Football Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 stars show out at 2023 NFL Combine

31 former Pac-12 stars were in Indianapolis this week for the 2023 NFL Combine.  Before their Pro Days get underway, here's a position-by-position breakdown of the week at Lucas Oil Stadium.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

A slimmed-down Tuli Tuipulotu weighed in at 266 pounds at the Combine, down from the 290 he was listed as this past season at USC.  While the 2022 Pac-12 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year chose not to do any of the testing, his on-field workout drew rave reviews.

Arizona State's lone representative at the Combine, Nesta Jade Silvera , showed his explosiveness while still weighing in at 304 pounds.

Oregon DJ Johnson was one of the fastest EDGE's at the Combine and discussed how he was focusing on his improving his pass rushing skills .

DL Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Tuli Tuipulotu

USC

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Nesta Jade Silvera

ASU

5.16 (10th)

1.77 (7th)

-

29.5 (T-5th)

9'2" (T-6th)

-

-

DJ Johnson

ORE

4.49 (T-4th)

1.59 (T-3rd)

28 (4th)

32.0 (20th)

9'2" (T-29th)

(Jade Silvera ranks among DT, Johnson among DE/EDGE)

LINEBACKERS

A true standout in his one season on the Palouse, Daiyan Henley finished in the top 10 among linebackers in all four drills he participated in.  Henley impressed one ESPN draft analyst who said "it's hard to imagine him getting out of Day 2" of the NFL Draft.

Oregon's Noah Sewell is the third Sewell brother in as many years to be invited to the Combine and is now " one step closer to my dream ."

LB Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Daiyan Henley

WSU

4.54 (10th)

1.55 (T-5th)

-

35.0 (6th)

10'5" (5th)

-

-

Noah Sewell

ORE

4.64 (T-13th)

1.57 (T-11th)

27 (2nd)

33.0 (T-8th)

9'7" (13th)

-

-

CORNERBACKS

Oregon's Christian Gonzalez was one of the biggest winners from this year's Combine , solidifying his stock as a first round pick.

Fittingly on the roster as DB-22 , Utah's Clark Phillips III led all cornerbacks with 18 reps in the bench press and talked about how his Utah coaches taught him how to watch film .

Looking to follow in the footsteps of his father's NFL success, Stanford's Kyu Blu Kelly had a solid showing in Indianapolis.

Mekhi Blackmon had a fruitful performance at the Combine which included a meeting with his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers.  The 49ers have had a lot of success drafting USC defensive backs both historically with alumni like Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and on their current squad as well with All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga.

Oregon State's Alex Austin has become a popular sleeper pick in this year's draft thanks to his ability to play in man coverage .

Rejzohn Wright did not participate in the on-field testing at the Combine but did meet with the media and with teams such as the Dallas Cowboys , where his brother Nahshon is already a member of the squad.

CB Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Christian Gonzalez

ORE

4.38 (7th)

1.54 (T-18th)

14 (T-7th)

41.5 (T-2nd)

11'1" (T-4th)

-

-

Clark Phillips III

UTAH

4.51 (T-19th)

1.51 (T-14th)

18 (1st)

33.0 (T-28th)

-

-

4.32 (5th)

Kyu Blu Kelly

STAN

4.52 (21st)

1.49 (T-7th)

-

36.0 (T-15th)

10'11" (T-9th)

-

-

Mekhi Blackmon

USC

4.47 (T-16th)

1.54 (T-18th)

11 (14th)

36.0 (T-15th)

10'5" (T-16th)

-

-

Alex Austin

OSU

4.55 (T-24th)

1.54 (T-18th)

-

33.0 (T-28th)

10'2" (T-21st)

-

4.33 (6th)

Rejzohn Wright

OSU

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

SAFETIES

Daniel Scott was Cal's lone representative at the Combine but definitely turned heads, finishing in the Top 5 amongst safeties in all seven drills.

Safeties Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Daniel Scott

CAL

4.45 (2nd)

1.55 (T-5th)

22 (4th)

39.5 (5th)

10'8" (4th)

6.75 (1st)

4.17 (1st)

QUARTERBACKS

The athleticism of Dorian Thompson-Robinson was on full display in Indianapolis and the UCLA QB's performance drew the attention of an NFL team who's already home to one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the game .

Dorian Thompson-Robinson just threw a ball recorded at a velocity of 62 mph.

That is now the fastest any QB has thrown at this years NFL Combine.

And that is tied for the fastest any QB has thrown in the HISTORY of the drill.

The only QB to record the same speed was Josh https://t.co/X2yuG4HRsn pic.twitter.com/JWBygkhZeR

Tanner McKee will likely become the fourth Stanford QB drafted since 2012 and recently met with a future Hall of Fame quarterback .

