Hampton Sends 5 to Combine

Hanging with the big boys

No school will have as many players at the combine than Florida, with 13 prospects invited. No surprise there. The Gators are national champions. Yet Hampton's contingent of five players at the combine is worth a double-take. It represents the most-ever for a non-Division I-A school, according to NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt, the former Dallas Cowboys personnel chief. Led by linebacker Justin Durant, a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, Division I-AA Hampton will have more players at the combine than Southern Cal. The Trojans are sending four players to this year's combine. Three Big 10 schools (Illinois, Northwestern and Indiana) and two SEC schools (Vanderbilt and Kentucky) won't have a single player at the combine. But Hampton is on a roll, with its prospects getting a shot to capitalize on the combine exposure that can be tough to get for players from smaller schools. "It's a tribute to what they've done recruiting in that Tidewater area, which has always produced good players," says Brandt. "That's where Ron Springs came from. It's where Lawrence Taylor came from. Butch Davis came out the other day and said about his job at North Carolina, 'We're going back into the Tidewater area.' "

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xtruroyaltyx said:

...Does anybody have a link to view the list of players that will be at the combine ?

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Lucky said:

Here is the official list. Not sure if there will be some late adds or not. I thought Walter Thomas, at DT out of Northwest Mississippi C.C., had received a late invitation. But, he's not on this list.

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