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NFL combine snubs some strong players
09:19 AM CST on Monday, February 25, 2008
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The NFL likes achievers such as defensive lineman Keilen Dykes. He was a four-year starter in high school, then a four-year starter at West Virginia.
The NFL likes productivity. Dykes was an all-state defensive end in Ohio as a senior in high school, then an All-Big East selection at defensive tackle in each of his final two seasons at West Virginia.
The NFL likes leaders. Dykes was the captain of a West Virginia team that won 11 games and finished with a No. 6 ranking in 2007.
The NFL likes work ethic. Dykes won West Virginia's Iron Mountaineer Award as the top performer in the team's off-season conditioning program in 2007. The NFL likes intelligence. Dykes graduated in December with a degree in athletic coaching education.
NFL
Gosselin: Combine snubs some top players
Taylor: McFadden more optimistic than me
Archive: McFadden isn't worth No. 1 pick (12/29/07)
More NFL
The NFL likes everything about a player like Keilen Dykes except, apparently, Dykes himself.
The NFL invited the top 333 draft prospects to Indianapolis this week for its annual scouting combine, but Dykes was not among the participants. Fifty-two defensive linemen were invited, not Dykes.
"I was shocked," Dykes said by phone this week. "I believe they made a mistake. But I'm not going to let it get me down. I still have my pro day."
So does Missouri running back Tony Temple. The last time we saw Temple, he was shredding the Arkansas defense for 281 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl.
Temple started in the Missouri backfield for two seasons and rushed for 1,000 yards both times. He played in two bowls and was the MVP of both; he rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State in the 2006 Sun Bowl.
There are nine running backs who are forgoing their senior seasons on campus to enter the 2008 NFL draft. Temple was the only one not invited to the combine.
The New York Giants reminded the NFL of the value of a pass rush, battering NFL MVP Tom Brady into submission in the Super Bowl.
Michigan State's Jonal Saint-Dic was one of the NCAA's premier pass rushers last season. His 10 sacks earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten team, and he set a conference record with eight forced fumbles. Yet Saint-Dic was not one of 33 defensive ends invited to the combine.
"This is hard," said Saint-Dic by phone. "I don't know what else I could have done. I sacked quarterbacks, broke records. I make plays. The stats don't lie."
Saint-Dic collected one of his sacks against Michigan, lining up against Jake Long, a two-time All-American regarded as the best offensive tackle in this draft. Long projects as a top-10 overall pick this April and is at the combine.
"This keeps me motivated," Saint-Dic said. "Football is football. Give me an opportunity, and I know what I can do."
The Mid-American Conference is not the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference. But its best players have proved they can play at the next level with the elite: Ben Roethlisberger (Miami-Ohio), Randy Moss (Marshall), Jason Taylor (Akron), Asante Samuel (Central Florida), Greg Jennings (Western Michigan) and Michael Turner (Northern Illinois), to name a few.
Jabari Arthur was one of the MAC's best players in 2007. He caught 86 passes for 1,171 yards and 10 touchdowns, leaving Akron as the school's all-time leading receiver. Yet he was not one of the 51 wide receivers invited to the combine.
Fortunately for Dykes, Temple, Saint-Dic and Arthur, the NFL scouting combine is just one step in the draft process.
Arthur can look to Wes Welker for inspiration. Welker wasn't invited to the NFL scouting combine in his draft year in 2004 despite leaving Texas Tech as the school's all-time leading receiver. Welker led the NFL in receiving last season with the AFC champion New England Patriots.
Getty Images
West Virginia defensive end Keilen Dykes seems to have all the tools the NFL wants but wasn't invited to the league's scouting combine. Players overlooked in February do not always get overlooked in April.
Saint-Dic can look to Osi Umenyiora. He wasn't invited to the combine in his draft year, 2003, despite setting a school season sack record at Troy with 16. He led the NFC in sacks in 2005 and was the lone Pro Bowl representative in 2008 for the Giants.
There are 250-plus selections in each NFL draft. Every year, about 110 players who get invited to the combine do not get drafted – and about 40 players who do not get invited to the combine do get drafted.
Just because a player isn't one of the 333 players invited to Indianapolis in February doesn't mean he can't be one of the 255 players drafted in April.
