The 2018 Scouting Combine finished up on Monday and apparently it was a roaring success.
The big winner was Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. Already considered the best athlete available, Barkley’s Herculean performance bowled absolutely everyone over. His mature calm and serious demeanor was even more impressive. The word is that the Cleveland Browns will now take Barkley with their first overall pick rather than USC quarterback Sam Darnold. The Browns could then use their number four pick acquired from the Houston Texans to pick a passer.
Darnold was at the Combine but did not throw. Wyoming signal caller Josh Allen was very impressive and will be a very high pick, but there were several other quarterbacks who impressed, including UCLA’s Josh Rosen.
UTEP interior offensive lineman Will Hernandez’s awesome performance raised him from a second or third round pick to a definite first rounder. The 6’ 2” 327 pounder was a beast in all areas of his testing and built upon his outstanding Senior Bowl performance.
As for the Colts with the number three first round pick, GM Greg Ballard has made no secret of the fact that he covets N. C. State edge rush Bradley Chub and Chub’s Combine performance only reinforced that desire. The 6’ 4” 275 pounder was the Combine’s most impressive defensive performer, showing strength speed, agility, and athleticism. He also was impressive in the mental testing portion of the Combine. If he is available at three the Colts will take him so look for Mr. Chub to have a horseshoe on his helmet in the 2018 season.
The Combine brings a lot of money to the downtown and the mild weather was a big plus for merchants. It was a hoot to see Bill Belichick sipping a vanilla malt and munching a foot long coney dog at the Steak ‘n Shake but then all the downtown eateries did a booming business. Let’s hope we can keep the combine here in Indianapolis.
Kobe Wins an Oscar
When Kobe Bean Bryant won the 2008 NBA Player of the Year Award while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, few could predict that a decade later he would become an Academy Award winning filmmaker. But Sunday night that is exactly what happened. Now the former shooting guard can add an Oscar to his two Olympic Gold Medals and all his other awards.
The 39 year old former shooting guard was a co-winner in the Animated Short Subject category for the film “Dear Basketball.” Bryant is co-owner of Bryant-Stible Venture Capital Funding which, among other projects, is in media production. So it’s Lights, Camera, Action for Kobe Bryant.
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