Seven Georgia football players have received invitations participate in the 2012 NFL Combine. That number is expected to rise to eight if tight end Orson Charles sticks with his plan to enter the draft early. Underclassmen have until Wednesday to pull out (and Charles is not expected to).
From everything I can tell, that’s a pretty high number. Alabama had five last year and I would suspect it will have a lot more than that this year, though I couldn’t find an official list. I’m sure LSU will send a bunch to the NFL’s testing grounds as well.
Georgia, meanwhile, did release an official list on Monday and it included pretty much all the names one might expect. Listed alphabetically, they were: offensive lineman Justin Anderson, defensive back/kick returner Brandon Boykin, punter Drew Butler, offensive lineman Cordy Glenn, center Ben Jones, defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson and place-kicker Blair Walsh. Really the only seniors of note left off the invite list would be fullback/tight end Bruce Figgins and tight end Aron White. Otherwise every front-line senior was represented.
Most projections I’ve seen have Glenn, the 6-foot-5, 348-pound tackle from Riverdale, being the first Bulldog off the board. I’ve seen him listed anywhere between 23 and 31, which is first round, of course. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Glenn rated No. 12 on his Big Board.The most comprehensive prospect ranking iI found was this one from CBSSports.com. According to those ratings, Charles is the next highest ranked at 54, followed by Jones (64) and Boykin (72). So those guys all have second-round potential, according to the experts.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Boykin creeps up there a little higher and might even be the second Bulldog gone. The senior from Fayetteville, who was recently named the winner of the Paul Hornung Award, could be extremely valuable as both a corner and a kick returner. And everything I know about that guy makes me believe he’ll train and prepare in such a way that he could really wow some folks in Indianapolis.
Of course, Georgia has always sent a ton of players on to the NFL. According to UGA, 77 players have been drafted in the last 15 years, including No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford in 2009 and first rounders Knowshon Moreno (2009) and A.J. Green (2011). Overall, the Bulldogs have been among the top 10 college teams annually for placing players on NFL rosters over the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, we’ll be able to see a bunch of these guys in action one more time in the next couple of weeks. Walsh, Tyson and Figgins will participate in the East-West Shrine Game on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla. (4 p.m., NFL Network). Boykin, Butler, Jones and Glenn of Riverdale will play in the prestigious Senior Bowl game in Mobile, Ala., Saturday, Jan. 28.
The 2012 NFL Combine will be held Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis.
160 comments Add your comment
MiamiDawg
January 16th, 2012
6:01 pm
So another confirmation that we have a very high talent level that comes through Georgia but then again, nothing ever happens because, why??? COACHING
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:01 pm
i think walsh could end up being a successful nfl kicker once he gets his confedence back
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:02 pm
Wow, my imposter is actually making more posts then me this time. I really ticked someone off. lol.
kb
January 16th, 2012
6:02 pm
Snoop Dawg, Get a grip, quoting spurrier when he was speaking about Ray Goff coached teams.You are really up to speed, How many SEC championships has Spurrier won at SC? He has a losing record vs Richt. Downward spiral, from 6-7 to 10-4 is downward?I hope Richt can keep this program heading in the right direction.
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:03 pm
i think walsh could end up being a successful nfl kicker once he gets his confedence back
What NFL team is going to waste their time waiting for him to get his confidence back? His career is over.
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:03 pm
MiamiDawg
I asked the same question earlier to someone and he wouldn’t answer it.
What coach would we hire that would be better than richt??? there are only 5 or 6 better coaches out there. Richt is a top 10 coach. DO you want golf back???? Richt brought uga back and made them relevant. So shut your mouth
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:04 pm
GtBob
maybe when he goes for a try out or training camp and he is hitting the 55 yarders again he will be signed????
uga 1979
January 16th, 2012
6:05 pm
Most good receivers in the NFL are big receivers. You should watch the NFL every once in a while. If he wants to only cover slot receivers, good luck to him with a career like that. See wes welker, Steve Smith, D. Jackson, Roddy White, etc.
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:05 pm
I have no idea why I’m not welcome on this site. I’m a Techie who comes on this board full of Dawgs and Trash their program and players and character and their intelligence….and they get mad. And I’m from the best school in the world with the Best Football coach in America……….I don’t get it.
