2012 NFL Combine

[Leonardfan]

Here is a list of white players by position invited to the combine (kickers/long snappers not included). I have put the total number of invitees and number of white players at each postion. I think I included all players. Nothing real earth shattering caste wise, it appears par for the course although I think this is the most white d-line men invited the past few years.

QB 14/19 = 74%
COLEMAN, BRYON B J TENNESSEE-CHATT QB01 QB
CORP, AARON RICHMOND QB02 QB
COUSINS, KIRK MICHIGAN ST QB03 QB
DAVIS, AUSTIN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI QB04 QB
FOLES, NICK ARIZONA QB05 QB
HARNISH, CHANDLER NORTHERN ILLINOIS QB07 QB
KEENUM, CASEY CASE HOUSTON QB10 QB
LINDLEY, RYAN SAN DIEGO ST QB11 QB
LUCK, ANDREW STANFORD QB12 QB
MOORE, KELLEN BOISE ST QB13 QB
OSWEILER, BROCK ARIZONA ST QB14 QB
TANNEHILL, RYAN TEXAS A&M QB15 QB
WEEDEN, BRANDON OKLAHOMA ST QB17 QB
WITT, PATRICK YALE QB19 QB


RB/FB 2/30 = .06%
ELLISON, RHETT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RB07 FB
EWING, BRADIE WISCONSIN RB08 FB


WR 2/47 = .04%
COALE, DANIEL DANNY VIRGINIA TECH WO09 WO
WYLIE, DEVON FRESNO ST WO47 WO


TE 4/14 = 29%
DUNSMORE, DRAKE NORTHWESTERN TE03 TE
FLEENER, JACOBY COBY STANFORD TE05 TE
PAULSON, DAVID OREGON TE10 TE
PROVO, NICOLAS NICK SYRACUSE TE12 TE

OL 25/55 = 45%
ASPER, MARK OREGON OL04 OG
BERGSTROM, TONY UTAH OL06 OT
BREWSTER, MICHAEL OHIO ST OL08 OC
COMPTON, THOMAS TOM SOUTH DAKOTA OL10 OT
CORNICK, PAUL NORTH DAKOTA ST OL11 OT
CULLEN, JOHN UTAH OL12 OT
DATKO, ANDREW FLORIDA ST OL13 OT
DECASTRO, DAVID STANFORD OL14 OG
DEVER, ANTHONY TAYLOR NOTRE DAME OL15 OT
GERHART, GARTH ARIZONA ST OL16 OC
JONES, BENJAMIN BEN GEORGIA OL22 OC
KALIL, MATT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OL24 OT
KONZ, PETER WISCONSIN OL26 OC
LERIBEUS, JOSH SMU OL28 OG
MILLER, RYAN COLORADO OL34 OG
MOLK, DAVID MICHIGAN OL35 OC
MOSLEY, BRANDON AUBURN OL36 OT
NIX, LUCAS LUKE PITTSBURGH OL37 OG
POTTER, NATHANIEL NATE BOISE ST OL40 OT
REIFF, RILEY IOWA OL41 OT
REYNOLDS, MATTHEW MATT BRIGHAM YOUNG OL42 OT
SCHWARTZ, MITCHELL CALIFORNIA OL45 OT
WALDRON, DUSTIN PORTLAND ST OL50 OT
ZEITLER, KEVIN WISCONSIN OL54 OG
ZUSEVICS, MARKUS IOWA OL55 OT

DL 9/59 = 15%
ALECXIH, PETER CHAS PITTSBURGH DL01 DT
BEQUETTE, GEORGE JAKE ARKANSAS DL03 DE
CRICK, JARED NEBRASKA DL12 DT
KUHN, MARKUS NORTH CAROLINA ST DL30 DT
MCCLELLIN, SHEA BOISE ST DL35 DE
ROY, BRETT NEVADA DL46 DT
SOLOMON, SCOTT RICE DL49 DE
SWEEZY, JUSTIN J R NORTH CAROLINA ST DL51 DT
WOLFE, DEREK CINCINNATI DL58 DT

LB 9/33 = 27%
BURRIS, MILES SAN DIEGO ST LB06 OB
CARDER, RICKY TANK TEXAS CHRISTIAN LB07 IB
COLE, AUDIE NORTH CAROLINA ST LB08 IB
GALIPPO, CHRIS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LB12 IB
KUECHLY, LUKE BOSTON COLLEGE LB19 IB
LOISEAU, SHAWN MERRIMACK LB21 IB
MCSURDY, CALEB MONTANA LB24 IB
NIELSEN, TYLER IOWA LB25 OB
STUPAR, STEPHEN NATHAN PENN ST LB28 OB

DB 1/59 = .01%
SMITH, HARRISON NOTRE DAME DB52 FS

 

[Deadlift]

Very deserving athletes:

Matt Conrath
Logan Harrell

Linebackers

J.K. Schaffer, Cinci
Joe Holland, Purdue
Andrew Sweat, Ohio State
Max Gruder, PITT

Schaffer and Holland are very mobile and instinctive. Andrew Sweat has promise in my estimation.

 

[Leonardfan]

Blake Gideon and Cole Beasley are also two pretty surprising snubs

 

[celticdb15]

Blake Gideon and Cole Beasley are also two pretty surprising snubs

Jeremy Ebert and Logan Harrell who was mentioned, are two other guys I think deserved an invite. I'm disgusted by the number of black sumos at O-Line and that there are only 4 white TEs invited to the combine.

 

[dwid]

Tyler Shoemaker is the biggest snub. They don't want any more fast Whites over 6 foot in the NFL. They can't bury them all on the roster. His production was better than Austin Pettis who got an invite and from a physical standpoint much more impressive than Pettis speedwise and much bigger than Young.

 

[whiteathlete33]

To only have 2 wideouts out of 47 is really disapointing.Ebert has always shown great balance,speed,body control and hands whenever ive seen him and deserved an invite.Northwestern WRs continue to be overlooked for some reason.Shoemaker was also a big time snub but it may work to his advantage as he wont put up inferior combine numbers,he can wait to his pro day to put up a blazing time on Boise states fast track.He will still get drafted imo,Dunham didnt get a combine invite last year and was still drafted in the fourth round so its certainly not the end of the road for Shoemaker.

There's a definate improvement on the Dline.It was only two years ago that one was invited out of sixty and that was Eric Lorig a fringe prospect.A number of the Black and Poly linemen are 330 pound plus space eaters,nose tackles etc whereas the palefaces are athletic DE types.Crick is not a DT,at 6'6 280 he would fit in great as a base end in a 4-3 and would get 10 plus sacks a season imo.Wolfe is the same.At least six or seven of the nine invited should get drafted.If theirs an increase in Dlinemen i would rather it be ends than space eaters because thye make more plays.

They seem to be scraping the barrel with alot of the affletic o linemen invited.Looking at the positional rankings on caste sites the blue chip propects are White yet the people who put out the combine invitations still find a way to make the position majority non White.

There will always be a few "overachieving" white receivers that will get drafted despite not getting a Combine invite. It happens every year. We should certainly have more than two wideouts drafted but it won't be much more.

 

[Don Wassall]

Mel Kiper's latest first round mock draft has 7 White players going in the first round. He has Luke Kuechly ("masks any questions of his speed by diagnosing the play faster than anybody out there") going to the Chiefs at #11, and Harrison Smith ("he's not the world's greatest athlete"; that's true of course, only the world's greatest athlete is the world's greatest athlete) going to the Packers at 28.

He also foresees 6 black DTs going in the first round, almost all of whom of course will turn out to be busts. What is it with the annual love affair with black DTs? Even for the caste NFL it's bizarre.

 

[JReb1]

It seems like the Tampa Bay Bucs select a black DT or DL in the 1st and 2nd round every year over the last 25 years and Sapp was the only one who wasn't a complete bust... Yet they keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result, insanity!

 

[TwentyTwo]

The 2010 Combine will be etched in my memory for only having ONE white D-Line invite...Erik Lorig; who has been converted to Fullback for the Bucs...Sean Lissamore-William & Mary was the only other D-Lineman drafted(Cowboys) in the class.

Good to see the improvement(it could not be worse) the past two years..but still perplexing to me only 15%?? True Conrath & Harrell should have been invited...small school *Sleeper* to keep an eye on...Randy Colling (Gannon)...not sure if he will be drafted...but neither was DeVito(Maine) for the NY Jets.

I like the idea of Harrison Smith as a 1st Round pick for the Packers...however no way he should have been the ONLY white DB Invite! Blake Gideon, Sean Baker, Brian Peters were snubs... CB Brandon Hardin(now listed at Safety), Austin Cassidy, Drew Astorino, Tyler Moeller, Nick Sukay and possibly Matt Merletti should be in Summer training-camps.

