Combine Recap: Breaking Down Notre Dame Players In Indy

The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is now in the rear view mirror. It was a bit of a mixed bag for the nine former Notre Dame players in attendance. Some were outstanding, some had quality performances and there were some disappointments in the group.

Up next will be the April 1 Pro Day on the campus at Notre Dame. That gives injured players a month to heal in hopes of working out and the players who disappointed or didn’t meet the standard they set for themselves will get a chance to improve on their numbers and drill production.

We already broke down the three standouts, and now let’s take a look at how the other six Irish players performed. (Players in each group are listed alphabetically)

Jalen Elliott, Safety — The combine started off well for Elliott when he checked in with the fourth best wingspan of all the safeties that were invited. Things didn’t go quite as well for Elliott after that, and he missed an opportunity to build on his outstanding performance at the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

The biggest takeaway for Elliott from the combine will likely be the 4.8 he ran in the 40-yard dash, which was the slowest among all the safeties, cornerbacks, wide receivers and running backs at the combine. While I thought the times for the defensive backs were off all day, there is no way the time for Elliott could have been off that much, and that 40-time is going to drag down his overall performance.

Elliott had quality leaping numbers, jumping 34” in the vertical and 125” in the broad jump. His 6.87 in the 3-cone drill was a strong number, and he showed good change of direction throughout the on-field position drills. Elliott looked smooth during drills and his change of direction was better than he showed on film at times.

The former Irish captain will need to make a dramatic improvement of his 40-yard dash time at Notre Dame’s April 1 Pro Day.

To read the full evaluation of Elliott’s combine performance CLICK HERE.

Chris Finke, Wide Receiver — A hamstring injury that he suffered at the East-West Shrine Bowl limited what Finke could do at the combine. He was able to run the 40-yard dash and do the vertical jump, but Finke noted that his goal is to be healthy enough to perform in all the drills at the Pro Day.

Finke’s 40-yard dash time of 4.57 was about average, but don’t be surprised if he drops that time quite a bit at the Pro Day if he is back to full speed and full strength. Finke’s 40” vertical jump tied for fifth among all the wide receivers and was tied for 12th among all participants at the combine.

That hamstring injury also kept Finke from doing on-field drills. He measured in as one of the shortest wide receivers at the combine from both a height and length standpoint.

To watch Finke’s interview at the combine CLICK HERE.

Tony Jones, Running Back — Jones had an interesting combine performance. He had some numbers that were subpar and others that were impressive, and his on-field workout was impressive.

Jones ran a 4.68, which is below what he wanted to run but was a relatively average running back number. Almost half the running backs at the combine ran between 4.60 and 4.75. Jones only did 13 reps on the bench, but talking to a source it sounds like he had a back issue that flared up during that event.

Jones didn’t have great leaping numbers either, jumping 32.5” in the vertical and 119” in the broad jump, which matches his pedestrian 40-yard dash time.

Where the former Irish running back shined was with agility and movement drills. Jones posted a 4.21 in the pro shuttle (20-yard shuttle), which was fifth among the running backs, and it was closer to him being in third than it was sixth. It was also the ninth best time among all offensive players at the combine. Jones also had a 7.18 in the 3-cone drill, which was eighth among the backs.

Jones showed off that agility and footwork during drills. The 220-pound back showed a good burst getting out of his stance, his route running was sharp, he was very quick in and out of cuts and he caught the ball extremely well. Jones showed during the combine the traits that got him invited in the first place, he has really good feet for a big back and he is a legit weapon in the pass game.

To listen to Jones talk about a number of topics at the combine CLICK HERE.

Khalid Kareem, Defensive End — Kareem measured in at the combine and did interviews with the media and teams, but a January shoulder surgery kept him out of all drills. According to Kareem, he’s unlikely to do much at the Pro Day either, but that will be determined by doctors as he gets closer to the event.

There were two things that stood out with Kareem at the combine. The first was his truly elite length. Kareem had the longest wingspan of any defensive end at the combine, measuring in with an 84” wingspan. He also had the biggest hands at 10 7/8”.

You can read about the importance of Kareem and Julian Okwara's measurements HERE.

What also stood out about Kareem’s combine experience was what we learned about the injury he suffered during the season. Beyond knowledge of the specific injury and how it will keep him out of various workouts, it also showed what kind of teammate and leader Kareem was at Notre Dame. You can see that clip and all the other topics he addressed, including why having big hands matters, HERE.

Julian Okwara, Defensive End — Okwara was also severely limited at the combine due to the leg injury he suffered against Duke in early November. Okwara also checked in with impressive length and he weighed in at 252 pounds, which is 12 pounds heavier than he was at Notre Dame. His wingspan was fourth among all defensive ends, and his arms were the same length as Kareem.

Okwara couldn’t do any movement drills, but he was able to participate in the bench press, and he threw up an impressive 27 reps in the drill. That should bode quite well for his evaluation with scouts. Okwara said he should be good to go at the Pro Day, and during interviews he stated he ran a 4.53 at Notre Dame last spring.

Troy Pride Jr., Cornerback — There wasn’t a Notre Dame player that had more hype surrounding his upcoming combine performance coming in than Pride, who was expected to post one of the best 40-yard dash times at the combine.

Overall Pride had a solid performance, but he certainly didn’t meet expectations.

Take away what we expected Pride to run, the fact is a 4.40 - which is what he ran - is an outstanding 40-yard dash performance. He ranked fourth among all cornerbacks and two of the players above him ran just a 4.39.

Pride’s overall combine experience wasn’t up to standard for the kind of player and athlete he was at Notre Dame. His 35.5” vertical jump was middle of the pack among cornerbacks and his 119” broad jump was last among all the cornerbacks. You’d expect someone with Pride’s speed to perform significantly better in each of those tests.

The former Irish corner had a 4.26 in the pro shuttle (20-yard shuttle) and ran a 6.94 in the 3-cone drill, which was his second best event of the combine behind the 40-yard dash.

Pride was inconsistent with his footwork during on-field drills. When he kept his base and showed good footwork he displayed excellent quickness and easy change of direction, but too often his footwork was off and he lost his base, which caused him to either slip or be slower out of breaks than he should be.

To read a full review of Pride’s combine performance CLICK HERE.