GtBob
January 16th, 2012
6:05 pm
&——
Actual size
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:06 pm
hahaha gtbob impostor that submitted the actual size post thats funny
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:07 pm
It’s a tad bigger…………….just a tad
Eisendawg
January 16th, 2012
6:07 pm
Well, here’s a little bit of info on Boykin, obviously there wasn’t enough room on the page for any of the negative stuff GTBoob was talking about. lol
http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/boykin_brandon02.html
UGAgrad71
January 16th, 2012
6:08 pm
NFL coaches can spot talent. It is about being in the right system to fit your skill-set. GTBob, you can take your skill-set and kiss what I am sitting on, lol!
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:08 pm
Hey stop that.
I am very, very angry.
You won’t like me when I.m angry.
JDawg1785
January 16th, 2012
6:09 pm
Congrats and best of luck to all the NFL-bound Dawgs!
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:12 pm
maybe when he goes for a try out or training camp and he is hitting the 55 yarders again he will be signed????
Pretty much every decent kicker coming out of college can do that. There aren’t going to be many kicker slots available in the NFL next season. Why would a team choose a guy who missed every big field goal he had his last year of college?
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:12 pm
http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/827687/100111_boykin_pregame_dm_w800_h532.jpg
GtBob
With these ups he could be 5 4 and play in the nfl
LeftCoastDawg
January 16th, 2012
6:13 pm
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
5:55 pm
Most good receivers in the NFL are big receivers. You should watch the NFL every once in a while. If he wants to only cover slot receivers, good luck to him with a career like that.
I think you should watch the NFL more than once in a while. Teams generally do have big receivers in the #1 spot but the #2 & #3 spots are manned with the likes of Steve Smith, Desean Jackson, Wes Welker, Hines Ward, & Percy Harvin. Boykin is more than capable of defending #2 & #3 receivers. Nobody is promoting him as the next coming of Champ Bailey.
Jockich Ahn Smelley, II
January 16th, 2012
6:13 pm
Congrats to the BullDAWGS that made it thru 4 years without an arrest record! Sic Em!!!
LeftCoastDawg
January 16th, 2012
6:13 pm
Tell me something else GT Boob, do you know the difference between a WR and FL?
G-State
January 16th, 2012
6:14 pm
Brent Grimes is 5′10 and is a great cover corner and a pro bowler in the NFL. Boykin will be just fine.
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:14 pm
GtBob
Cuz he did it for 3 years strait???? Plus the nfl goal posts aren’t as wide so walsh wont have to be as accurate. Power has always been his strength
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:14 pm
maybe when I get a try out for homo of the year I will win…
Yes finally something i can win..
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:16 pm
I feel the GT player who don’t get drafted are a lot like me in that i never get to have sex with another person in the room
Chris
January 16th, 2012
6:16 pm
I thought you won that last year GtBob?????
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:19 pm
Brent Grimes is 5′10 and is a great cover corner and a pro bowler in the NFL. Boykin will be just fine.
And Brent Grimes has been exposed many times by bigger receivers. I love him but he has to be in a very specific type of defense to be any good at all. Plus, the specific defense he was in was pretty poor at pass defense.
Gene
January 16th, 2012
6:20 pm
Boykin is not big, but neither is Randall Cobb, who has done surprisingly well.
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
6:23 pm
Cuz he did it for 3 years strait????
If those three years would have been his last three years he would be fine. The NFL is not going to take a chance on a mental case kicker.
Bulldawgman49
January 16th, 2012
6:24 pm
NERDS !!!!! are driving me crazy !!!!
Walker
January 16th, 2012
6:41 pm
Boykin has 4.3 speed, jumps 42-43 inch vert, over 12 foot broad jump, i have know Boykin for a while and he has blown up every combine he’s been to since he was in 8 grade his stock will shoot up after the combine, incredible God-gifted athlete all across the board
Runnin with the Dawgs
January 16th, 2012
6:44 pm
The NFL draft wrecked a potential national championship team in 2009 when they took Stafford and Moreno and after that AJ Green, and before that David Green and Curtis Lofton and on and on. Yeah the NFL draft hasn’t done our Dawgs any favors.
just asking
January 16th, 2012
6:46 pm
well that’s great that uga will be well represented in the NFL draft but how is it they weren’t well represented enough in the Bowl game vs Michigan State to win that game? It’s the same damn players isn’t it?
