39 of Urban Meyer’s players have been invited to the event the past five years
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University football will be well-represented, once again, at the NFL Scouting Combine in two weeks as eight players have received official invites. NFL.com revealed the official list of the 330 players invited today. The combine will take place Feb. 28 through March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Schedule of Events
§ March 3 – Running Backs, Offensive Line, Special Teams
§ March 4 – Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, Tight Ends
§ March 5 – Defensive Line, Linebackers
§ March 6 – Defensive Backs
Ohio State has now had 39 players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine through head coach Urban Meyer’s first five seasons as coach. The eight Buckeyes off the 2016 team with invites include the following:
WR Noah Brown (6-2, 218) – Spent three seasons at Ohio State and had two seasons of eligibility remaining … after playing in all 15 games as a true freshman in 2014, he red-shirted 2015 after breaking a bone in his leg during fall camp … started all 13 games for the Buckeyes in 2016 and ranked second on the team with 32 receptions and 402 receiving yards … named honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference … shared team lead with seven receiving touchdowns, including school-record tying four in the win at Oklahoma … 33 career receptions for 411 yards (12.5 avg.) and seven touchdowns.
CB Gareon Conley (6-0, 195) – Conley was named second-team all-Big Ten by league’s coaches in 2016 … played in 42 games for the Buckeyes and started 27 games at cornerback … team captain who ranked second on squad in 2016 with four interceptions and had six for his career … also had eight pass break-ups in 2016 and 15 for his career … named honorable mention all-Big Ten as a sophomore in 2015 … totaled 91 career tackles and had one season of eligibility remaining.
C Pat Elflein (6-3, 300) – Elflein was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2016 and won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s outstanding center … made the move to center as a fifth-year senior … played in 55 games and was a three-year starter and finished with 42 starts, including 41 consecutive starts to close his career … named all-Big Ten Conference three consecutive years – twice at guard and once at center – and was Big Ten’s Rimington-Pace offensive lineman of the year in 2016 … led offensive line to a finalist position for the Joe Moore offensive line of the year award … graduated in May 2016 with his degree in communications.
SAF Malik Hooker (6-2, 205) – Hooker, like Elflein, was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2016 after having a terrific season in his one-year as a starter … a third-year performer with sophomore eligibility this season, Hooker was a standout from game No. 1 when he recorded two interceptions in his first start … he ranked third nationally in interceptions with seven, interceptions yards with 181, and he was first among all players with three interception return touchdowns, including a critical 16-yarder in the win over Michigan … he ranked third on the team with 74 tackles … red-shirted the 2014 season as a true freshman and played in 12 games in 2015.
P Cameron Johnston (5-11, 198) – One of the finest punters in Ohio State history, Johnston was the Big Ten Conference’s Eddleman-Fields punter of the year in 2016 when he ranked fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten with a 46.7-yard average … a finalist for the Ray Guy Award and a second-team All-American by five different selecting organizations … he led the Big Ten in punting three out of his four seasons with Ohio State and set school records for punts inside the 20 for a career (109) and season (31 in 2015), plus his 57.0-yard average against Illinois in 2014 is also a school record … his career average of 44.9 yards per punt is second in Ohio State history.
CB Marshon Lattimore (6-0, 192) – Lattimore spent three seasons with the Buckeyes but had a wonderful 2016 campaign by starting all 13 games and being named first-team all-Big Ten Conference by the league’s coaches … this talented performer, who had two seasons of eligibility remaining, was second on the team with four interceptions and he also contributed 41 tackles and nine pass break-ups for 13 total passes defended on the year … had career-high nine tackles and seven solo stops in the overtime win at Wisconsin … red-shirted the 2014 season and played in seven games in 2015 for 20 total games played.
LB Raekwon McMillan (6-2, 243) – Ohio State’s leading tackler the past two seasons with 102 in 2016 and 119 in 2015 … named first-team all-Big Ten, a second-team All-American (Associated Press, Walter Camp and three other organizations) and a semifinalist for both Butkus Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy … recorded 16 and 15 tackles in final two games of the season vs. Michigan and Clemson … All-Big Ten and second-team All-American in 2015 … started 26 games for the Buckeyes and played in 40 … a team captain in 2016 … had 270 career tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss and nine pass break-ups … leaves with one season of eligibility remaining.
H-Back Curtis Samuel (5-11, 197) – Samuel was one of the explosive offensive playmakers in college football in 2016 and was the only player with at least 700 rushing and receiving yards … named a first-team All-American (Associated Press & The Sporting News), Samuel had 771 rushing yards with eight touchdowns and a 7.9 per carry average, and he had 865 receiving yards off 74 receptions with seven more touchdowns … his season reception total is second in Ohio State history … Samuel is the only player in Ohio State history with at least 1,000 career rushing and receiving yards … he closed his three-year career (40 games & 13 starts) with 1,286 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns plus 107 receptions for 1,249 yards and nine scores.
Ohio State’s NFL Combine Invites – 2012-17
*Indicates players selected in the NFL Draft
2017 (8)
WR Noah Brown
CB Gareon Conley
C Pat Elflein
SAF Malik Hooker
P Cameron Johnston
CB Marshon Lattimore
LB Raekwon McMillan
H-B Curtis Samuel
2016 (14)
CB Eli Apple*
SAF Vonn Bell*
DE Joey Bosa*
OT Taylor Decker*
RB Ezekiel Elliott*
QB Cardale Jones*
LB Darron Lee*
H-B Jalin Marshall
WR Braxton Miller*
LB Joshua Perry*
SAF Tyvis Powell
WR Michael Thomas*
TE Nick Vannett*
DT Adolphus Washington*
2015 (4)
DT Michael Bennett*
CB Doran Grant*
TE Jeff Heuerman*
WR Devin Smith*
2014 (6)
WR Corey Brown
RB Carlos Hyde*
C Corey Linsley*
OL Jack Mewhort*
CB Bradley Roby*
LB Ryan Shazier*
2013 (7)
FB Zach Boren
OT Reid Fragel*
DT Jonathan Hankins*
LB Etienne Sabino
LB John Simon*
TE Jake Stoneburner
DE Nathan Williams