What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s Jack Coan, Kevin Austin Jr. after NFL Combine workouts
Almost a day removed from quarterback Jack Coan and wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.’s NFL Combine performances at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the buzz about them continues. By most accounts, Coan did well and Austin did tremendously well.
Here is a look at what some of the experts across the country are saying about the first two Notre Dame players to take the field in Indy.
A complete list of measurements from Coan and Austin can be found in last night’s live blog here.
Austin impressed On3’s Charles Power
On3 director of scouting Charles Power was extremely impressed with the former Irish wideout’s performance on Thursday evening and believes Austin improved his draft stock.
“From eye-balling the results, it’s more than likely Austin would have the top composite athletic score of all receivers who tested on Thursday night,” Power said. “Austin’s a 4.43-second 40-yard dash was the worst mark of his day — which is saying something. His 39-inch vertical jump was tied for third best in the receiver group, while his 11-foot broad jump was fifth. Austin separated himself among the group with stellar agility times. His 6.71 second three-cone time is elite for the position and was 0.27 seconds quicker than the next best time. Austin also ripped off a 4.15-second short shuttle, good for second best.”
The Draft Network named Irish receiver a combine winner
Austin was one of four wide receivers to be named a “winner” at the combine on Thursday night, calling his night “fantastic.” The other winners listed were Memphis’ Calvin Austin III, Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce and North Dakota State’s Christian Watson.
Austin received social media shoutouts from across the country
Mike Renner of PFF, who is also a graduate of Notre Dame, gave Austin an unofficial “biggest surprise” shoutout on Twitter last night after his performance.
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“A 6-foot-2, 200-pounder putting up these numbers is gonna have a lot of people going back to check the tape,” Renner said.
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Speaking of notable Notre Dame alums giving social media shoutouts, former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn touted the recent success of Notre Dame wide receivers in the NFL Combine.
“(Strength coach Matt Balis) building and transforming these young men,” Quinn said in response to Renner. “(Miles Boykin) balled out. (Chase Claypool) balled out. Now (Kevin Austin). Who’s next?”
Claypool ran a 4.42-second 40 in 2020, while Boykin ran the same time in 2019. Claypool was a second-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Boykin was a Baltimore Ravens third-rounder.
Austin and Quinn exchanged tweets later in the evening as well.
NFL.com analyst calls Coan a ‘sleeper’ before performance
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com knows his quarterbacks, and he is high on Coan. On Thursday, Zierlein joined an NFL Network broadcast and touted the former Irish signal-caller.
“Jack Coan is another guy that I’m really a fan of,” Zierlein said. “I think people are sleeping on him. I watched all of his intermediate throws, and what I saw is a guy that looked like a real NFL quarterback. So I think if he can drive the ball with some velocity, throw with good accuracy and show command on the field, I think he could really help himself out.”
