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The 2015 NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up on Monday in Indianapolis with defensive back drills, which meant both of Ole Miss' participants -- safety Cody Prewitt and cornerback Senquez Golson -- got their time to show off in front of pro scouts.
Senquez made the most of it, posting good numbers in most of the measurable drills and basically spending every second of his on-camera time being swooned over by Mike Maycock and Deion Sanders. Prewitt's day didn't go as well -- he finished toward the bottom of the safety group in just about every category -- but it doesn't seem to have affected his draft status too much, at least among the media prognosticators.
Thus is the nature of the combine. Every year we see workout warriors who skyrocket their stock with crazy numbers only to bust in the pros (uh hum, Stephen Hill), and every year we see guys with terrible combines ball out once they get on an actual football field (Joe Haden, Anquan Bolden, even Drew Brees), so don't get too caught up in the numbers.
Let's take a look at each guy's combine results and their latest draft projections.
Senquez Golson
40-yard dash: 4.46 sec. (8 of 29)
Bench press: 15 reps (13 of 22)
Vertical jump: 33.5 in. (23 of 29)
Broad jump: 120 in. (21 of 30)
3-cone drill: 6.81 sec. (7 of 26)
20-yard shuffle: 4.20 sec. (16 of 27)
The bad
The knock against Senquez has and always will be his height. He officially measured in under 5'9 and his unimpressive vertical jump didn't help his cause. That, combined with the fact that he typically played zone or off-man coverage at Ole Miss, has scouts questioning whether he'll be able to single up on the outside at the next level.
The good
Senquez showed off his athleticism by posting top 10 numbers in the 40 and the cone drill, but it's his ball skills that are really impressing the scouts and media pundits. Maycock, who was handling the commentary for NFL Network during the combine, said that Golson "tracks the ball in the air as well as any corner I've seen in the last five years." As if Golson's background as an outfielder and the fact that he posted an SEC-high 10 picks last season wasn't proof enough, watch him tear up the gauntlet drill:
CBS bumped Golson up to the No. 13 corner in the 2015 class and has him as a third or fourth rounder. NFL.com's official scouting report warns that he his size could pigeon hole him as a nickel corner, but says that he has "Pro Bowl potential."
Cody Prewitt
40-yard dash: 4.60 sec. (13 of 18)
Bench press: 11 reps (13 of 13)
Vertical jump: 35 in. (9 of 16)
Broad jump: 125 in. (3 of 17)
3-cone drill: 7.12 sec. (14 of 16)
20-yard shuffle: 4.23 sec. (9 of 15)
60-yard shuffle: 11.44 (4 of 12)
The bad
Things did not go well for Prewitt. We already knew that he wasn't going to blow anybody away with his athleticism, but as a big-bodied safety that will make his living in run support, his dead-last bench press wasn't a good look -- though you have to think that the shoulder injury he suffered late in the season had something to do with that. NFL.com's scouting report calls him "a marginal athlete by NFL standards" and, incredibly, criticized that "he isn't going to send any messages with his hits."
Um, ok.
Tell me how Cody Prewitt doesn't send messages with his hits.. Just ask Jordan Matthews. pic.twitter.com/IvUY4SvVDA
— John Gillon (@jgillon1516) February 23, 2015
The good
Prewitt's abilities are never going to translate well in a format in like the combine, which can't take into consideration his uncanny football instincts and ability to clobber the shit out of people -- and that seems to be something that pundits are keeping in mind. Even after an off day in Indy, he's still rated by CBS as the top free safety in the draft and a second-round pick.
And I mean, c'mon, look at those luxurious locks.
Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports