Each year, the best draft-eligible college football prospects are invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine. The combine takes place each February inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Of the 335 of this year’s invitees, three represented Texas A&M in offensive lineman Jake Matthews, wide receiver Mike Evans, and quarterback Johnny Manziel.
The prospects are put through a series of interviews, examinations, drills and performance tests, which include a 40-yard dash, a 225 pound bench press and a vertical jump test.
Leading off for the trio of former A&M players was Matthews. He and the other offensive lineman invitees were the first group of players to arrive in Indianapolis and undergo testing. Matthews measured in officially at 6-foot-5 weighing 308 pounds.
Matthews posted 24 repetitions on the bench press test and ran a 5.07 second 40-yard dash, clocking in the top-ten of all offensive linemen. He also stood out in the three-cone agility drill, where he timed in at 7.34 seconds, as well as the vertical leap, where he jumped 30.5 inches. Both numbers were good for second and third, respectively, among the entire position group.
Evans and Manziel were evaluated on the same day. Evans measured in at 6-foot-5, 231 pounds while Manziel came in just shy of six feet at 5-feet-11 3/4 inches tall and weighed 207 pounds.
Manziel ran an official 4.68-second forty-yard dash and managed a 31.5 inch leap in the vertical, good for fourth and fifth, respectively, among quarterbacks.
Manziel’s best statistics came in the agility drills, where he had the best 20-yard shuttle of all quarterbacks with a time of 4.03 seconds and the second best three-cone drill time with a 6.75-second performance. Manziel finished in the top-five statistically in every NFL Combine category.
Manziel elected not to perform any passing drills at the combine, choosing to wait until A&M’s pro day in March to showcase his throwing skills with a familiar set of receivers.
Evans ran his 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds and posted 12 repetitions on the bench press test. His 37-inch vertical jump, combined with his 35-1/8 inch arm length gives Evans the ability to reach farther and higher than many other receivers.
Maniel, Evans and Matthews are all projected to be first round selections.