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NFL Combine: Rich Eisen Runs the 40-Yard Dash

One of the great combine traditions.

NFL Combine: Taylor Mays Clocked Unofficial 4.24 in 40-Yard Dash; Update: Official Time is 4.43

That means his official will be in the low 4.3s at the very least. That is Calvin Johnson-esque. Taylor is definitely living up to his workout warrior reputation.

Update: Scratch the post above, the official time is 4.43.  Not sure why there's such a big disparity between the official and unofficial time.  Still a fast 40 time.

ESPN Video: Stafon Johnson Ready to Get Back on the Field

Great video.

NFL Draft: Stafon Johnson Senior Bowl Interview

DraftNasty.com has a video interview with Stafon Johnson at Senior Bowl.  Good to see Stafon motivated and in high spirits again.

NFL Draft: Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank's Letter to Stafon Johnson

Very nice gesture:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2010/01/under-armour-to-uscs-stafon-johnson-a-little-something-for-the-effort.html

Make sure to watch Stafon at Senior Bowl game this Saturday.

Video: Joe McKnight's NFL Stock Up After Ohio State

According ESPN's Todd McShay, who once had Fili Moala as the #1 overall pick in his NFL mock draft.

USC Dominates 2009 NFL Draft with 11 Players Taken

Final list of players drafted:

1st Round, 5th:  Mark Sanchez, QB - NY Jets

1st Round, 15th:  Brian Cushing, OLB - Houston Texans

1st Round, 26th:  Clay Matthews, OLB - Green Bay Packers

2nd Round, 6th:  Rey Maualuga, ILB - Cincinnati Bengals

2nd Round, 24th:  Fili Moala, DT - Indianapolis Colts

3rd Round, 23rd:  Patrick Turner, WR - Miami Dolphins

4th Round, 4th:  Kaluka Maiava, OLB - Cleveland Browns

4th Round, 17th:  Kyle Moore, DE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

5th Round, 36th:  David Buehler, K - Dallas Cowboys

6th Round, 10th:  Cary Harris, CB - Buffalo Bills

6th Round, 16th:  Kevin Ellison, SS - San Diego Chargers

USC led the way with 11 players taken; Ohio State had the 2nd most with 7 players.  Coach Herm Edwards had this to say about SC:

"If you want to play pro football and you're a young high school athlete, you know going to USC is going to give you the best opportunity system-wise and competitive-wise on the field."

"That's what USC brings to the table. That's why historically, year-after-year you see all these players coming into the league. Do they all make it? No, but you have an opportunity."

Take note recruits ;-).

Photo of the Day: Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, and Clay Matthews on Cover of Sports Illustrated

H/T to LATimes.com.

USC Pro Day: Rey Makes Up for Combine Performance

photo from uscripsit.com

From USCRipsIt.com:

- LB Brian Cushing: 4.67 and 4.73
- S Kevin Ellison: 4.75
- CB Cary Harris: 4.68
- LB Kaluka Maiava: 4.66 and 4.68
- LB Clay Matthews: 4.58
- LB Rey Maualuga: 4.69
- DE Kyle Moore: 4.77
- WR Patrick Turner: 4.59

Biggest gain today was from Rey who ran a 40-time that was clocked between high 4.5's to low 4.7's. This was a big improvement over his disappointing showing at the NFL combine where he tweaked his hamstring during the run.

Cary Harris once again struggled with the 40, but Todd McShay said it was due to a knee injury.  I agree with Todd, and most SC fans, that Cary and Kevin Ellison are two picks that will go late due to their less-than-spectacular results at the work-outs, but prove to be ballers at the next level.

Looks like Mark, Cush, Rey, and Clay have solidified themselves as 1st round picks, which will make 2009 the 2nd year in a row that SC will produce 4 players in the 1st round.  That streak could possibly continue next year with Taylor Mays, Shareece Wright, Damian Williams, and a guy like Charles Brown if he can put together a great year.

Matthew Stafford Beats Mark Sanchez on Wonderlic Test

From ChicagoTribune.com:

Quarterbacks: With his pro day workout last week, Georgia's Matthew Stafford showed himself to be in a class by himself, and he also was in a class by himself among the top quarterbacks with regards to the Wonderlic. He scored 38. USC's Mark Sanchez scored 28 and Kansas State's Josh Freeman 27. All are acceptable scores for quarterbacks.

Linebackers: Three linebackers from USC could be chosen in the first round, but probably not in the order of their Wonderlic scores. Clay Matthews scored 27, Brian Cushing 23 and Rey Maualuga 15. Maualuga's score is slightly troubling considering he likely will be a middle linebacker who is asked to call the defenses.

Stafford's 38 is pretty impressive.  A few years back I remember a sample Wonderlic test was posted online and it wasn't necessarily the questions that were difficult rather how quickly you had to answer them.  I'm surprised Mark scored less than 30 considering he's always been a great student.