Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah could have sat out the NFL Combine and not a single soul would have raised any eyebrows. He’s already projected to be the top defensive back taken off the board, so going through workouts was never going to improve a stock that’s already about as high as it can get.
But it didn’t matter to the First Team All-American. He wanted to show out, pot up similar numbers to those that have come before him, and show everyone what an athlete he is. If there’s a box to check, he did just that.
Okudah showed great fluidity in his on-field drills but appeared to bang his head a bit and was talked out of continuing in that portion of the on-field workouts.
But then he came off the mat and decided to do the verticle jump and broad jump. He shook off any cobwebs from his fall and did more than well for himself.
In fact, Okudah jumped the highest and furthest of any cornerback taking part in the drills. His vertical jump was a whopping 41 inches, and he threw down a broad-jump of 11 ft. 3 inches.
That’ll play.
It’s says something I think for a guy to come out and want to compete when there’s really no upside on the surface, and that’s exactly what we had here with Okdudah’s desire to get into the mix.
If any team was contemplating taking this kid, it has to like what it saw from his willingness and desire to compete. You can’t teach that type of mentality and the former OSU DB definitely has it. You’re on the clock Detroit Lions.
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