"If you can play, they know it," Dykes said. "They'll find you. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
NFL COMBINE SNUBS
SportsDay's Rick Gosselin lists 10 of the top players not invited to the 2008 NFL scouting combine:
Jonal Saint-Dic, DE, Michigan State : A junior-college transfer who started one season at Michigan State, Saint-Dic finished second in the Big Ten in sacks with 10. He tied a school record with sacks in four consecutive games.
Tony Temple, HB, Missouri : The Tigers have only managed 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons in school history, and Temple has two of them. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry in 2007 and 5.4 yards in his career.
Keilen Dykes, DT, West Virginia : Dykes started 44 career games – 28 at defensive tackle, 13 at nose tackle and three at defensive end. He anchored a Top 20 run defense in his final two seasons.
Jabari Arthur, WR, Akron : Arthur set school records with 184 receptions in his career and 15 in a 2007 game against Western Michigan for 223 yards. He caught nine passes for 180 yards against Memphis in the Motor City Bowl.
Ricky Santos, QB, New Hampshire : Santos won the Payton Award as the best player in Division I-AA in 2006. Romo won the same award in 2002. A player must dominate this level of competition to get the NFL's attention. Santos threw for 13,212 yards and 123 touchdowns in his career.
Fernando Velasco, G, Georgia : Velasco started two seasons for the Bulldogs, at guard in 2006 and center in 2007. He earned second team All-SEC for his play last season on one of college football's top teams.
Eric Scott, C, Kentucky : The Wildcats didn't settle on a position for Scott until his final season. He started games at tight end, defensive end and guard before becoming Kentucky's center in 2007.
Jed Collins, FB, Washington State : Collins played linebacker, tight end and fullback in his college career. He set a school record for tight ends with 52 catches last season and chipped in 10 tackles on special teams. The NFL projects him as a fullback.
Brandon Coutu, K, Georgia : Coutu set a school record by converting 80.3 percent of his 66 career field goal tries. He kicked a 58-yard field goal against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2005, the third longest in NCAA history but longest without use of a tee.
Jamario Thomas, HB, North Texas : Injuries slowed Thomas as he moved deeper into his career. But what a start – he led the NCAA in rushing as a freshman in 2004 with 1,801 yards. That included six 200-yard games.
09:19 AM CST on Monday, February 25, 2008
The NFL likes achievers such as defensive lineman Keilen Dykes. He was a four-year starter in high school, then a four-year starter at West Virginia.
The NFL likes productivity. Dykes was an all-state defensive end in Ohio as a senior in high school, then an All-Big East selection at defensive tackle in each of his final two seasons at West Virginia.
The NFL likes leaders. Dykes was the captain of a West Virginia team that won 11 games and finished with a No. 6 ranking in 2007.
The NFL likes work ethic. Dykes won West Virginia's Iron Mountaineer Award as the top performer in the team's off-season conditioning program in 2007. The NFL likes intelligence. Dykes graduated in December with a degree in athletic coaching education.
NFL
Gosselin: Combine snubs some top players
Taylor: McFadden more optimistic than me
Archive: McFadden isn't worth No. 1 pick (12/29/07)
More NFL
The NFL likes everything about a player like Keilen Dykes except, apparently, Dykes himself.
The NFL invited the top 333 draft prospects to Indianapolis this week for its annual scouting combine, but Dykes was not among the participants. Fifty-two defensive linemen were invited, not Dykes.
"I was shocked," Dykes said by phone this week. "I believe they made a mistake. But I'm not going to let it get me down. I still have my pro day."
So does Missouri running back Tony Temple. The last time we saw Temple, he was shredding the Arkansas defense for 281 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl.
Temple started in the Missouri backfield for two seasons and rushed for 1,000 yards both times. He played in two bowls and was the MVP of both; he rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State in the 2006 Sun Bowl.
There are nine running backs who are forgoing their senior seasons on campus to enter the 2008 NFL draft. Temple was the only one not invited to the combine.
The New York Giants reminded the NFL of the value of a pass rush, battering NFL MVP Tom Brady into submission in the Super Bowl.
Michigan State's Jonal Saint-Dic was one of the NCAA's premier pass rushers last season. His 10 sacks earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten team, and he set a conference record with eight forced fumbles. Yet Saint-Dic was not one of 33 defensive ends invited to the combine.
