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Law, Love and Chocolate
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Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
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Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
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Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
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Do IT this week: Layering
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:00 p.m. EST, Feb 24, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS: On Sunday, Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins wondered how the talk of his playing free safety in the NFL got started.
After his workout today at the NFL Scouting Combine, that might be all he heard.
Jenkins' unofficial 40-yard dash times of between 4.52 and 4.59 seconds reported by SI.com fueled speculation that the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award winner would slip in the first round of the April 25-26 NFL Draft and might have to change positions.
Considered a possible top 10 pick before the combine, which concluded at Lucas Oil Field, Jenkins will almost certainly run again at Ohio State's pro day on March 13. None of the defensive backs' 40 times was blazing, with only six running 4.5 seconds or better. The top cornerbacks, Lardarius Webb of Nicholls State and Vontae Davis of Illinois, were officially clocked at 4.46 and 4.49, respectively. Chris Clemons of Clemson led safeties with a 4.41.
Jenkins, 6-foot and 204 pounds, turned in the top time in the 3-cone drill (6.59) of any position and his 4.07 clocking in the 20-yard shuttle tied Davis for fifth among cornerbacks.
Jenkins, a four-year starter, Buckeye co-captain and first-team All-American in 2008, expected to break 4.5 in the 40. He knew what was riding on his workout.
''I've heard if I run slow, then I'm going to be a safety and all of that,'' he said. ''I'm not really worried about it. Whenever you have a guy as big as I am, the question is always, is he going to move up [to safety] at the next level.''
The speculation about a position switch probably started with draft analysts Mike Mayock of the NFL Network and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.
Before the combine, Kiper said Jenkins' stock had dropped since the beginning of the '08 season, which was also the case for fellow returning seniors Marcus Freeman, Alex Boone and James Laurinaitis.
''Malcolm Jenkins may end up being rated as a safety if he doesn't run well,'' Kiper said on a conference call two weeks ago. ''This combine is as important for Malcolm Jenkins as anybody in this draft. He has to run a big-time 40 or he's not going to go as high as he wants.''
On Sunday, Mayock still believed Jenkins would play cornerback in the NFL, ''Unless he comes out and runs poorly.''
''There are some teams that think, best-case scenario, he can be an all-pro free safety from Day One,'' Mayock said in a combine news conference. ''But in the right scheme. . . .I'd much rather have him at corner because there's more value there. I think he needs to prove he can't play it before you kick him inside.''
Jenkins might now find himself in competition with Davis, virtually a carbon copy of himself at 5 feet, 11 inches, and 203 pounds, to be the first cornerback selected. Davis led cornerbacks at the combine by bench-pressing 225 pounds 25 times, the same number posted by Ohio State's 235-pound running back Chris Wells.
''He's definitely up at the top as far as corners,'' Jenkins said of Davis. ''Maybe I'm biased because I played in the Big Ten. He's big, he plays the run and he can cover just as well as anybody else.''
Because he had heard the talk and played some safety as a junior, Jenkins came to the combine with his cornerback sales pitch prepared. And he wasn't just armed with statistics, like his 11 interceptions in the past three seasons and a senior year that included 57 tackles, three interceptions and nine pass breakups.
''If you put on a film of a guy that's 5-10, 185, I'm doing the same things that they're doing — at my size,'' Jenkins said. ''In the league, you've got receivers who are bigger and more physical, and that's what you need, a guy who can do it all. With my size and speed, it's something rare.''
But Jenkins said he wouldn't resist a switch, especially if it meant more playing time as a rookie.
''Don't get me wrong, we want to do whatever it is I have to do to play,'' he said. ''I'm going to play special teams, wherever you need me.'' (He blocked two punts in 2008 that led to a touchdown against Purdue and a safety against Illinois.)
In the NFL, Jenkins said, he'd like to be a combination of cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Ty Law, who have 13 Pro Bowl selections between them. Presumably he was referring to their production and not their speed, since the Denver Broncos' Bailey ran the 40 in 4.28 seconds before he was selected seventh overall by the Washington Redskins in 1999.
But Jenkins found it somewhat strange that after four years at Ohio State, pro scouts still need to see more.
''It's funny to me because you have four years of film and you think you're doing well and none of that means anything,'' he said of the draft process. ''Everybody has something to prove.''
OSU note
Ohio State junior cornerback Donald Washington recorded two combine bests today. His broad jump of 11 feet, 3 inches, and vertical jump of 45 inches were the top numbers posted at any position.
