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Draft Coverage

TWENTYMAN: Combine Day 4 observations

INDIANAPOLIS – Confidence: Kentucky quarterback Will Levis isn't shying away from competing in drills and throwing in front of scouts Saturday at the Combine for one simple reason.

"Because I got a cannon and I want to show it off," he said.

Showing out: Measuring 6-foot-1 and 197 pounds, Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez confirmed his rare athleticism with 4.38 seconds in the 40, a 41.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-1 broad jump. He was smooth in drills and should hear his name come off the board somewhere in the first round of the NFL Draft next month.

View photos of the defensive backs at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

Size debate: Alabama quarterback Bryce Young could be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but there are some concerns about his size. Young measured in at 5-foot-10, 204-pounds. The weight was higher than expected. The concerns some teams might have about his short stature aren't a concern to Young.

"Yeah, I've been this size, respectfully, my whole life," Young said. "I know who I am. I know what I can do. For me, it's fair (concerns). I'm going to continue to control what I can control. I'm going to keep working my hardest to improve myself at the position. I'm confident in myself. I know what I can do."

Favorite player: Florida guard O'Cyrus Torrence's two favorite NFL players are Dallas guard Quenton Nelson and Lions right tackle Penei Sewell. Torrence said he tries to model his game after both players.

He loves Sewell's athleticism and physicality and said his favorite play of the 2022 NFL season was Sewell's game-clinching first-down catch against the Vikings. He joked that it's in his toolbox as well if any creative offensive coordinator wants to put together a guard-eligible pass play.

Blazin 40: Michigan cornerback DJ Turner clocked 4.26 seconds in the 40 with an excellent 1.47 10-yard split. The 5-foot-11 corner only weighed in at 178 pounds, but he showed off explosive traits in the vertical (38.5) and broad jump (10-foot-11). He's projected to be a nickel in the NFL, and he helped himself with those numbers at the Combine this week.

Owning it: The unorthodox smile of North Dakota State offensive lineman Cody Mauch has been a topic of conversation with him and teams this week. Mauch lost his two front teeth in 7th grade playing basketball. He had retainers and braces to fill the gap, but they kept breaking and he'd lose them. Finally he just said, 'screw it' and embraced the look.

He said the look is a part of him now and he doesn't have plans to fix it. Mauch is a versatile lineman who can play guard and tackle, and could be a late first-round pick.

View photos of the linebackers at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

NextGen: The cornerback group featured 11 different prospects who earned an 80-plus athleticism score from NextGen Stats at this year's combine, the most of any cornerback class since 2003.

Experience: Minnesota's John Michael Schmitz might be the top interior offensive lineman in this class. He used an extra year of eligibility to return to school and ended up spending six years in Minnesota with 57 career games played and 35 starts.

Tough matchup: What was the toughest matchup in college for the best tackle prospect in this draft, Northwestern's Peter Skoronski? He said it was former Michigan and current Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson.

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