The path to the 2019 NFL Draft continued Saturday in Kansas City at the NFL Regional Scouting Combine.
The 2nd Annual NFL Regional Scouting Combine Invitational took place at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, inside the University of Kansas Health System Training Complex.
31 of college football’s best were invited to participate in front of NFL teams, scouts, and personnel. Most of the invited 31 players showed, with only 7 not participating in Saturday’s workouts.
Players looked to standout in front teams and scouts in attempt to improve their draft stock as they head into their pro days, which begin next week.
Participants in today’s combine represented schools from the NAIA, Division Three, Division Two, FCS, and FBS levels respectively. Players went through similar combine drills as those who participated in the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis.
Players arrived in Kansas City on Friday to go through medical testing and classroom work, with on-field drills taking place Saturday morning and lasting through the afternoon. Combine results for on-field drills were not made available to the media, though players and scouts were made aware of their individual results.
Full results of the participant’s workouts in Saturday’s Combine will be made available in the coming days.
There were several standouts during Saturday’s workouts in one of the final opportunities for players to impress teams looking to find deep sleepers for this year’s draft.
One of the hallmarks of the Regional Combine is the opportunity for small-school players to showcase their skills with the hopes of catching the eyes of a team that otherwise would not have taken notice.
One of the players to take full advantage of his opportunity was Bowie State (DII) QB Amir Hall.
Hall had an impressive workout in front of scouts showing his strong arm and athleticism throughout Saturday’s drills. The 2017 Black College Football Player of the Year displayed impressive arm strength and accuracy during throwing drills also. Hall led all of DII Football with over 4100 yards passing and finished 5th with 31 TD passes.
The Bowie State product was last seen on the field at the 2019 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl where he too impressed scouts with his poise and accuracy from the pocket. Speaking with Kevin Gray of Sports Radio America, Hall stated that he wants to continue,
“…improving on my footwork, that was really the main thing, I came out of college really trying to work on, and I’m working on it now, and its getting better each and every day and I think I’m going to showcase it on my pro day.”
Hall led Bowie State to the 2018 CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) Championship breaking the CIAA record for passing yards and TD’s in a season.
Another small-school standout during today’s Combine was secondary player Chris Johnson out of North Alabama. Johnson showed outstanding footwork and balance during DB drills while displaying natural hands catching the football.
During his last two seasons Johnson had 8 interceptions, along with 47 tackles in 2018. The former first-team All-Gulf South Conference performer ran well in the 40 yard dash and displayed natural hips during defensive drills. Johnson said of his performance today,
“…just getting out here in front of the scouts again, any exposure that you can get and put on a show is good exposure, I think it was important…I have the natural skills to play free [safety]…I think consistency is what they want to see from a small school guy…and show them that I can do that.”
Other standouts included WR Tyron Johnson out of Oklahoma St., DT Fred Jones of Florida St., and DE Kyle Phillips of the University of Tennessee, of which we’ll have additional coverage of.
Scouts and personnel from several teams including the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, etc. were on hand for Saturday’s combine workouts.
Teams looking for diamonds in the rough were treated to some outstanding combine performances as they look to improve their teams during this year’s draft.
It was an outstanding day of workouts for these NFL hopefuls as they continue their path to the NFL Draft.
The 2019 NFL Draft will take place Thursday April 25th – Saturday the 27th in Nashville, TN.