INDIANAPOLIS: On Sunday, Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins wondered how the talk of his playing free safety in the NFL got started.
After his workout today at the NFL Scouting Combine, that might be all he heard.
Jenkins' unofficial 40-yard dash times of between 4.52 and 4.59 seconds reported by SI.com fueled speculation that the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award winner would slip in the first round of the April 25-26 NFL Draft and might have to change positions.
Considered a possible top 10 pick before the combine, which concluded at Lucas Oil Field, Jenkins will almost certainly run again at Ohio State's pro day on March 13. None of the defensive backs' 40 times was blazing, with only six running 4.5 seconds or better. The top cornerbacks, Lardarius Webb of Nicholls State and Vontae Davis of Illinois, were officially clocked at 4.46 and 4.49, respectively. Chris Clemons of Clemson led safeties with a 4.41.
Jenkins, 6-foot and 204 pounds, turned in the top time in the 3-cone drill (6.59) of any position and his 4.07 clocking in the 20-yard shuttle tied Davis for fifth among cornerbacks.
Jenkins, a four-year starter, Buckeye co-captain and first-team All-American in 2008, expected to break 4.5 in the 40. He knew what was riding on his workout.
''I've heard if I run slow, then I'm going to be a safety and all of that,'' he said. ''I'm not really worried about it. Whenever you have a guy as big as I am, the question is always, is he going to move up [to safety] at the next level.''
The speculation about a position switch probably started with draft analysts Mike Mayock of the NFL Network and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.
Before the combine, Kiper said Jenkins' stock had dropped since the beginning of the '08 season, which was also the case for fellow returning seniors Marcus Freeman, Alex Boone and James Laurinaitis.
''Malcolm Jenkins may end up being rated as a safety if he doesn't run well,'' Kiper said on a conference call two weeks ago. ''This combine is as important for Malcolm Jenkins as anybody in this draft. He has to run a big-time 40 or he's not going to go as high as he wants.''
On Sunday, Mayock still believed Jenkins would play cornerback in the NFL, ''Unless he comes out and runs poorly.''
''There are some teams that think, best-case scenario, he can be an all-pro free safety from Day One,'' Mayock said in a combine news conference. ''But in the right scheme. . . .I'd much rather have him at corner because there's more value there. I think he needs to prove he can't play it before you kick him inside.''
Jenkins might now find himself in competition with Davis, virtually a carbon copy of himself at 5 feet, 11 inches, and 203 pounds, to be the first cornerback selected. Davis led cornerbacks at the combine by bench-pressing 225 pounds 25 times, the same number posted by Ohio State's 235-pound running back Chris Wells.
''He's definitely up at the top as far as corners,'' Jenkins said of Davis. ''Maybe I'm biased because I played in the Big Ten. He's big, he plays the run and he can cover just as well as anybody else.''
Because he had heard the talk and played some safety as a junior, Jenkins came to the combine with his cornerback sales pitch prepared. And he wasn't just armed with statistics, like his 11 interceptions in the past three seasons and a senior year that included 57 tackles, three interceptions and nine pass breakups.
''If you put on a film of a guy that's 5-10, 185, I'm doing the same things that they're doing — at my size,'' Jenkins said. ''In the league, you've got receivers who are bigger and more physical, and that's what you need, a guy who can do it all. With my size and speed, it's something rare.''
But Jenkins said he wouldn't resist a switch, especially if it meant more playing time as a rookie.
''Don't get me wrong, we want to do whatever it is I have to do to play,'' he said. ''I'm going to play special teams, wherever you need me.'' (He blocked two punts in 2008 that led to a touchdown against Purdue and a safety against Illinois.)
In the NFL, Jenkins said, he'd like to be a combination of cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Ty Law, who have 13 Pro Bowl selections between them. Presumably he was referring to their production and not their speed, since the Denver Broncos' Bailey ran the 40 in 4.28 seconds before he was selected seventh overall by the Washington Redskins in 1999.
But Jenkins found it somewhat strange that after four years at Ohio State, pro scouts still need to see more.
''It's funny to me because you have four years of film and you think you're doing well and none of that means anything,'' he said of the draft process. ''Everybody has something to prove.''
OSU note
Ohio State junior cornerback Donald Washington recorded two combine bests today. His broad jump of 11 feet, 3 inches, and vertical jump of 45 inches were the top numbers posted at any position.
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