Recapping Notre Dame Prospects at the 2007 NFL Combine

All stats are courtesy of FFLiveWire. They have the numbers for every athlete that participated in the combine.

Brady Quinn – 6′ 3 3/4″, 232 lbs
Quinn made some headlines for not participating in the throwing or running drills, but he may have done just enough to help stop some of the negative momentum he’s experienced since the Sugar Bowl. Quinn weighed in at 232 pounds and measured in at just under 6’4″ and was one of the more impressive looking athletes at the combine. Quinn also did 24 reps of 225 pounds which was more than a number of offensive and defensive linemen. Quinn may have been helped more by JaMarcus Russell’s appearance than anything else this past weekend. Russell was said to show up out of shape and not look nearly as in shape as Quinn which has raised questions about his motivation.

Darius Walker – 5″10′, 208
Of all of the Notre Dame prospects at the combine, Walker probably had the most to prove. Many people feel he should have returned for his senior. The major knock on Walker since he became the full-time starter was his lack of speed and his 4.56 40 yard dash time did very little to change many people’s minds. Walker did, however, turn in the 3rd best vertical jump of any athlete who participated which could help him. Still, Walker is probably still a late first day pick at best, unless he can impress at the Notre Dame pro day. If he can show some better hands than he displayed at the skills competition on ESPN a few weeks ago he could improve his stock some more. On ESPN he looked uncomfortable and almost unnatural handling passes from Troy Smith and the jugs machine.

Rhema McKnight – 6’1″, 211
McKnight didn’t run the 40 at the combine most likely because his 40 time is probably not going to turn many heads. McKnight is more quick than he is fast. His 4.16 20 yard shuttle time put him well into the top 1/2 of those who ran and his 11.28 60 yard shuttle was the fastest of the wide receivers – including being faster than Robert Meachem’s time of 11.3. Its tough to project where McKnight will go without an official 40 time beings as most scouts love to judge receivers on their 40 time.

Dan Santucci – 6’4″, 296
Santucci’s 23 repetitions won’t do much to improve his stock as an interior offensive lineman, but he showed good agility with a 3 cone time of 7.47 – tied for 3rd best among the offensive linemen. His 29″ vertical leap was, however, second worst among the offensive linemen.

Ryan Harris – 6’4″, 299
Harris ran a 5.09 40 time which was one of the better times for offensive linemen, but he only managed 22 reps of 225 which put him near the bottom amongst offensive linemen in that category. Harris was impressive in his interviews and gained some points in that regard. He was one of only seven OL to run the 20 yard shuttle and his time was 4.52. Harris may have gone from potential first round pick to mid to late second round pick with the 22 reps. His good agility numbers, however, should help offset his low strength numbers somewhat.

Victor Abiamiri – 6’4″, 267
Abiamiri’s 40 time of 4.8 surprised me – I thought he would run much better than that. His 4.8 was fairly averaged compared to the other defensive ends who participated – as was his 25 reps of 225. I really thought Abiamiri would be a workout marvel at the combine because of his athletic ability, but his numbers weren’t all that impressive. He’ll need a better showing at the pro day to get back into the early stages of the first day.

Derek Landri – 6’2″, 288
The only numbers listed for Landri were his 24 repetitions, which again isn’t going to turn many heads for a defensive tackle. Landri’s quickness has always been his forte so its a bit surprising he didn’t participate in some of the speed and agility drills. His weight of 288 is a bit surprising as well considering he spent most of his time at Notre Dame much smaller than that. I think Landri could be a very good special teams player early on in his career in the NFL because of his quickness off the line and work ethic.

Chinedum N’Dukwe – 6’1″, 206
Nedu ran a 4.51 40 time which is about the range I figured he’d run and maybe even a little faster. I’ve never really thought of N’Dukwe as a speed guy, but a 4.51 40 time is pretty good for a safety – not great, but pretty good. His 15 reps put him in the bottom half of the defensive backs and that stat did surprise me some.