Not surprisingly, the vast majority of players invited to the scouting combine which gets underway next week are pretty well known by the time to get to Indianapolis. Even most of the players from outside the ranks of FBS programs have some kind of national rep. Indeed, the 27 non-FBS prospects at this month’s combine include RBs John Crockett of North Dakota State and Tyler Varga of Yale, Hobart G/ T Ali Marpet, Harvard OLB Zach Hodges, Samford safety Jacquiski Tartt, Norfolk State DE/OLB Lynden Trail, Eastern Washington FS Tevin Mcdonald and Portland State P Kyle Loomis. Every year, though, the combine roster also seems to include a handful of players who may not even be household names in their own homes. And this year is no exception including some of the names below.
QB Bo Wallace of Mississppi won’t be at this year’s combine; neither will Jake Waters of Kansas State or Arizona State’s Taylor Kelly; same for record-setting Tayler Heinicke of Old Dominion. However, Jerry Lovelocke of Prairie View A&M will be in Indianapolis next week. True, Lovelocke is designated as a ‘throwing QB’ meaning he will remain in town after the rest of the QBs leave to throw to the receivers and running backs. But he’ll be at the combine and will go through all the QB drills and physical testing. The 6-4, 245-pound Lovelocke certainly looks the part of an NFL QB and he has the arm strength to make all the throws, as well as the athleticism to escape trouble in the pocket. Lovelocke, though, is still very much a work in progress as he needs to significantly improve his pocket awareness as well as his accuracy and decision-making.
There are actually a number of relatively well-known FCS RBs in this year’s draft including David Johnson of Northern Iowa, Tyler Varga of Yale and South Dakota State’s Zack Zenner, but Gus Johnson of Stephen F Austin was just as productive. Indeed, he was named the Southland Player of the Year and consensus All-American this fall when he ran for almost 1,700 yards and 23 scores as he averaged 6.6 yards per carry, while also chipping in 17 receptions. Johnson likely won’t win many foot races, but he’s a tough inside north-south runner who at 5-9, 225 runs with good power as he keeps his pads low and his feet moving. Johnson will be joined in Indianapolis by Lafayette RB Ross Scheuerman, one of the most versatile backs in this year’s draft who ran for almost 1,200 yards this fall while leading the team with 57 receptions (nobody else had more than 30). At 6-0, 205 Scheuerman lacks great measurable, but he’s a good athlete who was a state wrestling finalist and could actually get some looks at WR and even safety at the next level.
Alabama-Birmingham WR/KR J.J. Nelson could very well go down as the last player from the UAB to attend the combine as the program has been dropped by the university. However, that’s about the only thing that Nelson will ever be last at as he figures to be one of the fastest players over 40 yards next week. Indeed, he was a state champ 100 and 200M sprinter in high school and brought that speed to UAB where he was a big-play threat at WR, but got his combine invite largely as a result of his return skills as he averaged a remarkable 38 yards on KO returns in 2014 when he brought back 4 for scores. Nelson, though, is just a wisp of a guy who will be thrilled if he breaks 160 when they weigh-in the players next week.
There are also a couple of FCS teams that are sending two players to the combine in DE Ryan Delaire and CB Tye Smith of Towson and DT Derrick Lott and DE/OLB Davis Tull of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Delaire is a 6-4, 250-pound tweener who had 11 sacks in each of the past couple of season after transferring in from Umass, while Smith is a heady, physical corner with nice length (6-0, 185) who is very active in run support, though, scouts would have liked to see a few more plays when the ball was in the air. Tull is another active tweener (6-3, 245) who with projected sub-4.6 speed could really turn some heads at the combine. He certainly turned heads on the field where he was a three-time FCS All-American and finished his college tenure with 37 career sacks, the 4th highest all-time figure in FCS history. Meanwhile, Lott, a Georgia transfer, is a 6-3, 300-pounder with the sub-5.0 speed to get into the backfield.
There will be a couple more unheralded small-school defenders in Indianapolis next week in James Madison FS Dean Marlowe and Newberry OLB Edmond Robinson. Marlowe, in particular, could be something of a sleeper at this year’s draft; he’s a good-looking 6-2, 205-pounder with reported sub-4.6 speed who reads the field well and will also deliver a pop. Meanwhile, Robinson, who is one of just two DII players invited to the combine, is an all-purpose OLB with the speed to make plays in reverse.
One final no-name prospect of sorts is Oregon State DE Obum Gwacham who wasn’t even a starter on the Beavers’ defense in 2014 and had only 4 sacks last season, but is a really intriguing athlete. Indeed, the 6-5, 235 Gwacham was actually a receiver until the start of last season and for good measure in his off-hours is a 7-foot high jumper with the OSU track team.
