Top NFL prospects make huge jumps from high school testing numbers

As more than 300 of college football’s elite players tested at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, On3 dug up its old scouting notes from when a number of those players were elite high school prospects. A lot can happen in terms of player development in three to five years — athletes typically get bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic in college strength and conditioning programs. Some lose substantial amounts of weight as they enter more scrutinized training programs, while others added muscle to skinnier frames. Some of it is easy to see with the naked eye. But we wanted to see the raw data and be able to compare directly the NFL hopeful and the high school prospect.

At the Combine, players are broken up into four groups that test on the field on different days. Thursday, the wide receivers, tight ends and quarterback took the field. Friday, it was offensive linemen and running backs. Saturday, the defense got going with defensive linemen and linebackers. And defensive backs and specialists closed things out on Sunday.

Quarterbacks

Most of the elite quarterbacks in this class chose not to test at the combine, whether due to injury or because they wanted to wait until their individual pro day. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett showed off his athleticism with a 4.73 40 (down slightly from his high school 4.76). Pickett also checked in at 6’3 217 pounds, a full 27 pounds above his high school playing weight.

Running backs

There was a lot more to compare here — both in terms of high school and combine testing. Two of the biggest eye-openers were Georgia’s James Cook and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III. After running a 4.71 at 180 pounds in high school, Cook dashed to a time of 4.42 — nearly three-tenths of a second better. Walker was in a similar boat, making the leap from a high school 4.78 at 191 pounds to a combine 4.38 at 221. Both sprinted to this times while being a roughly 20 pounds heavier than their high school selves. Ty Davis-Price, Jerrion Ealy and Brian Robinson each cut down on their times as well, running between 0.05 and 0.09 seconds faster.

Wide receivers

One of the most impressive performances of the weekend belonged to former Ohio State wideout Chris Olave, who after running a 4.73 40 in high school, blazed his way to a 4.39 at the combine at 187 pounds. Fellow Buckeye Garrett Wilson was no slouch himself, turning in a 4.38 after running a 4.61 at 181 pounds in his prep days. Georgia wideout George Pickens, coming off a torn ACL that caused him to miss most of the 2021 season, clocked in at 4.47 after running 4.73 at a nearly identical weight in high school.

Tight ends

In a relatively weak class for tight ends, there weren’t many prospects who had data points at both the high school and college level. One who did was UCLA’s Greg Dulcich, who ran a 4.69, down .07 from his high school days. Dulcich also jumped from a 31.6-inch vertical to a 34, and did so while playing about 35 pounds heavier than in high school at 243.

Offensive lineman

When it comes to the big nasties up front, one of the most eye-opening transformations is the big weight losses prospects undergo after four years in college. Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal is a prime example of what a college strength and conditioning program can do, dropping from 391 pounds in high school to 337 at the combine. The same goes for Kentucky’s Dare Rosenthal. After dropping 40 pounds — from 330 to 290 — since his high school days, Rosenthal hoofed it to an impressive 4.88 40. Baylor’s Ikem Ekonwu went the other way, gaining nearly 25 pounds since his high school days, but he added 3.5 inches to his vertical jump and shaved his 40 time from 5.26 to 4.93.

Defensive lineman

Arguably one of the most impressive physical specimens in college football last year, Travon Walker showed why at the combine. A little more than 10 pounds heavier than his high school days, Walker sprinted to a 4.51 40 (down from 4.94 in high school) and leapt 35.5 inches (up from 28.1). And he wasn’t alone. Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson ran a 4.74 after notching a 5.09 40 in high school; he also added nearly four inches to his vertical leap while playing a full 15 pounds heavier. Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto had a similar transformation, running a 4.54 40 (down from 4.71), jumping 35.5 inches (up four inches from high school) and doing so at 248 pounds after playing in high school at a lean 206.

Linebackers

Only a handful of elite linebackers tested at the combine, with Alabama’s Christian Harris among them. He shaved .03 off his high school 40 time, down to 4.44. Georgia’s Channing Tindall ran a 4.47 after notching a 4.8 at the prep level. He also added nearly three inches to his vert, jumping 42 at the combine. And did all of that about 20 pounds heavier than when he came to Athens.

Defensive backs

The secondary group was largely defined by incremental growth in both 40-yard dash times and vertical leaps, but Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner blew the rest of the group of out of the water. After running a below-average 4.74 40 in high school, Gardner cruised to a 4.41 at the combine. And since entering the college ranks, Gardner grew nearly an inch and half and added 30-plus pounds to his 159-pound high school frame.

Another impressive performer was Florida’s Kaiir Elam, who dropped his HS 40 time of 4.51 down to 4.39 at the combine. Maryland’s Nick Cross dropped from 4.48 to 4.34, and Tennessee’s Alontae Taylor took nearly three-tenths of a second off his 4.64 in high school, running a 4.36 in Indy while adding nearly 20 pounds to his frame.