Will JJ DiLuigi, Nate Euchus or Brian Hernandez be in Summer Traing Camps? Or possibly CFL bound?

Some serious speed w Danny Coale & Devon Wylie(please stay healthy)! More than 2 white WR's should be drafted!! Who will be this years undrafted Welker, Amendola, Blair White, Sanzenbacher, etc??? Tyler Shoemaker would be my leading candidate as well...Josh Cooper could sneak into the late rounds?? Jeremy Ebert & Aaron Pflugrad could easily produce on the next level if given the opportunity! Keith Nichol could "Slash" as a back-up QB. Will Griff Whalen be in a camp at the request of Andrew Luck? Briggs Osbon, Logan Gray, Jake Soy & David Douglas should at least get try-outs! *Sleeper* 6'-6" Justin Helwege (Central Washington)

 

[celticdb15]

The 2010 Combine will be etched in my memory for only having ONE white D-Line invite...Erik Lorig; who has been converted to Fullback for the Bucs...Sean Lissamore-William & Mary was the only other D-Lineman drafted(Cowboys) in the class.

Good to see the improvement(it could not be worse) the past two years..but still perplexing to me only 15%?? True Conrath & Harrell should have been invited...small school *Sleeper* to keep an eye on...Randy Colling (Gannon)...not sure if he will be drafted...but neither was DeVito(Maine) for the NY Jets.

I like the idea of Harrison Smith as a 1st Round pick for the Packers...however no way he should have been the ONLY white DB Invite! Blake Gideon, Sean Baker, Brian Peters were snubs... CB Brandon Hardin(now listed at Safety), Austin Cassidy, Drew Astorino, Tyler Moeller, Nick Sukay and possibly Matt Merletti should be in Summer training-camps.

Will JJ DiLuigi, Nate Euchus or Brian Hernandez be in Summer Traing Camps? Or possibly CFL bound?

Some serious speed w Danny Coale & Devon Wylie(please stay healthy)! More than 2 white WR's should be drafted!! Who will be this years undrafted Welker, Amendola, Blair White, Sanzenbacher, etc??? Tyler Shoemaker would be my leading candidate as well...Josh Cooper could sneak into the late rounds?? Jeremy Ebert & Aaron Pflugrad could easily produce on the next level if given the opportunity! Keith Nichol could "Slash" as a back-up QB. Will Griff Whalen be in a camp at the request of Andrew Luck? Briggs Osbon, Logan Gray, Jake Soy & David Douglas should at least get try-outs! *Sleeper* 6'-6" Justin Helwege (Central Washington)

Great write up! All of these guys are deserving football players who played at big schools only to be snubbed.. It is perplexing to me every year the increasing ammount of small school black players getting invites.. Harrison Smith is absolutely shredded and wherever he goes he will contribute immediately if given the chance. I was just talking with my friend the other about how most of the white guys in the league are above average at their position and it just shows that even more white players should be allowed to play!

P.S. should be a little better for white undrafted free agents this year.

 

[Don Wassall]

Black receivers can be fat, slow and lazy and still be prospective first round draft picks. But we know that Big Sports is a color blind meritocracy with no racial agenda, just like all the other institutions in U.S. society.

Aaron Wilson of Scout.com is "hearing" that South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery is down to 217-220 pounds and intends to run in the 4.5s at the Combine. The 217-220 range would be ideal for Jeffery, and running in the 4.5s could save him from the draft-day plunge projected by some after rumors surfaced that he weighed 249 and was running 4.88 as of January. "We'll see," allows Wilson. Jeffery is the most polarizing wide receiver in the 2012 draft class.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Black receivers can be fat, slow and lazy and still be prospective first round draft picks. But we know that Big Sports is a color blind meritocracy with no racial agenda, just like all the other institutions in U.S. society.

Aaron Wilson of Scout.com is "hearing" that South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery is down to 217-220 pounds and intends to run in the 4.5s at the Combine. The 217-220 range would be ideal for Jeffery, and running in the 4.5s could save him from the draft-day plunge projected by some after rumors surfaced that he weighed 249 and was running 4.88 as of January. "We'll see," allows Wilson. Jeffery is the most polarizing wide receiver in the 2012 draft class.

Don, one of South Carolina's top WR recruits of the 2012 class, out of North Carolina, listed at 5'11 205lbs., has run as high as a 4.84, 40 and low of 4.56; although 4.5 is not bad, not exactly blazing for a WR. Wouldn't you say?

