Carrington Valentine receives invite to NFL Scouting Combine

In the 2020 recruiting cycle, Kentucky signed a top-25 class. The second lowest-ranked prospect in that high school signing class was Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller cornerback Carrington Valentine. The eval turned out to be fairly strong on the former mid three-star recruit.

Valentine earned spot duty playing time as a true freshman in 2020. The cornerback became a full-time starter in 2021. As a junior in 2022, Valentine took some big strides recording 48 tackles, 11 passes defended, and playing over 700 defensive snaps in 12 games. In December, Valentine was a surprise early entrant into the NFL Draft.

However, the defensive back is emerging as an intriguing prospect for NFL franchises. Valentine received an invite to the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine on Friday confirming the cornerback is a legit draft prospect.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Carrington Valentine as a top-15 cornerback in this class and that would give the Ohio native a great shot at getting into Day 2 and being a third-round pick in April. The Combine will be a very important event for Valentine as he’ll get a chance to put up athletic testing scores and conduct one-on-one interviews with a plethora of franchises.

After the latest news of Keidron Smith receiving an invite to the Senior Bowl, there is a great chance that two secondary players off Kentucky’s roster could hear their names called in the NFL Draft.