On Friday, 76 players were scheduled and all 76 reported. For the first three days of the Combine there have been no dropouts, cancellations or illnesses. That makes 234 out of 234.
Hall of Famer and Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome took Falcons GM Rich McKay's place at the welcome dinner. Newsome's presentation to the players was taped and will be available to watch on NFL Network.
D'Brickashaw Ferguson might have set the trend by dressing well, but Jonathan Scott of Texas also showed up at the interviews in a suit and tie.
The activity is getting more strenuous because the three groups of player are now overlapping with the field drills, weight room workouts and interviews.
Today, starting at 9 a.m., the offensive linemen started to work out. There were two groups -- the first group had 28 players and of them 23 ran. One was medically excused. In the second group, there were 25 players and 21 of them ran. Three were medically excused. We were almost perfect on the second group.
FAST TIMES AT RCA DOME
There were really good times. In the first group, of offensive linemen Chris Chester from Oklahoma, who is a multiple position guy (all along the line and tight end), ran the 40 in 4.84 seconds while listed at 6-3 3/8 and 303 pounds. Nick Mangold, a center from Ohio State -- 6-3 5/8, 300 -- ran his 40 in 5.03.
In the second group, Eric Winston of Miami (Fla.) had best time of 4.93. He is listed at 6-6 5/8 and 310 pounds. Guy Whimper from East Carolina -- 6-43/4, 304 -- was under five seconds flat. Pat Ross, 6-31/2, 301, a center from Boston College, ran it in 4.96.
In the second group there wasn't a single under guy 300 pounds. The first group had three players that were under 300 pounds, the lightest being Greg Eslinger of Minnesota at 292.
The running backs also finished up their field drills. Fifteen were scheduled, but Reggie Bush had a previous engagement and couldn't make it. Of the remaining 14 players, 13 of them ran and Ryan Gilbert of Houston was medically excused. Joseph Addai of LSU was fast at 4.37 in the 40; Maurice Drew of UCLA ran 4.43; Andre Hall of South Florida ran 4.43. Even Matt Bernstein of Wisconsin at 260 pounds ran his 40 in 4.89. There were some good times put in. That concludes today's workouts.
LONG AND SHORT OF IT
Defensive linemen
Tallest: Jason Hatcher, Grambling, 6-foot-5 7/8
Shortest: Elvis Dumervil, Louisville, 5-11 3/8
Heaviest: Johnny Jolley, Texas A&M, 317 pounds
Lightest: Charlton Keith, Kansas State, 237 pounds
Tight ends
Tallest: Leonard Pope, Georgia, 6-foot-73/4
Shortest: Tony Scheffler, Western Michigan, 6-foot 3/8
Heaviest: T.J. Williams, North Carolina, 269 pounds
Lightest: Garrett Mills, Tulsa, 241 pounds
THE PLACE TO BE
The most popular place in town has become the Reebok room. Last night there were over 100 players in there and NFL Network did something on Quinton Porter of Boston College and Matt Leinart of USC. The one thing that makes it so exciting is that every player has an authentic Reebok football with their name stamped on it. With the offensive linemen being the first group to start out of town, some of them will probably charged at the airport for excess baggage due to all the goodies.
The NFL has a media room is which there are 20 television stations present at one times and 100 times. Over the first two days, at least 75 players have been interviewed by stations from 25 states and Mexico. Many representatives of the teams' official web sites are here to get content for their fans.
HEAVY LIFTING
Quarterback Jay Cutler from Vanderbilt is quite strong. He threw the bar up 23 times. I believe this is the most a quarterback has lifted at the Combine. That is extraordinary. QB lifting is strictly optional.