QB Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Dorian Thompson-Robinson

UCLA

4.56 (4th)

1.51 (T-1st)

-

32.5 (8th)

10'1" (4th)

7.28 (6th)

4.44 (5th)

Tanner McKee

STAN

-

-

-

33.0 (7th)

9'6" (T-8th)

7.22 (4th)

4.41 (4th)

WIDE RECEIVERS

Jordan Addison used the Combine to not only hype up his Heisman teammate for next year's draft but also hopes for a reunion with his former QB at Pitt .  Several current NFL defenders also took note of his performance:

After a strong showing at the Senior Bowl, Stanford's Michael Wilson kept the momentum going by leading all wide receivers in the bench press .

Wilson's Cardinal teammate Elijah Higgins showed off his speed, especially for a player of his size, and mentioned a potential move to the tight end position .

UCLA's Jake Bobo did not participate in the on-field testing but did workout and has already been drafted once this year.

WR Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Jordan Addison

USC

4.49 (T-21st)

1.56 (T-33rd)

-

34.0 (T-34th)

10'2" (35th)

-

-

Michael Wilson

STAN

4.58 (36th)

1.50 (T-6th)

23 (1st)

37.5 (T-14th)

10'5" (T-23rd)

-

4.27 (T-7th)

Elijah Higgins

STAN

4.54 (T-27th)

1.56 (T-33rd)

-

35.0 (T-27th)

10'6" (T-20th)

7.01 (T-11th)

-

Jake Bobo

UCLA

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

TIGHT ENDS

Oregon State's Luke Musgrave got full medical clearance at the Combine after receiving a hit in the Senior Bowl similar to the hit that ended his 2022 season .  Musgrave finished in the top four among tight ends in all four of the tests he participated in.

Still recovering from an injury that had him sit out the Rose Bowl, Dalton Kincaid did not participate in the on-field workouts but still drew rave reviews.

TE Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Luke Musgrave

OSU

4.61 (4th)

1.54 (1st)

-

36.0 (T-4th)

10'5" (T-3rd)

-

-

Dalton Kincaid

UTAH

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

RUNNING BACKS

UCLA's Zach Charbonnet showed plenty of speed to go along with his power, showing his ability to be a three-down back .

Utah's Tavion Thomas wanted to show he was a complete back at the Combine .

Still recovering from his season-ending injury, USC's Travis Dye reflected on his time at Oregon and his decision to transfer.

RB Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Zach Charbonnet

UCLA

4.53 (9th)

1.54 (T-9th)

18 (T-5th)

37.0 (T-5th)

10'2" (T-7th)

-

-

Tavion Thomas

UTAH

4.74 (15th)

1.62 (15th)

-

30.0 (17th)

9'10" (T-12th)

-

-

Travis Dye

USC

-

-

-

-

-

-

OFFENSIVE LINE

Oregon was one of just two schools to have three offensive linemen compete at the Combine with Alex Forsyth , T.J. Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu .  Forsyth chose not to run at the Combine after tweaking his hamstring earlier in the day .

Washington also had multiple offensive lineman in Indianapolis with Jaxson Kirkland and Henry Bainivalu .

Utah's Braeden Daniels was a standout, running a sub-five second 40 and finishing in the top 10 among offensive linemen in five of the six categories he competed in.

After reportedly tearing his ACL in earlier drills , USC's Andrew Vorhees still participated in the bench press and had the highest number of reps out of any player in Indianapolis last week.

It's been a busy offseason for UCLA's Jon Gaines II but he was one of the top performers among the offensive linemen in Indianapolis.

OL Test Results (with position rank)

Name

School

40-yd Dash

10-yd Split

Bench

Vert Jump

Broad Jump

3 Cone

20 Shuttle

Alex Forsyth

ORE

-

-

29 (T-6th)

20.5 (40th)

7'11" (39th)

-

-

T.J. Bass

ORE

5.48 (T-34th)

1.86 (T-31st)

-

28.5 (T-25th)

9'1" (T-13th)

-

-

Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu

ORE

5.23 (22nd)

1.80 (T-15th)

-

28.5 (T-25th)

8'10" (T-19th)

7.65 (9th)

4.75 (15th)

Jaxson Kirkland

WASH

-

-

19 (T-24th)

-

-

-

-

Henry Bainivalu

WASH

5.50 (36th)

1.87 (34th)

-

28.0 (31st)

8'5" (T-35th)

8.34 (22nd)

4.97 (T-24th)

Braeden Daniels

UTAH

4.99 (T-4th)

1.71 (2nd)

-

30.5 (T-10th)

9'1" (T-13th)

7.53 (6th)

4.60 (7th)

Andrew Vorhees

USC

-

-

38 (1st)

29.0 (T-21st)

8'9" (T-23rd)

-

-

Jon Gaines II

UCLA

5.01 (T-6th)

1.73 (T-3rd)

-

32.5 (T-3rd)

9'6" (T-3rd)

7.31 (1st)

4.45 (1st)

Here's a list of the upcoming Pro Days on Pac-12 campuses.

Date School
Mon., March 13 Oregon State
Tues., March 14 Oregon
Wed., March 15 UCLA, Colorado
Thurs., March 16 Arizona
Tues., March 21 USC
Wed., March 22 Stanford
Thurs., March 23 California, Utah
Mon., March 27 Arizona State
Tues., March 28 Washington State
Wed., March 29 Washington