"This is hard," said Saint-Dic by phone. "I don't know what else I could have done. I sacked quarterbacks, broke records. I make plays. The stats don't lie."
Saint-Dic collected one of his sacks against Michigan, lining up against Jake Long, a two-time All-American regarded as the best offensive tackle in this draft. Long projects as a top-10 overall pick this April and is at the combine.
"This keeps me motivated," Saint-Dic said. "Football is football. Give me an opportunity, and I know what I can do."
The Mid-American Conference is not the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference. But its best players have proved they can play at the next level with the elite: Ben Roethlisberger (Miami-Ohio), Randy Moss (Marshall), Jason Taylor (Akron), Asante Samuel (Central Florida), Greg Jennings (Western Michigan) and Michael Turner (Northern Illinois), to name a few.
Jabari Arthur was one of the MAC's best players in 2007. He caught 86 passes for 1,171 yards and 10 touchdowns, leaving Akron as the school's all-time leading receiver. Yet he was not one of the 51 wide receivers invited to the combine.
Fortunately for Dykes, Temple, Saint-Dic and Arthur, the NFL scouting combine is just one step in the draft process.
Arthur can look to Wes Welker for inspiration. Welker wasn't invited to the NFL scouting combine in his draft year in 2004 despite leaving Texas Tech as the school's all-time leading receiver. Welker led the NFL in receiving last season with the AFC champion New England Patriots.
Getty Images
West Virginia defensive end Keilen Dykes seems to have all the tools the NFL wants but wasn't invited to the league's scouting combine. Players overlooked in February do not always get overlooked in April.
Saint-Dic can look to Osi Umenyiora. He wasn't invited to the combine in his draft year, 2003, despite setting a school season sack record at Troy with 16. He led the NFC in sacks in 2005 and was the lone Pro Bowl representative in 2008 for the Giants.
There are 250-plus selections in each NFL draft. Every year, about 110 players who get invited to the combine do not get drafted – and about 40 players who do not get invited to the combine do get drafted.
Just because a player isn't one of the 333 players invited to Indianapolis in February doesn't mean he can't be one of the 255 players drafted in April.
"If you can play, they know it," Dykes said. "They'll find you. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
NFL COMBINE SNUBS
SportsDay's Rick Gosselin lists 10 of the top players not invited to the 2008 NFL scouting combine:
Jonal Saint-Dic, DE, Michigan State : A junior-college transfer who started one season at Michigan State, Saint-Dic finished second in the Big Ten in sacks with 10. He tied a school record with sacks in four consecutive games.
Tony Temple, HB, Missouri : The Tigers have only managed 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons in school history, and Temple has two of them. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry in 2007 and 5.4 yards in his career.
Keilen Dykes, DT, West Virginia : Dykes started 44 career games – 28 at defensive tackle, 13 at nose tackle and three at defensive end. He anchored a Top 20 run defense in his final two seasons.
Jabari Arthur, WR, Akron : Arthur set school records with 184 receptions in his career and 15 in a 2007 game against Western Michigan for 223 yards. He caught nine passes for 180 yards against Memphis in the Motor City Bowl.
Ricky Santos, QB, New Hampshire : Santos won the Payton Award as the best player in Division I-AA in 2006. Romo won the same award in 2002. A player must dominate this level of competition to get the NFL's attention. Santos threw for 13,212 yards and 123 touchdowns in his career.
Fernando Velasco, G, Georgia : Velasco started two seasons for the Bulldogs, at guard in 2006 and center in 2007. He earned second team All-SEC for his play last season on one of college football's top teams.
Eric Scott, C, Kentucky : The Wildcats didn't settle on a position for Scott until his final season. He started games at tight end, defensive end and guard before becoming Kentucky's center in 2007.
Jed Collins, FB, Washington State : Collins played linebacker, tight end and fullback in his college career. He set a school record for tight ends with 52 catches last season and chipped in 10 tackles on special teams. The NFL projects him as a fullback.
Brandon Coutu, K, Georgia : Coutu set a school record by converting 80.3 percent of his 66 career field goal tries. He kicked a 58-yard field goal against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2005, the third longest in NCAA history but longest without use of a tee.
Jamario Thomas, HB, North Texas : Injuries slowed Thomas as he moved deeper into his career. But what a start – he led the NCAA in rushing as a freshman in 2004 with 1,801 yards. That included six 200-yard games.
