Memphis’ Elliott, Maulet ready for NFL combine
The NFL scouting combine has become one of the most ballyhooed events in professional sports, a glorified series of drills and measurements that is televised daily and analyzed by half-inches and split-seconds.
But for former Memphis kicker Jake Elliott and cornerback Arthur Maulet, the goal for this week is simple.
“(It’s) pretty much just showing what I can do normally,” Elliott said.
“Just run fast,” Maulet added. “That’s my goal: Run fast, run fast and run fast.”
The first wave of players is scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis today, with Elliott, the most accomplished kicker in Tigers history, among them. Over the next three days, he will undergo a series of medical evaluations, interview with multiple teams and kick a series of field goals and kickoffs for NFL talent-evaluators, with hopes of earning a spot in April’s draft.
Maulet, meanwhile, is set to arrive in Indianapolis on Friday and work out on the field for scouts Monday. He’s not concerned about the array of drills and tests in front of him. “I’ve been doing those since I was a little guy, since I was in high school,” he said. His primary goal is simply to produce a strong time in the 40-yard dash.
“In the NFL, that’s what they want to see — if you can run,” Maulet said in a phone interview Monday. “For me, they want to see me run my 40 and see how fast I can run it. That’s the biggest thing for me, just showing them that I have the speed to play at the next level.”
That’s why Maulet has spent so much of the past month training his legs. He’s done squats on a machine that measures explosiveness, with the goal of repeating maximum effort on each repetition with little drop-off. And he’s run at high speeds on a curved treadmill, to perfect his stride.
Maulet, who finished with 72 total
tackles and led the Tigers with 13 pass breakups in 2016, said he has regularly worked out twice a day since playing in the Senior Bowl in late January. After spending a few weeks in San Diego, he has most recently been training with his father, Donald Cox, in Washington, D.C.
“It’s a blessing working with my dad. And Cali, man, it’s really, really nice out there,” Maulet said. “The experience, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I really wouldn’t.”
Elliott, meanwhile, has been primarily based in Memphis. He said he kicks every other day and lifts weights at the team’s facility. The Western Springs, Illinois, native has traveled a bit for “tuneups” with longtime kicking coach Jamie Kohl every few weeks, but his pre-combine training has otherwise been about repetition.
The combine is a completely different experience for kickers because they are not required to participate in many of the standard drills like the 40yard dash and bench press. So instead of training to test well, Elliott has simply kept kicking.
“They want to see how the ball’s jumping off your foot compared to the other guys,” he explained in a phone interview Friday. “You go through a grid that they have drawn up for you. It’s about 15 field goals and then seven or eight kickoffs. They want to see you locate and directionally kick off, see how you are as far as that goes. But the main thing is you’re showcasing your leg.”
Even though the 40-yard dash is not required for kickers, Elliott said he has considered running it at the combine with hopes that it would show off his athleticism. He said he would make “a last-minute decision” as to whether or not to run it this week.
For the most part, though, Elliott hopes to use the combine as an opportunity to assuage concerns about his size. At 5 feet 9 and 166 pounds, he will be one of the smallest prospects in Indianapolis this week.
“At the end of the day, size isn’t a huge deal, in my opinion,” he said. “(Scouts) are expecting a field goal kicker that’s real consistent from short yardages. For me, I’m looking to showcase the kind of leg that I have as far as long-distance field goals, and then kickoff-wise as well.”
Elliott isn’t sure whether he’ll be drafted but acknowledged that, if chosen, he will likely be picked in the later rounds. He added that there is an upside to becoming an undrafted free agent, too, because it would allow him to weight different opportunities and join a team that gives him the best chance of winning a job.
Former Memphis kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who is now with the New England Patriots, thinks Elliott has a strong chance of making it in the NFL.
“Hopefully he doesn’t take my job. Hopefully he takes one of the 31 other jobs,” Gostkowski said earlier this month after being inducted into Memphis’ Hall of Fame. “There aren’t a lot of job openings every year . ... It’s really tough to get in, but once you’re in and prove yourself, it’s a lot easier to stay.”
Like Elliott, Maulet is not a surefire draft pick, but he’s hopeful. He believes he could go as high as the third or fourth round, with a strong showing this week.
“I know I’m going to bench well. I know I’m going to do the drills well,” he said. “It just all comes down to the 40. If I do that, I should be good.” Elliott wins scholar-athlete award Elliott has been named the American Athletic Conference’s Football ScholarAthlete of the Year, commissioner Mike Aresco announced Tuesday.
The Western Springs, Illinois, native was a four-time first-team all-conference honoree during his time with the Tigers and finished his career with a 3.85 grade-point average. Elliott converted 21 of 26 field goals as a senior last season and set new program records for career scoring (438 points) and field goals made (80) in the process.
Elliott is the second Tiger in the past three years to receive the conference’s scholar-athlete of the year award, joining linebacker Charles Harris, who won it in 2014. As a result, Elliott will receive a $2,000 scholarship to be applied toward graduate or professional studies.
A former all-state tennis player in high school, Elliott will also be one of two former Tigers to participate in the NFL scouting combine this week, alongside cornerback Arthur Maulet. Elliott was due to arrive in Indianapolis, where the combine is held every year, on Tuesday and could be a late-round selection in April’s NFL draft.