I could list his name, but you can certainly find him easy enough. Don't want to embarass him. I think he's actually a pretty good kid.

Still amazes me how these kids get so much attention. He committed to USC as a junior when much of his combine scores were omitted or not listed at many of the combines he attended. His stats weren't all that impressive either.

 

[Don Wassall]

Don, one of South Carolina's top WR recruits of the 2012 class, out of North Carolina, listed at 5'11 205lbs., has run as high as a 4.84, 40 and low of 4.56; although 4.5 is not bad, not exactly blazing for a WR. Wouldn't you say?

I could list his name, but you can certainly find him easy enough. Don't want to embarass him. I think he's actually a pretty good kid.

Still amazes me how these kids get so much attention. He committed to USC as a junior when much of his combine scores were omitted or not listed at many of the combines he attended. His stats weren't all that impressive either.

Then there's Justin Blackmon, who's expected to run a 4.55 to 4.60 at the Combine, yet is the consensus number one receiver in the draft. The mock drafts I've seen have him going anywhere from second overall to no later than seventh.

A White college receiver who overcomes Caste System hurdles to have a great college career, if he ran a 4.60 would be drafted late if at all, and might even be converted into a tight end. Mike Hass is a perfect example.

To me this is more evidence of how the pool of black athletes keeps weakening, which makes the Caste System more farcical every year in the NFL and NBA.

From Weenieworld:

According to CBS Sports' Rob Rang, area scouts have "routinely estimated" that Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon runs a 4.55-4.60 forty time. Blackmon says he'll run in the high 4.4s or low 4.5s in Indianapolis, but area scouts who have viewed Blackmon his whole career believe he doesn't play that fast. Rang cites Blackmon's perceived lack of elite speed as the primary reason he may not compare favorably to 2011 top-six picks A.J. Green and Julio Jones. A pre-draft speed camp could help Blackmon accomplish his goal, of course.

 

[TwentyTwo]

Thanks Celticdb15...& Thanks Leonardfan for starting this topic wih the break-down...Thanks for the observations Don...

14 of the 19 QB's invited were white is also interesting...did not want to make last post too long....

Will be suprised if Jefferson or Harris(maybe CFL) get drafted at all....if only 2 white WR's were invited... don't see how/why 5 black QB's were invited...Darron Thomas is a fringe prospect who had no business leaving school a year early.

While there is no Jake Locker-type speed at QB in the Class..there is a plethora of mobile-QB's...Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill(converted WR), Chandler Harnish, Aaron Corp, Austin Davis, and "non" invites GJ Kinne, Dan Persa, Zach Callaros...they all can tuck the ball and run when necessary!

One O-Lineman snub that comes to mind is OG-Will Blackwell who was All-American; however is rumored to have struggled at Senior Bowl practices/game?? He was a HS A-A D-lineman...would like to see him make the switch to DT..But that does not seem to be allowed in this day & age...

 

[Lew]

Does anyone know when the Wonderlic is ? I'm waiting for the great black hype Robert Griffin to score in the teens.

 

[Freethinker]

Does anyone know when the Wonderlic is ? I'm waiting for the great black hype Robert Griffin to score in the teens.

Griffin had a good GPA in college and was accepted to graduate Law School I believe. He's also being hyped to run a blazing 40. I heard a ridiculous prediction of 4.40. Maybe RG3 really is a supa-afflete, genius QB like the media keeps saying or maybe he's another undersized, systems QB with bloated numbers? I guess we'll find out shortly.

 

[Lew]

GPA is hardly a measure of intelligence. Greg Oden had a 4.0 but couldn't even break 1000 on the SAT. Law school isn't very difficult to get into when you're a black D1 quarterback with decent grades. Griffin is probably hard working but intelligence is mostly genetic. And just based on his ridiculously c*cky demeanor, the statistical data on black intelligence, and his very African features I don't think his IQ is all that high.

 

[dwid]

even if he does have a high iq and a 4.4 40, it won't make him an elite qb, it helps but his speed hasn't really translated into pocket mobility. From what I have seen, most of his runs were by design. He has great straight line speed but isn't elusive. He doesn't have great pocket awareness (75 sacks taken in 40 games, many cupcake oppoonents in there) and most of his throws are with no one close to him, and receivers with several yards of seperation. I haven't seen him fit it in any tight windows. In fact the one time I recall him scrambling was when he had a 3 or 4 seconds in the pocket, his receivers didn't have much seperation but 2 of them you could have put it in there with an above average arm.