Jeff
January 16th, 2012
6:48 pm
Hey GT Bob… first of all, please move out of your parents’ basement, it’s about time you joined the big-boy world. Second of all, I understand your points… it’s hard to grasp good college football and how it translates to the NFL when you choose to root for a high-school offense like Paul Johnson’s at Georgia Tech, where the best athletes (Nesbitt) are barely passable NFL practice-squad players. And thirdly, how about getting on a GEORGIA TECH blog for God’s sake? This article and blog was simply informational, talking about a group of young men at the University of Georgia who are fortunate enough to get invited to the NFL combine to possibly pursue their dream of playing professional football. Why does an offensive, negative, close-minded punk like you want to get on here and trash those kids? They are 21-year-old young men, for God’s sake, who never did a thing to you, so lay off before you say some things that you will really regret.
Finally, you Tech folks should worry more about why a very average receiver who had 28 CATCHES THIS SEASON applied early to enter the NFL draft… who in the heck would want to waste a draft pick on HIM? Go see the success that UGA players tend to have in the NFL and you’ll see why there is interest in so many guys at the combine. Oh, and one last thing, GT Bob… Brandon Boykin has more athletic talent, character, and leadership in his little finger than you have in your entire body. Please do us all a favor and drop off this blog for good (or just drop off the face of the earth, either one is fine).
short memories
January 16th, 2012
6:48 pm
The draft always shows the wasted talent that Richt had at Georgia. SOS
John
January 16th, 2012
6:52 pm
I don’t think Walsh is on Mel’s Big Board.
Runnin with the Dawgs
January 16th, 2012
6:56 pm
I’d love to see the Falcons get Boykin.
Michael
January 16th, 2012
6:58 pm
There’s a reason that defensive tape on Brandon Boykin, intercepting passes, is hard to find.
After his amazing leaping interception against South Carolina in 2009, teams have been terrified to even throw at him.
Hence, the reason why scouts say he’s great in coverage. He can leap. Brent Grimes might be an accurate comparison.
midtown
January 16th, 2012
6:58 pm
3 OL going to combine.
51 yds on 39 carries in bowl game.
Hummmmm!!
dawgfan
January 16th, 2012
7:00 pm
Boykin is underrated. He’d probably would be a lot further along if he hadn’t wasted away for 2 years under Willie.
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
7:02 pm
who in the heck would want to waste a draft pick on HIM?
Nobody. We laughed too when Hill entered the draft. He will be about as successful in the NFL as Boykin and Walsh will be.
Walker
January 16th, 2012
7:05 pm
GTBob Hill wasn’t even a star in the ACC a basketball conference and Boykin was a star in the SEC THE football conference you must be still mad about Reggie Ball….#WhyYouMadBro?
GTBob
January 16th, 2012
7:07 pm
GTBob Hill wasn’t even a star in the ACC a basketball conference
I agree. Hill was terrible. Whenever we went back to pass, I usually said a small prayer that the ball go to someone not named Hill.
BobbyDodd21/20
January 16th, 2012
7:10 pm
Good luck dogs,….Bobby Dodd tuff guy
duluthdawg
January 16th, 2012
7:13 pm
so, we’re on par with bama and the bayou tigers in talent going to the NFL but not on the field where the results count? maybe darth visor was right.
@GTBobby
January 16th, 2012
7:21 pm
It is sad how much this kid spends on articles about UGA.
Jockich Ahn Smelley, II
January 16th, 2012
7:40 pm
Great, a munchkin from the Wizard of Oz (aka Boykin) trying to defend the 6′5 WR’s in the NFL….you are kidding about Boykin,correct???
Bgtodd
January 16th, 2012
8:02 pm
Would be nice for ATL to get Boykin if he falls down to 2nd round….
gurleyjenkins
January 16th, 2012
8:02 pm
@GTBob
PAUL OLIVER against calvin johnson
SLAWDAWG
January 16th, 2012
8:11 pm
LeftCoastDawg………Your message earlier to GTBob was NICE!!!!