Notre Dame Football: Former Irish Shine at NFL Combine

The 2019 NFL Combine is officially in the books, and Notre Dame football was well-represented in Indianapolis among the best athletes and biggest names in the country.

With how slow and boring the last few months have been as a college football fan, it was a refreshing weekend watching the NFL Combine. More importantly, it was great seeing how former Notre Dame football players performed and measured up with some of the best-of-the-best of this year’s NFL Draft class.

Notre Dame had eight former players participate at the combine this past weekend: Alex Bars, Miles Boykin, Te’von Coney, Julian Love, Alize Mack, Jerry Tillery, Drue Tranquill, and Dexter Williams.

Here’s a recap of how each player performed at this year’s NFL Combine:

Alex Bars:

While Bars did not participate in any testing or on-field drills, he still had what would be considered a successful combine in terms of improving his image as less of an injured player and more as a legitimate prospect leading up to the NFL Draft in April.

Just five months removed form an ACL/MCL injury that cut his senior season short, Bars was reportedly medically cleared by every NFL team and had no issues or setbacks during his medical testing. He also measured in at 6-6, 312 pounds, which is encouraging to see that his size and frame hasn’t suffered very much during his recovery.

This weekend was a significant step forward for Bars reaching the next level, and whoever pulls the trigger on him is going to get one of the better offensive line steals of this year’s draft.

Miles Boykin: 

If I had to equate the performance Miles Boykin put on at this year’s combine to a moment in his Notre Dame career, it would be the game-winning catch vs. LSU in the 2018 Citrus Bowl.

Jaw-dropping.

Initially entering the weekend with questions about his explosiveness and speed, Boykin put on a show and literally turned heads during his testing and on-field drills with these numbers:

Bench Press: 12 reps

40-yard Dash: 4.42 seconds (5th-fastest of all combine wide receivers)

Vertical Jump: 43.5 inches (Ranked 2nd of all combine participants)

Broad Jump: 140 inches (Ranked 3rd among all combine participants)

3-Cone Drill: 6.77 seconds (Ranked 8th among all combine participants)

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.07 seconds (Ranked 10th among all combine participants)

It’s to say when you finish in the top 10 of almost every drill at the combine while running a 4.42 with a 6-4, 220-pound frame, you’re going to garner some attention and improve your draft stock. Boykin made a lot of money and was a big winner in Indianapolis this weekend.

Te’von Coney:

Coney participated in the on-field drills with the linebackers, but did not do any measurable testing at the combine, opting to wait and display his skills later this month at Notre Dame’s Pro Day.

The knock on Coney has been his overall average athleticism and sideline-to-sideline coverage ability. He stands a lot to gain with an impressive Pro Day, but still looked smooth during the drills at the combine.

Julian Love: 

The highest graded Irish player coming into the weekend, Love is projected to be an instant starter at the next level and a late first or early second round pick. While Love was already high on most people’s draft boards, he still had room to improve his stock among this year’s best corners, including Georgia’s Deandre Baker and LSU’s Greedy Williams.

In the on-field drills, Love did what he does best and looked smooth and efficient, showing off his quick feet, hips, and fast back-pedal. Here’s how he managed in the measurable testing:

Bench Press: 14 reps

40-yard Dash: 4.54 seconds

Vertical Jump: 36 inches

Broad Jump: 121 inches

3-Cone Drill: 6.72 seconds (Ranked 5th among all combine participants)

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.1 seconds

While some of his numbers (mainly his 40 time) didn’t jump off the page, he didn’t do anything to hurt his stock or make teams question his value as a prospect. His drill work re-emphasized what many of us and scouts already know, and that is his natural talent and technique can’t be questioned.

Alize Mack:

Alize Mack was in a similar boat as Boykin coming into the NFL Combine. Outside of his senior season, he never had consistent production on the field and had some question marks surrounding his game.

With all the physical tools there – measuring in at 6-4, 249-pounds – Mack put together a solid day with the measurables and on-field drills that will help his stock in a loaded tight end draft class.

Mack looked sharp running routes and was mostly solid in pass catching, with a few scattered drops. His receiving skills were somewhat questionable throughout his days with the Irish, but there’s no denying that his size and athleticism make him a great fit at the next level.

