Mississippi State player notes for Mar 4th, 2019


Montez Sweat – Noteworthy
The defensive linemen hailed as the gems of the draft class didn’t disappoint during their on-field testing Sunday, and nobody performed better than Montez Sweat. The 6-foot-6, 260-pounder from Mississippi State clocked a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at Lucas Oil Stadium, the fastest time by a defensive lineman since at least 2003. That topped the mark of 4.43 seconds set by Emanuel Lawson in 2006. He was faster than all but two of 23 running backs who ran the 40 at the NFL scouting combine this week, and he was 0.12 seconds faster than Jadeveon Clowney’s time at the 2014 combine. Sweat had 11 1/2 sacks and 14 tackles for loss last season after posting 10 1/2 sacks and 15 1/2 tackles for loss in 2017. He said Saturday that he models his game after “old-time pass rushers like Jason Taylor,” and when asked what would set him apart among this year’s deep D-line class, Sweat said, “I think I would separate myself with my effort and my play. Just getting after the QB is what I do best.” – AP College Football

Montez Sweat – Noteworthy
Despite an injury robbing the Combine of one of its most impressive (if untraditional) athletes, the dominant defensive line class that has NFL teams so eagerly looking forward to the 2019 draft proved every bit as gifted as projected Sunday during athletic testing. Projected top five picks Quinnen Williams and Nick Bosa did everything they needed to do (athletically-speaking) but the day belonged to Mississippi State 6-6, 260 pound edge rusher Montez Sweat, who stole the spotlight in precisely 4.41 seconds – and followed that up with a 4.46 approximately thirty minutes later.

Turning in a 40-yard dash time faster than all but seven of the 48 wide receivers invited to Indianapolis this year made Sweat the obvious headliner of the day. The bigger story was how many phenomenal workouts were recorded Sunday, adding numerical evidence to back up what two-time NFL general manager Scot McCloughan and I characterized over the fall as the best defensive line class either of us have ever seen. Consider this, there were seven edge rushers who posted as good or better times than the staggering 4.65 forty-yard dash turned in by Bradley Chubb at this time a year ago – and, of course, he went on to be the first pass rusher drafted a year ago and wound up recording 12 sacks for the Denver Broncos, leading all rookies. – Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com