NFL Regional Combine 2015: Schedule, Event Dates, Locations and Preview

Over the course of the next month and change, fringe NFL hopefuls will participate in NFL regional combines around the country.

Those players from smaller schools or who slip through the cracks of traditional scouting en route to the draft have a chance to put their film in front of scout's eyeballs from each NFL team.

The NFL's version of open tryouts culminates in a final invite-only super regional.

For some, it's closure. For others, the workouts in which they dole out cash to attend lead to fruitful NFL careers.

2015 NFL Regional Combine Info

Combine	Date	Location
Miami	Sat., Feb. 7	Doctors Hospital Training Facility
Houston	Sat., Feb. 14	Methodist Training Center
Denver	Sat., Feb. 21	Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Center
Baltimore	Sat., Feb. 28	Armour Performance Center
Chicago	Sat., Mar. 7	Halas Hall at Conway Park
Arizona (Super Regional, invite only)	Sat., Mar. 21	Arizona Cardinals' Facility

Chasing the Dream

STEPHEN BRASHEAR/Associated Press

There are plenty of success stories from regional combine participants over the years.

Arguably, one of the most prominent is Adam Vinatieri, one of the greatest kickers in league history. The South Dakota State product used the tryouts to eventually land with the New England Patriots after going undrafted.

Another notable participant is former New York Jets wideout Wayne Chrebet, who caught 580 passes for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns over 11 seasons with the franchise. Offensive lineman Mike Flynn out of Maine spent a decade with the Baltimore Ravens and won a Super Bowl after using the regional workouts as a launching pad.

It goes on, but the point is simple—the importance of the events should not be understated. In fact, its annual success in large part likely helped to birth the new NFL Veteran Combine, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, citing a memo sent from the NFL:

Just last year, Rafi Kohan of Men's Journal captured the scene and some interesting comments from Ron Hill, then the NFL's vice president of football operations:

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According to Ron Hill, the NFL's vice president of football operations, standout performances won't go unnoticed today, or at any regional combine. A video of each participant's tryout is made available to NFL organizations. Plus, the staff of on-site evaluators, a mix of former pro scouts and coaches, are veteran guys and know what teams are looking for. 'We've got the right set of eyeballs on these kids,' says Hill, who despises comparisons of the regional combines to reality-show popularity contests like American Idol. 'This is a legitimate workout and a legitimate opportunity.'

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So what is it?

At its most basic level, the regional combines function as the normal scouting combine. Each team may not attend, nor do a large majority of the players in attendance have representation, but the film crafted there will help all 32 teams when it comes time to fill out rosters in the summer, if not in the later rounds of the draft—just ask St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein.

This year the attendee list continues to reveal itself. Someone such as cornerback Mishawn Cummings, who bounced around from Oregon State to Concord, will attend, per New Orleans Saints wideout and former Beavers star Brandin Cooks:

The event transcends borders too. As Arash Madani of Sportsnet.ca reveals, Byron Archambault will hope to make his NFL dreams a reality:

The full list of participants will only continue to grow.

As one small part of the entire path to the draft, the regional combines make for a great story. The top performers will advance to Arizona. After that, perhaps the league itself.

Once complete, attendees will wait for their phones to ring—or even hear their names called at the podium on draft day.

Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com as of Feb. 5 at 9 p.m. ET. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.