Here is how Mack performed in the measurable testing (number in parenthesis is where he ranked in the top-10 among all combine tight ends in that drill):

Bench Press: 22 reps (t-2nd)

40-yard Dash: 4.7 seconds (t-7th)

Vertical Jump: 36 inches (5th)

Broad Jump: 120 inches  (5th)

3-Cone Drill: 7.27 seconds

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.34 seconds (9th)

60-Yard Shuttle: 11.39 seconds (7th)

Across the board Mack tested well and measured up favorably to some of the bigger names and higher-rated tight end prospects of the draft. Mack is currently graded as a potential starter at the next level, and his performance this weekend backs that up.

Jerry Tillery:

The second-highest graded player coming out of Notre Dame this year, Tillery saw his draft stock rise all season as he helped anchor a great Irish defensive front, racking up 8 sacks as an interior defensive lineman.

Similar to Love, Tillery is high on many team’s draft boards, but with an absolutely loaded defensive tackle and edge rusher class, this weekend was an opportunity to throw his name in the discussion of first-round defensive line talent.

At 6-6, 295 pounds, Tillery moved exceptionally well for his size and really looked impressive throughout all of his testing and on-field drills. His 10-yard split during his second 40-yard dash was 1.69 seconds – which is one of the fastest splits ever recorded for interior defensive lineman. His 23 bench reps were also quite impressive considering his extremely long 34-inch arms.

Here’s how he performed in the rest of his testing (number in parenthesis is where he ranked in the top-10 among all combine defensive lineman in that drill):

Bench Press: 23 reps

40-yard Dash: 4.93 seconds (9th)

Vertical Jump: 32 inches (t-9th)

Broad Jump: 115 inches  (t-9th)

3-Cone Drill: 7.45 seconds (7th)

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.33 seconds (5th)

With the elite talent and depth of this year’s defensive line class, I think Tillery did a great job of reminding scouts and teams that he has the talent and athleticism needed to warrant a first or early second round pick.

Drue Tranquill:

One of the all-time Irish fan favorites turned in a solid performance this past weekend. Seen as an above-average player with NFL roster potential, Tranquill is seen as a package type linebacker and special teams player at the next level. Outside of his performance on the field, he was cleared medically and didn’t seem to have any issues with mobility after suffering two separate ACL tears at Notre Dame, and that itself is a huge win for him.

Lets look at how Tranquill performed in his measurable testing (number in parenthesis is where he ranked in the top-10 among all combine linebackers in that drill):

Bench Press: 31 reps (1st)

40-yard Dash: 4.57 seconds (t-8th)

Vertical Jump: 37.5 inches (t-6th)

Broad Jump: 122 inches  (9th)

3-Cone Drill: 6.94 seconds (6th)

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.14 seconds (t-5th)

60-Yard Shuttle: 11.64 seconds (3rd)

Tranquill’s bench press and vertical jump were great displays of the upper and lower body power he possesses. His relentless motor, aggressive style of play, and elusiveness will make him a perfect fit for whatever teams takes him in the later rounds.

Dexter Williams: 

We are all familiar with the story of Dexter Williams and the impact he had on the team last year as an explosive, home-run hitter. Even with the great year he had, Williams seemed to be relatively slept on when it came to him being a prospect at next level. However, since the season has ended, he’s helped his stock as well as anyone and has shown tremendous upside who has the talent to become an NFL starter.

It started with a solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl, where his elusiveness and athleticism was noted as he looked like one of the best backs in Mobile. Now, after turning a great combine performance, he continues to improve his image as an NFL prospect.

Here’s how Williams performed in his measurable testing (number in parenthesis is where he ranked in the top-10 among all combine running backs in that drill):

Bench Press: 17 reps

40-yard Dash: 4.57 seconds

Vertical Jump: 36 inches (t-6th)

Broad Jump: 130 inches  (t-1st)

3-Cone Drill: 7 seconds (3rd)

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.16 seconds (2nd)

While his 40-yard dash time wasn’t eye-popping, it’s clear his athleticism and ability to change direction are on par with the best that this draft class has to offer at the running back position. Williams had a relatively light workload in his college career and his fresh legs, vision and familiarity with zone running schemes, and acceleration will make him a popular weapon in whatever backfield he ends up in.

Up next for all these players, including a few more, will be Notre Dame’s Pro Day which will be held on Wednesday, March 20, at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex and Loftus Sports Center. All eight players listed above will participate, along with Nick Coleman, Jonathan Bonner, Sam Mustipher, Tyler Newsome, Nic Weishar, and Justin Yoon.

Joining them will also be former Irish players who previously transferred out of the program. These players are Justin Brent (Nevada), Corey Holmes (Purdue/Morgan State), and Nick Watkins (Houston).