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2010 Combine Blog: Saturday

Good morning to the Faithful, 49ers.com is back at Lucas Oil Stadium ready to bring you more wall-to-wall coverage of the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.

And when I say wall-to-wall, I mean it literally.

We’ve interviewed coaches, front office members, media personalities and of course, the top prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft. ESPN insider Adam Schefter was gracious enough to talk 49ers football on Friday with Scott Kegley in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview that can be seen here.

In case you’re wondering what the setup looks like here at Lucas Oil Stadium, here’s a NinerCam video from inside the building.

As for today’s plan of action, not all of the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers had time to step into the media workroom on Friday. But not to worry, the NFL public relations staff assured everyone they will be stopping by this morning.

In addition, we’ll get a chance to talk with defensive players for the first time this week as the defensive linemen and linebackers will be making the rounds.

It should be a pretty interesting day as two of the draft’s top prospects are defensive linemen Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma and Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.

Like yesterday, we’ll have a running blog of all things combine-related. And in case you missed anything from earlier in the week, check out our 49ers Combine Central page for all of our 2010 Scouting Combine coverage on 49ers.com.

11:00 AM Update

There’s a buzz around the media workroom this morning and it centers around the 40-yard dash time of Louisiana State return specialist Trindon Holliday, who ran a 4.22, the best time in Combine history. We caught up with Holliday on Thursday to find out more about him and his impressive return ability.

Noon Update

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen just stepped up to the podium around 12:30. First questions in were about his foot injury that is preventing him from working out at the Combine. Clausen injured his right big toe in the Irish’s third game of the season, in the second quarter against Michigan State, but played through pain the rest of the way.

Despite the injuries, Clausen completed 68 percent of his passes (289-of-425) for 3,722 yards, with 28 touchdowns and four interceptions.

“I tore two ligaments in that game and I played the rest of the season,” Clausen said. “At the end of the season I got another MRI and from playing with the two torn tendons, the doctor had to reattach the tendons.”

Also, several questions were posed to Clausen on the perception of his leadership skills being poor.

Clausen said a lot of those opinions came from the fact that he was playing in a “fish bowl” known as the Notre Dame. The South Bend signal caller ranked among the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class is excited to prove to coaches and GMs that he’s not the player who people say he is.

2:00 PM Update

Here’s what’s gone down in the last few hours here at Lucas Oil Stadium.

-Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford stepped to the podium wearing his Combine t-shirt that read “1 QB.” Asked if that meant he’d be the No. 1 selection in the draft, Bradford said it had nothing to do with it. His last name starting with the letter “B” was the reasoning for it.

-Defensive tackle Brian Price from UCLA was one of the most pleasant guys to speak with. I asked him what his favorite part of the Combine process was and his answer was great. “It’s seeing all the guys you see on the news, conversing with them and competing against them… Plus I get to be on TV!” Price’s huge grin at the end of the answer suggests he’s embracing the opportunity and is being himself.

-USC junior defensive end Everson Griffen plans on making an even bigger name for himself. The 270-pounder said he plans on running a 4.55, 40-yard dash on Sunday. One reporter asked if that time was realistic, Griffen responded, “Oh yeah, 100 percent realistic. You’ll see when the time comes.”

4:00 PM Update

Depending on which mock draft you last read, Nebraska senior defensive end Ndamukong Suh could very well be the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft. Others say Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is the top pick because of his penetrating ability.

Suh said the difference in the two’s style of play comes from the defensive schemes implemented at the two’s different schools. According to Suh, Oklahoma’s allowed McCoy to penetrate while Nebraska’s focused more on gap responsiblity.

But before he ever was considered a top NFL prospect, Suh was passionate about another sport, soccer. Asked for the reason he made the switch to American football?

“I was getting too many red cards,” Suh said.

4:30 PM Update

Colt McCoy, who many draft experts have ranked as the third best quarterback prospect is speaking with the media at the moment.

McCoy led his Texas Longhorns to the BCS National Championship game, but suffered an injury on the game’s opening drive that kept out of action in the biggest game of his college career. That’s saying something, considering how McCoy won 53 games as a starter, the most in NCAA history.

The injury was actually to McCoy’s deltoid. But, he added that there’s no structural damage to his shoulder.

“I’m working my tail-off to get my shoulder back. My best football is ahead of me and I’m going to work for that,” he said. “For me, I’m a hard worker. I’m the first one at the school and the last one to leave. I committed to winning and doing whatever it takes.”