards at 1.74. We’ll have to wait, though, to see if Alabama’s Evan Neal can come close to those times as he opted not to workout until the Tide’s pro day later this month. For the record, Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum another top 10-15 candidate, also opted not to workout today.
And speaking of checking off boxes, both rising OTs Trevor Penning of Northern Iowa and Central Michigan’s Bernhard Rainman also did just that and maybe a bit more. Penning, for example, ran a 4.89 40 with a very quick 1.70 split, while Rainman ran a 5.05 40 with a 1.73 split, while he also posted one of the quickest shuttle runs among the OL. Indeed, the buzz around Indy is that both those guys could now have pushed up into the top 20 prospects. Meanwhile, unheralded Southern Utah OT Braxton Jones also continued to impress as he was timed in 4.97 seconds for the 40 with a 1.74 split after measuring in at 6-5, 310 with rangy 35.5-inch arms. Same for Washington State Abe Lucas who ran way faster than expected with a very quick 4.92 40 with a 1.76 split. And it was more of the same for another rising OT in Tulsa’s Tyler Smith who was clocked in 5.04 seconds for the 40, but with a vert quick split of 1.71. In fact, the fastest split among the offensive linemen was recorded by San Diego State G/T Zach Thomas who had a 1.67 clocking over ten yards and 4.97 over the full 40. For the record, he’s 6-4.5, 308 with 34-inch arms. Wake Forest G/T Zach Tom also had a nice outing running the 40 in 5.00 flat with a 1.70 split. Meanwhile, the most impressive true OG on the day was Cole Strange of Tennessee-Chattanooga who keeps impressing after running a 5.03 40 with a 1.73 split after measuring in at 6-4.5, 307 with decent 33-inch arms; for good measure he also had one of the quickest shuttle times among the OL. Memphis OG Dylan Parham also had a solid day as the 6-2.5, 307 pounder with 33.5-inch arms was timed in just 5 seconds for the 40 with a 1.74 split. It was also an interesting day for Boston College OG Zion Johnson whose 40 time of 5.18 is good enough for a physical interior offensive lineman, although his split time of 1.80 was a little slower than expected. At the same time, though, Johnson had 32 reps in the BP, had a 32-inch vertical and a quick shuttle time, all of which were among the OL leaders.
At the same time, though, several offensive linemen probably feel they weren’t able to work out to expectations most notably Texas A&M G/T Kenyon Green and Kentucky G/T darian Kinnard. Green ran a very OG-like 5.24 in the 40 with a 1.80 split, while Kinnard was slow at 5.42 with a 1.82 split.
