USC Draft Prospects Perform Well at Combine

Although 184 days until the opening 2015 USC football game against UNC seems like eons to wait, five former Gamecock football stars are in the spotlight for their performance in the NFL Combine.

For those of you who are college football purists, the combine is one of many pre draft showcases that allows the NFL to judge prospects physically and mentally in a neutral location. The Combine is an invite only event held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Of the more than 300 prospects invited, South Carolina was represented by RB Mike Davis, TE Rory Anderson, OG AJ Cann, OT Corey Robinson and DT JT Surratt.

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Although none of these athletes “won” the Combine (an overall top 10 placement), four out of five either scored in the top ten for their position or were close enough to be a “notable” performer.

Versatile offensive guard AJ Cann was ranked 28th going into the Combine and has the highest draft chances, according to NFL Analysts: Mel Kiper Jr predicts seeing Cann go “early to late second round.” Cann scored an overall 6 according to NFL’s official Combine results; the lower the number the better and the leading scorer was UAB’s JJ Nelson with a score of 4.28.

In the Offensive Lineman category, Corey Robinson stole the #10 spot with 28 reps (at 225 lbs) and AJ Cann finished with notable performance and 26 reps. The leader for this category overall was Miami’s Ereck Flowers with 37 reps. Robinson’s overall score was a 5.26.

Defensive Linemen #9 was JT Surratt for his bench press with 39 reps; his overall score was 5.15. Category leader was Northwestern State’s Deon Simon with 35 reps.

Mike Davis finished with an overall placement of 5.41 and while he didn’t make the top ten list for his 40 yard dash, he did make notable with a 4.61 second placement. Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford finished first, placing at 4.43 seconds.

Rory Anderson finished an overall 5.48 and didn’t quite make top ten in any category, but we are still super proud that he represented USC.

Next up for the NFL prospects is Pro Day, which will be held April 1st in Columbia. Pro Day is opened up to all athletes who want to be considered for the NFL regardless of whether or not they were invited to the Combine or not. It also gives players the home field advantage and allows them to interact with former teammates, hoping to improve their chances at being drafted.

According to ESPN’s draft tracker, South Carolina has the following players eligible for this year’s draft in addition to the five that were at the Combine: WR Damiere Byrd, QB Dylan Thompson, CB Sharrod Golightly, WR Nick Jones and S Brison Williams.

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