*Benny Snell Jr. – Noteworthy
As of Thursday afternoon, the most unusual question asked of Benny Snell during team interviews at the NFL Combine wasn’t all that unusual: What is a time you’ve overcome major adversity? He was shy with media about one of the answers he’s given teams – “I don’t think I want to say that,” he said with a grin – but quickly pivoted to another instance familiar with anyone who’s closely followed the University of Kentucky’s career rushing leader: The Wildcats’ 27-16 win over Florida last September. “I told ’em about the Florida game, when kind of how it was an even game going into halftime,” Snell said. “At halftime I was like, ‘Yo we gotta do this,’ cause we were making stupid penalties, we were jumping offside, doing this, that and the third. We were beating ourselves. “We go on, come out in the second half and executed. I seen the cameras flashing, the lights, I was like, ‘Ah, yeah, we about to do this.’ So I had fun doing it, and we completed it. I told ’em about that.”
Snell finished with 3,873 rushing yards on 737 carries in three seasons at UK. That’s ample more yardage than running backs ranked ahead of Snell in most mock drafts – Josh Jacobs (Alabama), Damien Harris (Alabama/Madison Southern), Devin Singletary (Florida Atlantic) and David Montgomery (Iowa State) – but also the heaviest work load. Only Montgomery, who rushed for 2,925 yards on 624 carries, came close to approaching Snell’s amount of college carries; Jacobs (251) and Harris (477) combined fall nine short. – Herald Leader
*Benny Snell Jr. – Noteworthy
Benny Snell told reporters he had marks in mind he wanted to meet during his drills at the NFL Combine. He didn’t disclose his goal in the 40-yard dash, but it’s likely running a below-average speed wasn’t his hope. Snell ran an unofficial time of 4.65 seconds in his first 40 attempt, tied for the third-slowest time among all running backs who participated in the drill on Friday. It’s also more than a 10th of a second slower than the average speed run by last year’s top NFL rushers. The average 40-yard dash time posted at either the pre-draft combine or their college pro day by the top 20 rushers last NFL season was 4.51. That’s the same average speed posted by the 2018 running back draft class, which was comprised of 19 selections.
Two of those 19 draftees ran 4.65 at the combine – Ronald Jones, a second-round pick by Tampa Bay out of Southern Cal, and David Williams, an Arkansas player who was drafted in the seventh round by Denver but was later waived before signing with Jacksonville’s practice squad. Of six former UK running backs who posted official 40 times between the combine and pro-day events since 2000, only two – Artose Pinner and Anthony White – posted slower times (both 4.68). Pinner, who at 5-foot-10, 229 pounds boasts similar measurables to Snell, is the only UK running back drafted over that same time span; he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fourth round and played five seasons in the NFL. – Herald Leader
C.J. Conrad – Noteworthy
C.J. Conrad’s time at the NFL Combine was cut short because of a medical problem discovered during examinations leading up to his media availability and participation in combine drills on Friday. The University of Kentucky confirmed a report from Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones that Conrad had left the combine because of a medical condition discovered during his pre-combine physical. Jones tweeted Friday that it was a “heart issue.” Mike Conrad, C.J.’s father, told the Herald-Leader that the family doesn’t know all the details of Conrad’s condition. C.J. has a follow-up appointment scheduled for Monday in Lexington.
“We’re meeting with the medical staff at UK and at the hospital to look at a second opinion or whatever else needs to be done,” Mike Conrad said. “Obviously his health is first and foremost on all our minds. That’s really pretty much everything we know at this point. They were being very cautious, as they should be.” Conrad started 42 of the 49 games in which he played for the Wildcats. He ended his career with 1,015 receiving yards on 80 catches with 12 career touchdown receptions, second-most by a tight end in UK history. – Herald Leader