Notre Dame Football: Former Irish Players to Watch at 2016 NFL Combine

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football’s Fiesta Bowl matchup with Ohio State was dripping with NFL prospects. In fact, the Irish will send 10 former players to the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine—the second-most participants in the country behind the 14 Buckeyes in Indianapolis.

Notre Dame’s 10 invitees—wide receiver Chris Brown, defensive lineman Sheldon Day, wide receiver Will Fuller, center Nick Martin, defensive lineman Romeo Okwara, running back C.J. Prosise, cornerback KeiVarae Russell, safety Elijah Shumate, linebacker Jaylon Smith and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley—will participate (to varying degrees) in the Combine, which begins Tuesday, Feb. 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Let’s look at some players to watch in Indy.

Jaylon Smith

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Earlier this month, Irish head coach Brian Kelly said his former stud linebacker, Jaylon Smith, will head to the combine for interviews.

Coming off the significant knee injury suffered in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State, Smith’s health is one of the top storylines of the draft.

Smith is unquestionably an elite talent—despite the injury. How high will he go after he leaves the microscope?

Ronnie Stanley

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In his pre-combine mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tabbed former Irish left tackle Ronnie Stanley to go to Baltimore with the sixth pick.

Miller has Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil going to Tennessee in the top slot. How will Stanley stack up with other high-end tackles at the combine?

“Stanley has elite movement skills, consistently beating his teammates off the snap,” Miller wrote earlier this season. “His length is top-tier, too, and he does a great job of saving his punches and keeping pass-rushers off the quarterback with his ability to slide and mirror them on the edge.

“Stanley is rarely out of position, whether he’s taking a hard kick-slide out to the corner or protecting the inside shoulder with a little hop-and-plant (hinge block).”

Will Fuller

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Former Irish All-American wideout Will Fuller is off to the combine, and the speedster could very well make his mark in Indy.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah pegged Fuller as one of five candidates to challenge Chris Johnson’s record-setting 40-yard dash time (4.24 seconds).

“Fuller’s speed is easy to notice on tape,” Jeremiah wrote. “USC cornerback Adoree’ Jackson is an outstanding track athlete for the Trojans, and Fuller ran away from him with ease in their meeting last October. The start will be crucial, but I think he’s capable of posting a time in the mid-4.3s.”

Fuller landed at No. 45 in Jeremiah’s initial look at the top 50 prospects in this year’s draft.

“Overall, Fuller reminds me a lot of Ted Ginn Jr.,” Jeremiah wrote. “He’s going to have some drops, but he makes up for it with big plays.”

Fuller’s height, weight and hands will be other key points of emphasis worth monitoring. Wide receivers go through their on-field workouts Saturday.

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.