Hamstring injury kept Illinois safety from running in 2022 NFL Scouting Combine
Former Illinois safety Kerby Joesph is considered one of the top players at his position heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. During the combine on Sunday, though, the former Illini star didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that Joseph was dealing with a hamstring injury, which kept him from participating in the drill. Per the report, Joseph “tweaked his hamstring recently,” but he felt good enough to participate in the jumps.
When Joseph is back to full strength, he plans to run for NFL scouts.
Illinois S Kerby Joseph, a Top 100 player, didn’t run the 40 yesterday because he tweaked his hamstring recently, source said. He felt about 85% so he did the jumps, but plans to run when fully healthy.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2022
Joseph had an outstanding 2021 season at Illinois, posting 57 tackles and hauling in a team-best 5 interceptions on the year. He was also responsible for 2 pass break-ups, 2 fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
It was, by far, the best season Joseph had enjoyed. Prior to the 2021 campaign, Joseph had tallied 59 tackles and hadn’t intercepted any passes in his 3 seasons.
Joseph will still have a pro day opportunity to boost his draft stock even further.