Andrew Luck is quite different, he can move, he may not time at 4.4 but he will probably be in the 4.6 range, which is elite for his size, and he is mobile in the pocket, with great awareness, can throw on the run without having to stop and set his feet, can fit it into tight windows as well.

 

[jacknyc]

Speed is not important at the QB position.
That's why the NFL combine and all those idiots at ESPN drive me nuts talking about it.
Michael Vick is fast as hell. But he's not a good quarterback.
Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner are/were all slow as hell, yet great quarterbacks.
Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith and Drew Brees are all pretty fast, but their speed has nothing to do with why they are successful quarterbacks.
Let's not get caught up in the hype, because that's all it is.
A QBs 40 yd time is not going to have any bearing on how good a QB they will be.

 

[Leonardfan]

even if he does have a high iq and a 4.4 40, it won't make him an elite qb, it helps but his speed hasn't really translated into pocket mobility. From what I have seen, most of his runs were by design. He has great straight line speed but isn't elusive. He doesn't have great pocket awareness (75 sacks taken in 40 games, many cupcake oppoonents in there) and most of his throws are with no one close to him, and receivers with several yards of seperation. I haven't seen him fit it in any tight windows. In fact the one time I recall him scrambling was when he had a 3 or 4 seconds in the pocket, his receivers didn't have much seperation but 2 of them you could have put it in there with an above average arm.

Andrew Luck is quite different, he can move, he may not time at 4.4 but he will probably be in the 4.6 range, which is elite for his size, and he is mobile in the pocket, with great awareness, can throw on the run without having to stop and set his feet, can fit it into tight windows as well.

DWID, You are spot on with your assessment of Griffin. The hype behind him is unreal...Newton had a large contigent of detractors but it seems most in the media and DWFs this year are fully behind and hyping him up

 

[The Sapient]

Speed is not everything, just ask Jerry Rice (leading receiver in NFL hx) & Emmit Smith (leading rusher in NFL hx even though Barry Sanders was much better)

Out of all the "slow" quarterbacks you mentioned. I would like to add that Brett Favre was actually pretty fast coming out of college. Potential 4.6 - 4.7 speed.

Too bad the "freak" 6'6" Matt Jones (4.37) and Eric Crouch (4.47) never got a fair shot.

 

[Lew]

Speed is not everything, just ask Jerry Rice (leading receiver in NFL hx) & Emmit Smith (leading rusher in NFL hx even though Barry Sanders was much better)

Out of all the "slow" quarterbacks you mentioned. I would like to add that Brett Favre was actually pretty fast coming out of college. Potential 4.6 - 4.7 speed.

Too bad the "freak" 6'6" Matt Jones (4.37) and Eric Crouch (4.47) never got a fair shot.

what was the "official" reason that Matt Jones wasn't allowed to play qb ?

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Speaking of the combine and Matt Jones, here's an article titled "NFL Combine: Greatest Performances". Leading the offensive side is Mr.Jones....

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201202/nfl-combine-greatest-performances-offensive-players

The defensive side includes John Engelberger & Mike Mamula...

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201202/nfl-combine-greatest-performances-defense

 

[Carolina Speed]

Speed is not important at the QB position.
That's why the NFL combine and all those idiots at ESPN drive me nuts talking about it.
Michael Vick is fast as hell. But he's not a good quarterback.
Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner are/were all slow as hell, yet great quarterbacks.
Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith and Drew Brees are all pretty fast, but their speed has nothing to do with why they are successful quarterbacks.
Let's not get caught up in the hype, because that's all it is.
A QBs 40 yd time is not going to have any bearing on how good a QB they will be.

Agreed, speed and escapability are nice but the best way to move the ball down the field is to throw the football. A great QB has to be able to process and make quick decisions while remaining calm in the pocket and having the courage to stay there, instead of bailing too quick. It always helps to have great players around you also.

All the great ones (QB's); had these qualities, plus good players around them. I would add a great QB will also make the average player look great.

We'll see who best represents these qualities Andrew Luck or RG III, or a sleeper QB that will surprise.

 

[FootballDad]

Maybe RG3 really is a supa-afflete, genius QB like the media keeps saying

Yes, maybe "RGIII" really is a Tiki Barber-like "super genius"! Always makes me think of the following totally unrelated, completely off-subject cartoon:
[video=youtube;SoKA2OLJ8hs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoKA2OLJ8hs[/video]