BC Boys Doing Work at the NFL Combine

I know I said yesterday that the combine was a complete joke, but there are a few of our men in Maroon and Gold working out there in the hopes of catching on with an NFL Squad in this April's draft, so let's show them some love. Linebacker Mark Herzlich and Offensive Tackle Anthony Castonzo both worked out yesterday for teams, and to be honest, both looked fairly solid.

Herzlich, who, if you haven't been living under a rock, obviously was widely publicized for his beating cancer last year and subsequent comeback this season. Mark showed some good things out there as he was one of the top bench pressers (29 reps) and had an above average vert (32.5), but failed to run as well as he would have liked. I believe Mark's one of those guys that I was talking about yesterday in my combine rant. This guy may not test out well in the 40, or be able to run laterally as well as some of the other "more athletic guys," but he remains a gamer. One of those players that lives for gameday, leaves it all out on the field, and just finds ways to do superhuman things when the time comes. Also, in a pure football sense, Mark can play both inside and outside linebacker, and with the NFL seemingly shifting towards a more 3-4 type of league, this benefits a lot of teams. In fact, I think Mark would be the perfect Inside LB in the Patriots 3-4 system, where he could blitz quite a bit off the edge and still be protected in the pass game by the outside LBs.

Castonzo, on the other hand, had a fantastic day yesterday as far as testing goes, and is rated at number 25 in Mel Kiper's most recent mock draft. Anthony wowed scouts with his above average speed and explosiveness, posting great results in the 3 cone drill and the 20 yard shuttle (drills designed to test quickness). Like the scouts, I think Anthony will make a great NFL tackle, which many people will tell you are key to both success and a Quarterback's health.

Whether these guys go 1st pick or 7th round it's nice to see some boys from Chestnut Hill making a name for themselves. They obviously have seen their ups and downs; new coaches, losing, winning, Matt Ryan to Dave Shitskie, but they're our brothers and nothing can change that. Good Luck boys and Go Eagles.

Ps. for all the joke of jokes aka NFL Combine results you can view them here.

Posted by Mucc.