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Inside The Huskies

Husky Contingent Impresses, Makes People Laugh at NFL Combine

The UW players have been well received in Indianapolis.
Dan Raley|
Husky Contingent Impresses, Makes People Laugh at NFL Combine
Husky Contingent Impresses, Makes People Laugh at NFL Combine

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Washington Huskies

In the beauty contest that is the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the large University of Washington football contingent is drawing a lot of high marks and loud laughs.

People can't believe how relaxed and personable Rome Odunze is, and this comes well before he puts his physical skills on display.

Linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio has surprised the attentive gallery of NFL personnel directors, scouts and front-office types with his athleticism. 

And Michael Penix Jr. has not only graded well with the way he presents himself in his team sit-downs, more people are becoming believers in his skill set.

To a man, those in the UW's 13-man group acknowledged how surprised they were that their Husky coach Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama, but these guys defended his right to take the job and put himself in more of a pressure-cooker situation.

While Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. won't take part in the combine, Odunze has told everyone he's come to Indiana to show he's the No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL Draft and he wants nothing less. He get to audition himself on Saturday.

The consensus All-America receiver was overly impressive in speaking about his Nigerian heritage, which he tries to honor at every turn.

"It takes a village," Odunze said. "I feel like you know a lot of Nigerians are familiar with that and I carry these African traditions and their culture with me. How I play the game and how I treat others and just embrace the support of all those around you."

Odunze, who undoubtedly will have his own talk show someday, also was exceptionally funny as he shared himself from the podium.

Somehow Odunze was asked if would be able to land an airplane in an emergency situation, and the pass-catcher had people laughing when he said, "Absolutely not. We are going down. All souls have perished."

Ulofoshio, who shared with the national press gathering how his Nigerian name means "unafraid of war," ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds, had a top vertical leap of 39.5 inches and a best standing broad jump of 10 feet, 8 inches.

This ranked him third in total score among the attending linebackers at the combine, trailing only Kentucky's Trevin Wallace and Temple's Jordan Magee. In contrast, Wallace ran 4.51, had a vertical leap of 37.5 and and standing jump of 10-7.

Ulofoshio entertained the Indianapolis gathered media with a story of coming face to face with.a moose in Alaska when he was just 6.

Making the rounds, Penix has told his interviewers that he's "a proven winner." One NFL personnel director told Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz that any comparisons of Penix to the great Steve Young, another left-hander long retired, aren't all that farfetched.

"Penix is a far better athlete than he's been credit for," the unnamed front-office exec said. "He's more of a pocket guy than Steve was. But I keep watching that Texas tape. Ball comes out real quick. He's fast. He'll run well here."

Add to all of this, former Husky receiver Ja'Lynn Polk shared why he transferred from Texas Tech to Washington three years ago.

"Playing at Husky Stadium is major — it prepares you for these moments — and that's why I decided to come to the University of Washington," he said.

And now Polk and his teammates are in Indianapolis through the weekend, attempting to use this experience as a gateway to the NFL.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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