INDIANAPOLIS -- Three former Ohio State receivers came to the NFL Scouting Combine this week sharing more than a school, a friendship, and anticipation of questions about Joe Burrow.
K.J. Hill, Austin Mack and Ben Victor are already looking ahead to Thursday night, when they hope to impress NFL talent evaluators with their 40-yard dash times.
If their NFL futures wasn’t enough incentive, the trio added another. They would not divulge the stakes, but a friendly rivalry has added a little extra juice to a potentially pivotal week.
“We’ve got a little bet going on," Mack said. “We can’t wait to see who runs the fastest, but I’m definitely going to bet on myself.”
The three former Buckeyes receivers in Indianapolis this week have a solid example to follow. Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon faced the same challenge a year ago. They finished first (4.31), third (4.35) and fifth (4.41) among the 37 receivers who sprinted at the combine.
Campbell went in the second round, McLaurin in the third and Dixon signed as an undrafted free agent. Those three pros have been texting in a group chat with the three receivers trying to join then. Mack said Dixon gave him his vote to run the best time and win the bet.
“Them boys fast, man,” Victor said. “Me, K.J, and Austin, we’ve got to uphold that standard. It’s the standard that we have in that room and we’ve got to attack it.”
Hill quickly established himself as a reliable weapon in the slot and became Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver. Such prolific production is not always possible with the Buckeyes’ six-man rotation.
What Mack and Victor could not put on film in their four seasons they must now augment at the draft. Body measurements, agility drills and yes, that 40-yard dash, could convince teams to look beyond their combined 62 receptions in 2019.
“That I can run really fast — that’s the question mark,” Mack said. “They know I can play. They know I’m a great route-runner. What’s he going to run? That’s why they’re all here.”
Hill and Victor are working out together at Michael Johnson Performance in Dallas. Those prospects banking on impressing with their 40 don’t simply line up at the combine and sprint. They work on their technique with their trainers, trying to shave fractions of a second to show up as high as possible on the leaderboard.
Of course, the 40-yard dash doesn’t mean everything. An Ohio State receiver came to the combine in 2016 and ran a modest 4.57. He wasn’t drafted until the back half of the second round.
That player, Michael Thomas, obviously overflowed with other gifts and is now arguably the best receiver in football.
For Hill, Mack and Victor that time can determine a lot — at the very least bragging rights among friends embarking on the next stage of their careers.
Mack wants to run sub-4.4. Victor and Hill are more circumspect about their exact timing goals.
“I’ll say I’m gonna be fast enough,” Hill said.
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