*Clelin Ferrell – Noteworthy
The reigning national champion Clemson Tigers held their Pro Day Thursday, drawing representatives of all 32 NFL teams, including head coaches Mike Tomlin, Mike Vrabel and Zac Taylor. Edge rushers Ferrell (toe) and Bryant (pec), on the other hand, were limited due to injuries. Ferrell had run some of the timed drills at the Combine but he did not perform particularly well in the short shuttle (4.40, tied for 7th among 15 edge rushers tested in this event) and 3-cone drill (7.26 seconds, 11th of 16 tested) and has yet to run a 40-yard dash for scouts. Bryant has not performed any of the drills yet. Should either or both not be able to perform these drills prior to the draft, their stock could take a tumble. – Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com
Hunter Renfrow – Noteworthy
Hunter Renfrow The Underdog, Part 2, was showing all week at the NFL Combine. The former Clemson wide receiver who went from no-star walk-on to national championship-winning receiver to stalwart on one of the nation’s elite college football teams is back at square one as he tries to begin his professional football career. “That’s part of my charm, I guess,” Renfrow said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “I like the measurables charts. I’m like 0 percentile in everything.”
He’s not exaggerating by much. Renfrow was the only wide receiver whose hands measured less than eight inches (7 7/8). He was one of only two whose arms measured less than 30 inches (29 1/4). He was not the lightest receiver at 184 pounds, but he was in the conversation, and only six receivers ran slower than his 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash. His seven repetitions on the 225-pound bench press were the second-fewest of any player at any position. – The State
Tre Lamar – Noteworthy
The reigning national champion Clemson Tigers held their Pro Day Thursday, drawing representatives of all 32 NFL teams, including head coaches Mike Tomlin, Mike Vrabel and Zac Taylor. The roughly 100 NFL scouts, coaches and executives were treated not only to a workout featuring multiple first round picks but some Hollywood entertainment on the side, as Clemson’s fearsome fivesome of defensive linemen opted to sport Power Ranger head bands throughout much of the workout, celebrating a final opportunity to compete together. Clemson linebacker Tre Lamar ran the 40-yard dash for scouts Thursday and the results were not pretty. Lamar was timed at 4.95 and 4.97, which would have placed him 22nd among the 23 linebackers tested at the Combine this year. The sluggish time – even for a monster-sized linebacker (6-4, 253) – could push Lamar deep into Day Three or out of the draft entirely as teams will be forced to question where he fits in today’s pass-happy NFL. – Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com
*Clelin Ferrell – Noteworthy
Ferrell had 27 sacks in his final three years at Clemson, including 11.5 as the Tigers won the national title last year. He was joined by Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant, Dexter Lawrence and Bert Huggins at the NFL Combine, where he measured 6-foot-4.5, 264 pounds and did 25 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press. Ferrell did not run the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis but is expected to at the Tigers Pro Day on Thursday. Having so many teammates at the combine, 10 in all, helped Ferrell’s comfort level, he said. “It’s crazy, but it’s a blessing,” he said. “It’s something that we worked hard for. We weren’t entitled to anything, we didn’t expect it, but it was always a goal for us to get to this moment and be invited to such a great event like this. It’s a blessing for real.”
Just like the big family he grew up in that helped him overcome the death of his father, a Vietnam veteran, when he was 13. Ferrell’s mother, a Desert Storm veteran, raised the 11 children on her own after that. “Obviously, it’s a beautiful thing when you have so many different siblings and you all share something in common but you’re also all different,” he said. “You know you have different people that you can call on for anything. There’s never not somebody I can call for something or they can call me as well. It’s always good in that aspect, but it’s a lot of chaos as well. A lot of different personalities. They don’t always mix and jell, but at the end of the day it’s all love for sure.” – The State
