BWI Live: Previewing the Penn State players at the NFL Combine
The on-field testing for the 2024 NFL Combine starts on Thursday afternoon. Ten Penn State Nittany Lions will run, jump, catch and participate in on-field drills in front of 32 team scouts this weekend. We’re previewing the event by giving one drill that will be important for each Penn State player on today’s BWI Live Show.
Join us at 10 a.m. as we discuss each player’s scouting profile, and break down the potential of recent Penn State Class of 2025 commit Lyrick Samuel. Finally, we’ll discuss how the Penn State safety position is a perfect fit with new defensive coordinator Tom Alen.
If you can’t join us live, check out the show’s replay on the Blue-White Illustrated YouTube Channel or embedded here in this article.
One drill for each Penn State football player at the NFL Combine
It’s been a few years since Penn State has had a standout performance at the NFL Combine. The Nittany Lions have developed a reputation for consistently sending impressive athletes to the Combine under head coach James Franklin. We discuss what goes into that reputation and then preview which players might show out this week. Here’s an excerpt from the defensive breakdown earlier this week.
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John Mateer
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Adisa Isaac – broad jump
There is no great test for functional strength at the Combine. Doing a max squat would be dangerous, and that doesn’t even gauge explosive power as much as raw strength, which are two different things. But for an undersized defensive end like Adisa Isaac, the broad jump is a fine proxy. The broad jump measures explosive lower body power for the athlete. Isaac showed great power through contact last year and at the Senior Bowl, but putting a number to that will be informative.
Expect him to stand out at the Combine in the rest of his testing drills.
Offensive Players
Projected top-ten pick Olu Fashanu doesn’t have to do any drill he doesn’t want to at the Combine because his stock is already high enough to be selective. But that doesn’t mean we’re not curious to learn certain things about his skills if he does participate.
But the most interesting offensive athlete at the Combine is tight end Theo Johnson. The big-bodied pass-catcher needs to show he’s a dynamic athlete to make up for his inconsistent blocking. Here’s one area we focus on during the show.
One area where we’re curious to see how Johnson performs is in the three-cone drill. The three-cone drill measures agility and change of direction, which is critical for a precise route runner to create separation in the NFL. Again, Johnson has always played well in vertical passing concepts, but his short-area quickness has been murky. Finding out how he performs in this area could set him apart if he tests the way we expect in the other drills.
