ESPN’s Senior Bowl Preview

NFL.com highlights 5 standouts from 1st HBCU Combine

Let’s stick with a pre-draft theme today, shall we?

On Saturday, the NFL held its first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Combine. The event was held in partnership with the Senior Bowl.

NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe wrote:

All 32 teams were represented on an unusually cold weekend in Mobile, with evaluators spending Friday interviewing and measuring 39 prospects from 22 different HBCUs. On Saturday, a large group of scouts spent several hours testing and working out the NFL hopefuls at the University of South Alabama Jaguar Training Center.

Several league executives, including Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent and Director of Football Development Kevin Boothe, helped lead the effort to make Saturday’s event a reality. There will be ongoing conversations in the weeks to come about how to make it even better for players and scouts, but this was an important start.

Wolfe tabbed five players who stood out at the event: Virginia State DB Will Adams, Alabama State RB Ezra Gray, North Carolina A&T RB Jah-Maine Martin, Florida A&M G Keenan Forbes and Southern WR Marquis McClain. Wolfe had plenty to say about Gray, who shined in a number of drills.

Gray had some of the most eye-popping numbers among offensive players with a 10-foot-3 broad jump that tied Adams for the best of the day. He also posted a 38.5-inch vertical jump. He didn’t run the 40-yard dash, as he’s recovering from a slight hamstring tweak, but he looked impressive catching passes and running routes during positional drills.

A speedy, undersized running back, Gray mentioned scouts most wanted to see if he could catch the ball out of the backfield and from the slot. He also stressed to teams that he could contribute on special teams as a kick returner, punt returner or coverage player.

Gray said he expects to post a time in the 4.2 or 4.3 range when he does run the 40-yard dash.