*David Long – Noteworthy
Before Michigan’s bowl game, cornerback David Long said he did not submit for a grade from the NFL and said a player knows if he’s ready to make the jump from college to professional football, even with a year of eligibility remaining. Long decided he was ready for the next challenge and will go through drills Monday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Michigan’s Rashan Gary insists he’s best player in NFL Draft due to his ‘versatility’ “It was a fairly quick decision,” Long told reporters Sunday referring to his decision to leave Michigan after his junior season. “It was all about being ready. If you’re not ready, things aren’t going to fall into place. I felt I was ready mentally, (and) mature enough. I thought it was time for me to come out. “Overall, ready. Confident in coming out.” He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection, including making first-team last season. Long started 26 games for the Wolverines and had three career interceptions, including one in 2018. Long said he had several formal interviews lined up with NFL teams and many have been impressed by his work in Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown’s man defense. “There are some teams that think I have an upside playing press man and playing in Don Brown’s defense,” Long said. “That’s a plus for me, definitely.” – Detroit News
*Rashan Gary – Noteworthy
Former Michigan defensive end Rashan Gary has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. Gary, the top-rated high school player, arrived at Michigan with plenty of fanfare and three years later, he’s projected among the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. Although he missed three regular-season games because of a shoulder injury last fall and decided not to play in the bowl game, Gary has been lauded for his “freakish” athleticism and is anticipated to show off big-time numbers during his workout Sunday here at the NFL Combine. Although former Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa has been projected the No. 1 overall pick in the draft with defensive linemen placing high in the first round, Gary begs to differ.
When asked what he wants NFL teams to know about him when he leaves the combine, Gary answered quickly and definitively. “That I’m the best player in this draft offensively and defensively,” he said Saturday. “Period.” Why does he think that? “Why do I think or why do I know?” Gary said, pausing for effect. “My versatility, and I know what I put into this. Like I said, I’m able to do a lot of things that a lot of defensive linemen in this class can’t do. I pride myself on being able to do that.” Devin Bush, the former Michigan linebacker and Gary’s teammate also here at the combine, said he thinks Gary is capable of being the top player in the draft. “Just his athleticism,” Bush said. “His matchups with tackles is just unreal. His 40 (on Sunday) is going to be unreal. Just a crazy athlete.” – Detroit News
*Zach Gentry – Noteworthy
Tight end Zach Gentry totally gets it. Yes, he’s enormous, and people built like him – even if they’re football players by trade – are rarely considered swift and agile. Gentry, who decided after the Peach Bowl to head to the NFL rather than return to Michigan for his final season, measured 6-foot-8 1/8 at the NFL Combine this week, tallest among the deep class of tight ends. He also weighed in at 265. He fully expects to dazzle NFL coaches with his mobility. “I think I’m athletic,” Gentry, who arrived at Michigan as a highly regarded quarterback before moving to tight end at Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s suggestion in 2015, said Friday. “I move a lot better than people maybe give me credit for. I think they’ll see that.” So who exactly has been doubting Gentry’s athleticism? “As much as I try not to read things, I think a lot of people assume that just because (my) height was 6-8, weight 265 – I’m not blaming anybody,” Gentry said during an interview session at the Indianapolis Convention Center. “If I see somebody 6-8, 265, I’m not going to think maybe they’re the fastest guy in the world. I think I’ll be faster than everybody thinks I’m going to be.” – Detroit News
Chase Winovich – Noteworthy
Chase Winovich takes pride in the fact people consider him a high-motor football player. But he wants NFL teams at the combine to know he’s more than a guy with long blond hair who never quits. The former Michigan defensive end, voted the team’s most valuable player last season, will go through drills on Sunday and has had conversations with plenty of NFL teams sharing with them his versatility and football smarts. “Teams ask me that question a little bit,” Winovich said Saturday referring to the high-motor theme. “It’s a dangerous game in a small way, because you don’t want to get pigeon-holed as a try-hard white guy. At the end of the day, I think there’s more to my game than that. There’s nothing wrong with that in a sense, as well. My whole goal is to get into an NFL organization, add more value and prove my worth every single day.”
It isn’t that Winovich is trying to escape the try-hard image, but he wants teams to know that he is a smart guy who understands what defensive coordinators want and what offensive coordinators are trying to do. He wants them to know how versatile he is and how he’s a top-notch athlete. He also has stressed he’s all about focusing on the little things and being a consistent player in practices. Still, teams are drawn to his ability to be the Energizer Bunny. “The first thing that pops up on everybody’s list is just like how hard I work and my play style and never taking a play off,” Winovich said. – Detroit News
Devin Bush – Noteworthy
Former Michigan linebacker Devin Bush said his film speaks for itself, and that some consider him undersized as a linebacker shouldn’t be a concern for any NFL team. Bush, named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, measured in at 5-foot-11, 234 pounds at the NFL Combine this week. He will go through drills on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and is projected as a first-round selection in the NFL Draft. “What you see on tape is real,” Bush said Saturday from the combine. “That’s what you’re going to get 100 percent of the time. It’s no fluke. I’m a tough player. I play hard, and my film speaks for itself.”
He led the Wolverines in tackles each of the last two seasons. Bush, a co-captain last season, left Michigan with a year of eligibility remaining. He suffered a hip injury in the regular-season finale at Ohio State and said he was not fully healed until the third week of NFL Combine preparations. Bush did not play in Michigan’s bowl game. Bush is a big hitter with terrific sideline-to-sideline speed. “I’m a twitchy linebacker,” Bush said. “I can cover, I can blitz, I can play the run. I can do it all. I can cover. I’m not worried about the size of a guy or how much taller or heavier he is than me. Football is football. It’s a man’s sport. He’ll have to bring me as a man.” – The Detroit News