Ruggs burns 40 field despite muscle pull
INDIANAPOLIS — After a lot of hype about Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III possibly breaking the 40-yard dash record of 4.22 set by Washington receiver John Ross in 2017, he came up short and pulled a thigh muscle after running a 4.27 — fastest on the first day — among the receivers, quarterbacks and tight ends.
The fastest receivers behind Ruggs were Southern Mississippi’s Quez Watkins (4.35), Baylor’s Denzel Mims (4.38), Tulane’s Darnell Mooney (4.38), Texas’ Devin Duvernay (4.39) and Memphis’ Antonio Gibson (4.39).
Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb (4.50) and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy (4.45) are the highest-rated receivers in the draft. TCU’s Jalen Reagor was supposed to challenge Ruggs but ran a 4.47.
By comparison, here are some 40 times coming out of college for some prominent NFL receivers: DeAndre Hopkins (4.57), Michael Thomas (4.57), Mike Evans (4.53), Tyreek Hill (4.29), Julio Jones (4.39), Odell Beckham Jr. (4.43), Larry Fitzgerald (4.48) and Chris Godwin (4.42).
The fastest tight end was Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam. At 6-foot-5½ and 258 pounds, he ran a 4.49. The fastest quarterback was Hawaii’s Cole McDonald (4.58). The only other quarterback to break a 4.6 was Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts (4.59).
One of the more impressive 40s was turned in by Notre Dame wide receiver Chase Claypool. At 6-4¼, 248, Claypool ran a 4.42.
It’s all in the family for the Blacklocks
TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock grew up in Missouri City and starred at Elkins High School. He’s the son of former University of Texas basketball great Jimmy Blacklock, who went on to play and coach for the Globetrotters.
Jimmy Blacklock, who grew up in Houston and played at Yates High School and Tyler Junior College, was the first AfricanAmerican starter and letterman for the Longhorns’ basketball team. He was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2016.
“He never pushed me to be a basketball player,” Ross Blacklock said. “He told me if I want to do it, then I’ll do it. He knew football was where I wanted to be. I think basketball is just too soft for me. (I like) the hitting, the strength, the power — everything you have to put into football.”
Blacklock is 6-4, 305 and one of the highest-rated players at his position.
“I always used to foul out of basketball,” he said. “I’d come off football season and go straight to basketball. Sometimes I’d be too aggressive, and I was like, dang, this is just too soft for me sometimes. But it’s a good sport. I’m glad I got into it. But I just like the physicality of (football). You’ve got to be tough.”
Blacklock is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps and make his mark in the sports world.
“I’m super-proud of him,” he said about his father. “As some people know, he was the first African-American basketball player at the University of Texas. I just try to fill those shoes for him, for our family. He’s my Pops, so I love him to death.”
Blacklock has been busy at the combine, especially with interviews with different teams.
“Twenty-one formal interviews with more to go,” he said. “It’s been exciting. I’m thankful for the process. It’s like speeddating.”
Baylor receiver Mims impresses with skills
In a draft loaded with talented receivers, Baylor’s Denzel Mims is moving up the rankings. Not only did Mims (6-3, 207) run a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, but he had a terrific night running routes and catching passes. Depending on what he does at Baylor’s pro day, Mims could be destined for the second round.
One part of Mims’ game that impresses scouts is his willingness to block, how well he does it and how much pride in takes in it.
“I love to block,” he said. “I’m not a selfish guy. I’d say my blocking stands out on film. I’d seen it would separate my game from a lot of receivers in this league, and I took pride in it. I knew if I were elite at that, then I’d be an elite receiver.
“If I block my corner real hard and dominate in the blocking game, and he gets tired of me blocking him, it’ll open up the passing game for me.”
Because Mims played for Matt Ruhle, he’s gotten a lot of questions about the first-year Carolina coach.
“That’s my guy,” Mims said. “I’ve seen him a lot this week, and I saw him a lot at the Senior Bowl. It’s good to see him. He said to be honest. Be relaxed. Be yourself.”
Asked what players like about Rhule, Mims said, “He’s going to show you he cares. He’s going to do his all to make sure you’re in the best situation. He’s going to do whatever he says he’s going to do. He’s not going to lie about anything.
“He wants what’s best for the players. He wants to do whatever he has to do to win. You need to be honest in this game. If the players buy in, then (there can be) a great outcome.”
Raiders GM dodges Brady questions
There are a lot of reports about Las Vegas’ possible interest in Tom Brady replacing Derek Carr. Because teams can’t comment on about possible interest in players on other teams while they’re under contract, general manager Mike Mayock couldn’t talk about Brady. But he did point out how well he thought Carr played.
“Everybody needs to understand at what level Derek Carr played last year,” Mayock said. “The guy completed 70 percent of his passes. He had almost a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. I think we were No. 11 in the league in total yards, seventh in third down conversions. We did a lot of really good things on offense.
“Derek played at a high level. I’m very happy with Derek. What I’ve told everybody I’ve been in touch with since the day I took this job, we’re going to evaluate every position every year. And if we can get better, we will. I know you guys (media) get tired of me saying that, but that’s what I told (owner) Mark Davis before I took the job. That’s really my mantra.”
NFL coaches, general managers and scouts love the combine set-up in Indianapolis. Everything they need is in close proximity downtown. But the owners make the decision where the combine is situated. It’s been in Indianapolis for more than 30 years. Rams’ owner Stan Kronke wants the combine for his new stadium in Los Angeles. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones wants to host it at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Mayock, who covered the combine for 18 years with the NFL Network, thinks it’ll be a mistake to move it from Indianapolis.
“I think the NFL would be crazy to move it from Indy,” he said.
“I’ve been here close to 20 years now. People forget, it’s not about Thursday thru Sunday night when the players work out. It’s about the medical, the psychological. You’ve got to move 337 kids throughout the city with hospitals, doctors. If you go anywhere else, you’re not going to have anywhere near the portability or the convenience of this city.
“Outside of the fact it’s February and it’s cold here, the NFL might want to move it around and do what they did with the draft, I really don’t care about that. I care about the efficiency of the football operation, and I think they’d be crazy to move it.”
Aggies lineman raves about Fisher’s ways
Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who’s projected as a second-round pick at this point in the scouting process, was asked what it was like to play for Jimbo Fisher.
“It was truly incredible,” he said. “When coach Fisher got to A&M, he really changed things. He changed the mindset of our players. He pushed us to be the best we could be. He pushed us really, really hard. That brings the best out of us, during practice and games. He prepared us for practice, so the games were easy.”
One reason Madubuike is highly rated is because of his pass rush skills. He can play any position on the line and gets an inside push when he’s playing tackle.
“I take great pride in it,” he said. “Pass rush is essential for the defensive line to create pressure on the quarterback, making sure I get him outside the pocket and make him uncomfortable. It’s always good as a defensive tackle to create pressure, so I always try to work on that and get even better at that. I have a lot of work to do, put my head down and put my (best) foot forward and keep on working.”