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The Texas NFL Combine Freaks of Tomorrow

Eric Nahlinby:Eric Nahlin•about 23 hours
Anthony Hill
Anthony Hill (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas speed took over the NFL Draft Combine—again. Just a year after Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell created quite the stir, Texas’ Matthew Golden, Jaydon Blue, and Isaiah Bond all put up impressive speed times. 

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The sheer volume of players Texas is sending to the combine surely helps but Steve Sarkisian is also identifying the right players and Torre Becton’s S&C program is maximizing them into the athletes you see flashing across your screens. 

Who comprise the next generation of combine freaks? Not all of these players will depart next year but they’ll create quite the combine buzz when they do.

QB Arch Manning

Many people still don’t have a clue who Manning is as a player. His long TD run against UTSA opened some eyes early in the year. There’s a whole lot more where that comes from. Manning is much more powerful than your average QB. As IT reported recently, Becton uses Manning’s strength in the weight room to motivate the rest of the team. He puts power into the ground and all kinds of physics happens from there. He’ll run a high 4.5 or low 4.6 but also fare well in the broad and vertical jumps. 

Missouri’s Brady Cook is putting on a fine athletic display in Indianapolis. Relative to his size, I could see Arch having a similar showing. 

WR Ryan Wingo

Wingo ran in the 10.50-10.55 range as a junior in high school but anyone who has seen him in the open field doesn’t need track times to know he’s fast. I’m not sure what time he’ll run in the 40—keep in mind how important the start and initial 10 yards are—but his top end speed will be blistering. 

He’s also going to be properly put together at 6-foot-2.5, 215 pounds.

WR DeAndre Moore

This is one where inside info we’ve been receiving for years has me confident Moore will run a great time. In addition, we’ve certainly seen evidence of Moore’s speed on the field. He has a knack for getting deep from the slot position. He and Arch have had quite the connection since both were younger and lower on the depth chart. They have a lot of reps together. Moore’s profile will certainly rise this next season.

Moore will put up explosive numbers and might be the guy who “surprises” like Mitchell and Golden. 

Here’s when I knew Sark was on to something with the Moore:

*Other receivers will emerge. There’s some serious speed on the roster at the position. 

OL Trevor Goosby

Big Cam Williams weighing in at 317 pounds has me hyped! That’s both good on Cam and on Becton. He had weighed as much as 370 pounds on campus. Goosby doesn’t need that sort of transformation. In fact, he needed to put on weight at Texas and did so easily, all the while retaining his movement skills. 

There’s some talk Goosby is currently 6-foot-8, 320 pounds. I don’t know if he’s that tall but at some point there are diminishing returns on height. He’s at least 6-foot-6. 

For OL you want to see a good shuttle and L-cone and Goosby should do very well, especially when you factor his size. 

Goosby is a great reminder of the value of basketballl-to-football evaluations. Another one is T’Vondre Sweat. When I learned Sweat was district defensive MVP in basketball it told me one thing—the big man can move his feet.

Goosby’s exploits on the hardcourt offered similar confidence in his overall upside.

Edge Colin Simmons

At his position, Barryn Sorrell just put up the second fastest L-cone time at 7.06. 

Side note: No. 1 was Donovan Ezeiruaku from Boston College. IT had him on portal watch two years ago…stud, but he never went in.

Did anyone expect that time out of Sorrell? I felt he was an underrated athlete, but I didn’t expect him to have the second fastest time in that very important drill. Sorrell also ran an excellent shuttle, finishing third with a 4.36.

You see where I’m gong with this, right? If Sorrell put up those numbers, what will Simmons do? He’ll probably put up numbers more consistent with linebackers rather than Edges. 

LB Anthony Hill

I always go back to a source saying not long after Hill arrived on campus, “he has twitch in every way an athlete can.” Hill is explosive in the weight room and explosive on the field. He’s both quick and fast. 

He’ll also have excellent size numbers for the NFL. 

Enjoy him while you can, Texas fans. 

S Jelani McDonald 

When I ask about McDonald’s speed I hear it’s good but not otherworldly. Surprisingly, I hear the same when I ask about Derek Williams. But when you watch those two play, they appear to playing the game at a different speed.

I think McDonald’s superpower is elite change of direction at his size and that will be best reflected in his shuttle. I do expect him to run a good 40, though maybe not elite. 

Sources remain consistent on him as a first-round talent if he continues to learn the nuances of playing defensive back.

*****

I didn’t include any true freshmen because I want to be sure they’ll be at the Combine in the first place, but Justus Terry, Kade Phillips, Jonah Williams, Lance Jackson, Nick Townsend, Elijah Barnes, and possibly some others, all have freak potential.

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For added confidence on Lance Jackson, check out what his brother Landon has done at the Combine. Same genes, but Lance is already bigger than Landon.

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