NFL Combine primer: What, when to watch eight Penn State participants

The next step toward achieving NFL dreams will take place for eight former Penn State players in this week’s NFL Combine. 

Beginning Monday with arrivals and team interviews, players will cycle through physical testing leading into on-field workouts, which begin Thursday afternoon and run through Sunday.

Where do Penn State’s players factor in?

Let’s take a look at the week’s schedule for the eight former Nittany Lions set to participate.

Weekday NFL Combine schedule

Wednesday, March 2: The first former Penn State player to hit the NFL Combine podium will be receiver Jahan Dotson on Wednesday. 

Among the Nittany Lions’ highest evaluations ahead of the draft, Dotson was listed as No. 25 by NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah in his latest mock. 

Concurrent to Dotson’s media interviews, the bulk of Penn State’s other participants will also have a busy day Wednesday. Having arrived Tuesday, offensive lineman Rasheed Walker will take part in medical exams and interviews with teams on Wednesday, while the trio of Jesse Luketa, Arnold Ebiketie, and Brandon Smith will all arrive in Indianapolis.

Thursday, March 3: The real fun of the NFL Combine will kick into full effect Wednesday as Dotson begins taking part in on-field workouts.

All set to be televised by the NFL Network, Dotson will perform between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. 

Meanwhile, the remaining bulk of Penn State’s participants will arrive in Indianapolis in safety Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields. Punter Jordan Stout will also arrive with the final group of NFL Combine participants.

While the final group of Nittany Lions settles in, and Dotson takes part in on-field work, Walker will take to the combine podium for media interviews Thursday morning. Defensive linemen and linebackers will still be working behind the scenes with medical exams and team interviews.

Friday NFL Combine schedule

Friday, March 4: Friday marks the on-field testing day for Walker, who will hit the field beginning at 4 p.m. Again, all on-field testing and workout will be televised on the NFL Network at 4 p.m.

In addition to Walker’s on-field work, the likes of Ebiketie, Luketa, and Smith are all set to take questions from the media. Their interviews are scheduled to take place beginning at 8 a.m. and running through the course of the day.

Stout, Castro-Fields, and Brisker will all conduct their medical exams and team interviews Friday.

Saturday NFL Combine schedule

Saturday, March 5: The weekend brings Penn State’s defensive performers front-and-center for on-field workouts on Saturday afternoon.

Keeping with the same 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. schedule, Ebiketie, Luketa, and Smith will all have their workouts televised on the NFL Network. 

In Jeremiah’s updated NFL Draft mock on Monday, Ebiketie is projected as the 42nd overall prospect. In his evaluation, Jeremiah wrote this:

“Ebiketie is a gifted rusher who should rack up pressures/sacks while he learns to play the run with more consistency.”

In the meantime, the final group of Penn State participants will take to the podium in Brisker and Castro-Fields. Stout is not set to appear at a podium. However, he should still take questions from the media at a roundtable session on Saturday.

Sunday NFL Combine schedule

Sunday, March 6: The final day of the NFL Combine will be broken into two segments.

The first begins from 10:30 a.m. and will run until 1:30 p.m. with Stout among the specialists in the limelight. Stout is one of only nine total specialists to be invited to participate in the NFL Combine. There are only five punters.

After a short break, the defensive backs will hit the field beginning at 2 p.m. and running until 7:30 p.m. That will include Castro-Fields and Brisker’s on-field work. The NFL Network’s coverage of the day is set to run between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.