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5 B1G players with a ton to gain at the NFL Combine

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

I know what you’re thinking after reading that headline.

“Doesn’t everyone have a ton to gain from the combine?”

Yes and no. Obviously it’s a pre-draft evaluation training tool dissected like nothing else. Everyone has a prime opportunity to showcase their athletic ability and ultimately show why they’re worth a multi-million dollar investment.

But for some players, the hay is in the barn. Testing well will simply meet expectations. Opinions about them won’t radically change if they run a little faster or jump a little higher than expected.

For others, this week could make a massive difference where they end up. Let’s talk about those guys:

1. Rashan Gary, Michigan DL

What’s the best place for someone who had a rather anticlimactic end to their career to make a loud statement? The combine, of course. Gary can definitely do that. A junior year plagued by injuries has certainly cast some doubt about him being a top-5 pick. Shoot, Pro Football Focus doesn’t even have the former No. 1 overall recruit as a first-round pick.

I think a lot of people have forgotten how freakishly athletic Gary is as a defensive lineman. It probably hasn’t helped him that this draft is absolutely loaded with elite defensive linemen prospects. But it can help Gary this weekend if he shows he’s healthy and he outshines all of them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gary regains some of that buzz by the time the weekend is finished.

2. Saquan Hampton, Rutgers S

Rutgers fans know Hampton. Nationally, though? I’m not sure about that. That’s saying a lot considering he was the team MVP in 2018.

Hampton didn’t play in a good defense, but it would’ve been way worse without him. He was excellent as a coverage guy on the back end of the Rutgers secondary:

Hampton basically spent all of his senior year trying to show scouts that he was healthy. He changed his training and put more emphasis on recovery so that he could be in the spot he’s in now. That is, trying to become the first Rutgers defensive back selected in the draft in 6 years.

This is a major opportunity for someone who didn’t get the All-B1G honor he felt he deserved, nor did he get the Senior Bowl nod he was hoping for after his standout season. Hampton will impress in meetings this weekend, and if he can impress with his 40-time, maybe he’ll go from Day 3 lock to mid-round pick.

3. Montre Hartage, Northwestern CB

Another defensive back who didn’t get Senior Bowl love and didn’t play for a high-profile program, Hartage could sneak up draft boards this weekend. A solid showing in the Shrine Game confirmed what many in the B1G saw. That is, he’s a playmaking cornerback who always seemed to have a nose for the ball (he’s got a knack for those strip fumbles).

Northwestern stereotypes should have probably ceased to exist years ago, but Hartage will try to shed the notion that the Cats don’t have some freakish athletes. He’ll also try and show that he’s over a hamstring injury that limited him late.

I don’t know how well Hartage is going to test, but sometimes the guys who lack the buzz can soar past expectations based on that alone. Perhaps that benefits the former Wildcat star.

4. L.J. Scott, Michigan State RB

What a strange career it was for Scott. Someone who finished as one of the top-10 rushers in MSU history was hobbled throughout his senior year after showing such promise as an underclassman. Scott struggled with injuries, fumbles and consistency throughout his 4 years in East Lansing, but there’s still hope he can become a productive NFL back.

The guy who earned Le’Veon Bell comparisons just needs to show that he’s healthy this weekend. If he looks like he’s in the best shape of his life, he might be able to overcome the fact that the only film of him in 2018 was playing behind a woeful MSU offensive line. Maybe those Bell comparisons will resurface if Scott runs well with his 225-pound frame.

Hindsight is 20-20 and Scott obviously had personal reasons for wanting to return for his senior year, but I can’t help but wonder what his draft stock would’ve been had he left after he dominated the Holiday Bowl in 2017.

Scott’s roller coaster career could use a high this weekend.

5. Noah Fant, Iowa TE

If you’re sensing a bit of a theme here, kudos to you. Yes, the combine is super important for guys who didn’t finish on the note they were hoping for. Showing that the pre-draft evaluation period was maximized after sitting out the bowl game will be huge for someone like Fant.

This weekend is another chance for Fant to show that he’s a receiver in a tight end’s body. I mean that in a good way, of course. He runs like a wideout, he catches like a wideout and even with a Mackey Award winner in his position room, Fant still scores like a wideout.

Fant would help himself by testing will on the bench press and showing some undeniable explosiveness. That might quiet some of the concern about him as a blocker. Sure, there’s buzz about Fant being a possible first-round pick, but there seems to be an interesting discussion about him, T.J. Hockenson and Irv Smith Jr. as the top tight end in the draft.

The prospect who separates himself in Indy could be the one who winds up being the first one off the board.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.