By Dane Brugler, The Sports Xchange
INDIANAPOLIS — While the quarterbacks and running backs were on the field Saturday at the NFL Combine, the defensive backs were the final position group to pass through the interview room at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Some stragglers from other positions, including defensive linemen, linebackers and a few quarterbacks, also came through, but for the most part, it was defensive back day.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Mackensie Alexander doesn’t lack confidence on the field … or at the podium.
Clemson cornerback Mackensie Alexander owned his interview with the media. And if he interviews as well with NFL teams, he’ll pass that test with flying colors.
Alexander was direct, poised and confident answering each question that was asked, showing clear preparation and belief in his responses. Possibly the most impressive aspect of the interview was his ability to voluntarily break down how he can cover different types of receivers. For example, a pass-catcher with the skill set of Laquon Treadwell.
“He’s a big guy, he knows how to use his body real well,” Alexander said. “Not very fast, but you know they’re going to give you what they’ve got. They’re aggressive, they’re very physical, they snatch the ball in the air. I’m taking what they do best, I’m taking those jump balls away.
“My job is to take those balls away and make their offensive coordinator change their route plan and go somewhere else with it.”
What about a speedster like Notre Dame’s Will Fuller?
“I know he’s the deep vertical guy,” Alexander said. “He just ran a 4.3 and I’m proud of him. You know he’s a fast guy, I’m fast too. If I take his vertical game away, I wouldn’t say he sucks, but he’s not that good. Then you force (Brian) Kelly to make him go to the screen game, which they did against us a lot just to get him touches.”
Alexander certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, calling himself “the best corner” in the class, but he admitted that there will definitely be some things he has to learn in the NFL. Nonetheless, he showed the bravado and swagger needed for the position and insisted it wasn’t an act.
“This is me. Imagine me on game day.”
2. Iowa’s Drew Ott remains in limbo with his future because of his unique situation.
Iowa defensive end Drew Ott might be participating in spring ball as a student-athlete for the Hawkeyes next month. Or he might be working out at Iowa’s pro day auditioning for NFL scouts and hoping to get drafted in April.
Ott honestly doesn’t know.
It’s rare for a player to have so much unknown surrounding his future this late in February, but that’s the situation for Ott. He suffered knee and elbow injuries in October, which both required surgeries and ended his 2015 season. Ott petitioned the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, but as of Saturday, he has yet to hear back.
Ott said he will probably return to Iowa if the NCAA approves his waiver, which would be his fifth year on campus as he did not previously redshirt. He has yet to hire an agent and is working out on campus, preparing for either scenario. Ott isn’t able to work out at the Combine because of his rehab but is participating in the interview and medical process. If he returns to Iowa this season, Ott will likely attend the Combine two years in a row, which is obviously a rare occurrence.
In November, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said there was a “fair case to be heard” regarding Ott returning to the program in 2016.
Ott hopes to hear a final ruling in the next two weeks, but it is ironic that he is currently at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which is less than a mile from NCAA headquarters. Despite the proximity and obvious time sensitivity, Ott remains twisting in the wind.
3. Vonn Bell admits that laziness was a contributing factor in his run defense problems.
Arguably the top safety in the 2016 draft class (not named Jalen Ramsey), Ohio State’s Vonn Bell has the size/speed profile for the NFL with the requisite instincts to play the entire field. He struggled at times in run support and Bell gave an interesting answer as to why.
“Sometimes you get lazy,” Bell said. “Sitting down with some scouts, they were tearing me up a little bit. It’s something to fix, it’s not hard to fix. Just got to run to the ball a little harder.”
It’s not often that prospects admit to being lazy during the game. Some have admitted to being late to practice or meetings, but rarely on game day. Viewed as a top-50 prospect, Bell said it is “very important” for him to be a first-round pick and he understands that he needs to show teams more passion to land in the top-31 picks.
So what was his reasoning for the laziness?
“It just happens, man,” Bell answered. “Young guy, thinking the world or whatever, it just happens.”
Aside from the laziness, Bell believes he’s the draft’s top safety.
“You get the full package,” Bell said. “A playmaker, a guy who can tackle in the open field, a guy who can make plays, a guy who just holds the whole team together. You’re going to get a leader, you’ve got another coach on the field.”
4. Reggie Ragland out to prove he is a three-down middle linebacker in the NFL.
The best run-defending linebacker in the 2016 class is Alabama’s Reggie Ragland with his downhill athleticism, recognition skills and violence at the contact point. But the pressing question for scouts: Can he cover and stay on the field every down in the NFL?
Ragland thinks so and hopes to prove it at the Combine.
“I know I can do it,” Ragland said, regarding his ability to drop in coverage. “I’ve done it this year and showed people I can do it. So it’s really just getting out there and keep proving people wrong because I know a lot of people think I can’t do it.”
In Alabama’s hybrid 3-4 scheme, Ragland would often put his hand in the ground on third down and rush as a defensive end off the edge. He does have snaps on film of him dropping in space and wants to prove to that he has “good hips, fluid hips” to be reliable in the open field.
Ragland played outside linebacker at the Senior Bowl in an attempt to show his versatility at different linebacker spots. Even if he does impress with his ability to drop in coverage, his strength is as a run defender and his best fit at the next level is in the middle. And Ragland thinks NFL teams agree with that.
“They see me as a MIKE, making all the calls.”
5. TCU’s Trevone Boykin wants to stay at quarterback but is open to a position change.
An athletic, strong-armed college quarterback, TCU’s Trevone Boykin sees his future as a passer, even declining a Senior Bowl invitation as a wide receiver. But despite his desire to stay at quarterback, he plans on working out at receiver or another position if teams ask during private meetings.
“Yeah, I’m totally open to it,” Boykin replied. “If you look at my college career at TCU, I bounced from receiver to running back to quarterback, but my heart is at quarterback.”
Boykin pointed out his fundamentals and accuracy as areas that he can improve. And coming from a shotgun, spread offense, he also understands the important of developing his footwork, working extensively on his three- and five-step drops during his draft prep.
Aside from his on-field play, Boykin also has questions to answer about his character after his arrest and subsequent bowl suspension that ended his collegiate career. He said he has been telling NFL teams “the truth” when asked about the incident and doesn’t believe it should impact his draft grade.
“You can look at my whole body of work and only one incident throughout my whole college career,” Boykin said. “You can’t let one incident define you at all. It is something that you have to move past and move forward. And I feel like I am doing that pretty well.”