Oklahoma Football: Complete NFL Combine Grades and Analysis for Former Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners football program was represented well at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine.

In total, five former Sooners came out to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to participate in drills and interviews. That list includes cornerback Aaron Colvin, fullback Trey Millard, running back Damien Williams, wide receiver Jalen Saunders and center Gabe Ikard.

Although they attended the combine, Millard and Colvin didn’t workout as they are both healing from ACL tears.

Here’s how the other three fared.

RB Damien Williams

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Height	Weight	40-yd Dash	Bench Press	Vertical Jump	Broad Jump	3-Cone	20-yd Shuttle	60-yd Shuttle
5'11"	222 lbs	4.45	16	35.5 inches	10'1"	7.37	4.25	11.76

Although he was dismissed from the team late in the season, Williams is here because he spent two years in Norman.

Right off the bat, the San Diego, Calif., native demonstrated he was still in shape with a great 40-yard dash. His 4.45 mark was fourth-best among running backs while his 11.76 60-yard shuttle ranked sixth.

But that’s about as good as it got for Williams.

He finished outside of the top 10 in the three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and both his vertical and broad jump. Williams fared even worse in the bench press, finishing No. 22 out of the 26 running backs that participated.

Given his maturity issues, Williams needed a stellar combine to convince NFL teams to take a chance on him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to showcase enough.

Heading into the combine, a lack of explosiveness and strength to run inside and fight for tough yards was considered a weakness. Williams’ bench press certainly didn’t do much to help negate that criticism.

All in all, other than his 40 time, there was nothing of note from his performance.

Grade: C+

WR Jalen Saunders

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Height	Weight	40-yd Dash	Bench Press	Vertical Jump	Broad Jump	3-Cone	20-yd Shuttle	60-yd Shuttle
5'9"	165 lbs	4.44	-	34.0 inches	10'2"	-	-	-

Saunders didn’t do much to help himself or hurt himself during the combine.

In total, the Elk Grove, Calif., native only participated in three drills. He finished 10th in the 40-yard dash, 28th in the vertical jump and 19th in the broad jump.

No reason has been stated as to why Saunders participated in so few drills. Maybe he was saving it all for Oklahoma’s pro day on March 12.

Either way, his combine really didn’t allow NFL scouts to get a good grasp on where Saunders stands. 

While his 40 time displayed the speed that he showcased throughout his career with the Sooners, the knock on Saunders still seems to be his size and inability to play outside. His stock could have definitely risen had he done the bench press.

It will be interesting to see how Saunders fares during Oklahoma’s pro day.

Grade: B-

C Gabe Ikard

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Height	Weight	40-yard Dash	Bench Press	Vertical Jump	Broad Jump	3-Cone	20-yd Shuttle	60-yd Shuttle
6'4"	304 lbs	5.13	22	26.0 inches	8'7"	7.30	4.37	-

Ikard was easily the Sooner with the best combine performance.

The Oklahoma City, Okla., native’s results were solid all-around. His 5.13 mark in the 40-yard dash wasn’t too far off from the top result among offensive lineman—Michigan’s Taylor Lewan ran a 4.87.

But where Ikard starred was in the agility drills. He finished with the top times in both the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle.

“I thought I could’ve run a little faster in the 40, but having the top times in the three-cone and short shuttle made the day better,” Ikard said after his performance, per The Oklahoman’s Jason Kersey. “I had a few scouts comment that they liked the way I looked in the position drills, so that was encouraging.”

His 22 reps in the bench press—tied for the third fewest—isn’t too surprising, as Ikard’s strength was a known weakness.

Still, it was a very impressive combine from Ikard.

Grade: A-

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