Athletic edges: Alabama's Dallas Turner is vying to cement his status as the first edge rusher taken in the NFL Draft, and his on-field performance Thursday certainly didn't hurt his chances. Turner ran 4.46 seconds in the 40 and jumped 40.5 inches in the vertical at 247 pounds. He's extremely athletic with room to add weight to his frame.
Penn State's Chop Robinson weighed in at 254 pounds and ran 4.48 in the 40 with a 10-yard split of 1.54 seconds, which tied Turner for the best mark among the edge players.
Wins over stats: Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was asked Friday about his lack of statistics vs. the other quarterbacks in this class because the Wolverines' offense was so run dominant the last two seasons. I thought McCarthy had a nice response.
"The only stat I care about is W's and we did pretty good in that category," he said.
McCarthy lost just one game as a starter at Michigan. I thought he knocked his presser out of the park.
Injury news: During a Combine medical evaluation, doctors found that Alabama All-American cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry has a Jones fracture in his right foot, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport. McKinstry won't work out in Indy, per Rapoport, but will do so at his Pro Day, then get it fixed. He should be full go by training camp.
Speaking of medicals: Potential No. 1 pick, USC quarterback Caleb Williams, did not take part in the medical evaluations at the Combine. During his media session he said he'll do medical evaluations for individual teams that he visits. That's also when he'll work out and throw.
Impressive big guys: The Detroit Lions could be in the market for some interior defensive line help to pair with Alim McNeill, and it's a pretty athletic class here in Indy. Seven defensive tackles ran under 5.0 seconds in the 40, led by former Western Michigan and Florida State tackle Braden Fiske (4.78 at 292 pounds). Maybe even more impressive was Fiske's 4.37 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, which also led the group.
Rooting for Latu: How can people not root for a guy like UCLA's Laiatu Latu in this process? Latu was medically retired from football at Washington after a preseason neck injury in 2020. He worked hard to get back and became one of college football's top pass rushers the past two seasons at UCLA. He is a likely first-round draft pick.
He had a great workout Thursday. He measured in at 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, ran the 40 in 4.64 seconds, and looked fluid and smooth in field drills. He had 34 tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks the last two seasons at UCLA.
Next in line: The University of Michigan has a record 18 players here at the Combine. That's almost two full squads of starters the Wolverines will have to replace next season. Wide receiver Cornelius Johnson was asked who the next good crop of receivers is going to be at Michigan, and he gave three names – Tyler Morris, Semaj Morgan and Peyton O'Leary.
Big shoes to fill: Frank Gore racked up 16,000 rushing yards over 16 NFL seasons and is third on the all-time rushing list. Frank Gore Jr. rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons at Southern Mississippi with 22 total touchdowns. The younger Gore looks exactly like his old man, right down to the smile. He's also got lofty goals. He said his goal is to top his dad's NFL production.
