INDIANAPOLIS — Players with aspirations of becoming shutdown cornerbacks will be in the group that closes down the media interview sessions of the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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| Vanderbilt's Kenny Ladler (1) and Dre Hal are two of the 12 defensive backs from SEC schools at the 2014 NFL Combine. |
A total of 59 defensive backs (39 cornerbacks, 11 strong safeties and nine free safeties) were invited to the annual evaluation event that includes the media sessions, interviews with teams' personnel departments, medical exams and on-field timing and testing drills.
There are 12 players from SEC schools and 10 underclassmen in the group. The former SEC players are: Alabama CB Deion Belue, FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and SS Vinnie Sunseri, Auburn CB Chris Davis, Missouri CB E.J. Gaines, Vanderbilt CB Dre Hal and FS Kenny Ladler, South Carolina CB Victor Hampton, LSU SS Craig Loston and Florida CBs Loucheiz Purifoy, Marcus Roberson and Jaylen Watkins. The group also includes Jonathan Dowling of Western Kentucky.
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks ranked Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State), Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State), Jason Verrett (TCU), Bradley Roby (Ohio State) and Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State) his top five cornerbacks. Brooks ranked Clinton-Dix, Calvin Pryor (Louisville), Dion Bailey (USC), Deone Bucannon (Washington State) and Jimmie Ward (Northern Illinois) as his top safeties.
In rankings released before the combine, NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock ranked Dennard, Gilbert, Kyle Fuller (Virginia Tech), Verrett and Roby as his top five cornerbacks and Pryor, Clinton-Dix, Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State), Ward and Bucannon as his top five safeties.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Gilbert (13), Pryor (15), Clinton-Dix (16), Dennard (19), Roby (37), Clemson's Baushaud Breeland (42), Joyner (45) and Verrett (47) in his pre-combine list of the Top 50 overall prospects. He projects Gilbert going to Detroit as the 10th pick, Pryor to Dallas at 17th, Clinton-Dix to Green Bay at 21, Dennard to Philadelphia at 22 and Roby to San Francisco at 30.
