With the Scouting Combine on everyone's mind here's a brief history of the event from the Combine's website.
History
National Invitational Camp (NIC), more commonly known as the NFL Scouting Combine, began in 1982 when National Football Scouting, Inc. first conducted a camp for its member NFL clubs in Tampa, Florida. The key purpose then, same as it is today, was to ascertain medical information on the top draft eligible prospects in college football. The inaugural NIC was attended by a total of 163 players and established a foundation for future expansion.
During the first three years, two additional camps were held at different times to collect similar information for teams that did not belong to National Football Scouting. However, in 1985 all 28 NFL teams decided they would participate in future National Invitational Camps with the goal of sharing costs for the medical examinations of draft eligible players. After brief stints in New Orleans (1984, 1986) and Arizona (1985) the camp was moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where it has been operated since 1987.
As football and the art of evaluating players has evolved, so has the NFL Scouting Combine. While medical examinations remain the number one priority of the event, athletes will also participate in a variety of psychological and physical tests, as well as, formal and informal interviews with top executives, coaches and scouts from all 32 NFL teams. NIC is the ultimate four day job interview for the top college football players eligible for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Here are some of the best Scouting Combine performances since 2006:
40-yard:
4.22-John Ross, WR, Washington, 2014
4.24-Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolins, 2008
4.26-Dri Archer, RB, Kent State, 2014
4.27-Marquise Goodwin, WR, Texas, 2013
4.28-Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson, 2010
4.28-Jalen Myrick, CB, Minnesota, 2017
4.28-J.J. Nelson, WR, Alabama-Birmingham, 2015
4.28-Demarcus Van Dyke, DB, Miami, 2011
4.30-Yamon Figures, WR, Kansas State, 2007
4.30-Darius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland, 2009
4.30-Tye Hill, CB, Clemson, 2006
Bench Press
49-Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State, 2011
45-Mitch Petrus, OL, Arkansas, 2010
44-Jeff Owens, OT, Georgia, 2010
44-Dontari Poe, DT, Menphis, 2012
42-Russell Bodine, C, North Carolina, 2014
42-Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford, 2018
42-Tank Tyler, DL, North Carolina State, 2007
41-David Molk, C, Michigan, 2012
41-Vita Vea, DT, Washington, 2018
40-Justin Blalock, OL, Texas, 2007
40-Manuel Ramirez, OL, Texas Tech, 2007
Vertical Jump
45.0-Chris Conley, WR, Georgia, 2015
45.0-Donald Washington, CB, Ohio State, 2009
44.5-Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut, 2015
44.0-A.J. Jefferson, CB, Fresno State, 2010
44.0-Obi Melinfonwu, S, Connecticut, 2017
43.5-Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh, 2010
43.5-Kashif Moore, WR, Connecticut, 2012
43.5-Speedy Noil, WR, Texas A&M, 2017
43.5-Marcus Williams, S, Utah, 2017
43.0-Eric Berry, S, Tennessee, 2010
43.0-Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut, 2009
43.0-Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M, 2013
Broad Jump
12'3"-Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut, 2015
11'9"-Obi Melinfonwu, S, Connecticut, 2017
11'7"-Jamie Collins, LB, Southern Mississippi, 2013
11'7"-Chris Conley, WR, Georgia, 2015
11'6"-Bud Dupree, LB, Kentucky, 2015
11'4"-Robert Davis, WR, Georgia State, 2017
11'4"-Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee, 2013
11'4"-Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA, 2017
11'4"-Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina, 2008
My goodness, they are jumping out of the gym in Storrs.
The evolution of the Scouting Combine from a somewhat mysterious and very secret event to a public display has been remarkable. Pretty soon the NFL is going to bring fans into the interview room. I don't think that's such a great idea but the league seems to view overexposure as the best exposure. The Scouting Combine is now all about exposure.
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