OU Football 2013 | Six Sooners Invited To The NFL Combine

Six former Oklahoma football players have been invited to take part in this year's NFL Combine which will start on February 20th and once again take place in Indianapolis. Those players are Landry Jones, Lane Johnson, Kenny Stills, Tony Jefferson, Stacy McGee, and Tom Wort.

Now several of those names will come as no shock, but those last two are somewhat surprising. Not to say either McGee or Wort of undeserving of the invite, but given their respective draft stocks it was at least a little bit of a surprise to see their inclusion. That said, it's a positive for both to have the opportunity at that setting in front of so many NFL decision makers rather than simply at Oklahoma's Pro Day.

McGee was never a player whose talented or ability was questioned, but as many of you know he just never really put things together during his time in Norman.

Wort on the other hand is a guy who was on the field for most of his career as a Sooner, but is a bit of a tweener at the NFL level. Not big enough to play middle linebacker and may not be fast enough to play on the outside. Testing well at the combine could easily be the difference between him even having the chance to be drafted or being forced to go the free agent route.

As for the others, it will be interesting to see just how much Jones does at the combine. Typically, high round quarterbacks won't choose to throw there with the risk of throwing poorly usually outweighing the reward of doing well. Where a year ago Jones may have had that luxury, given where his draft stock currently stands he may not be able to get away with that now.

Stills should test well in the running and agility drills, but his hands will be the focus after watching him drop some easy passes at times throughout his career. If he puts up a good forty time and doesn't drop the ball much, he could certainly improve his chances in a draft that isn't loaded with elite receiver prospects.

Jefferson will likely need to put up a good time in the forty as well given the fact, somewhat like Wort, he's also a bit of a tweener at the NFL level. We know his strength is in defending the run, but his speed and agility will be what NFL scouts are watching for to help determine how he would hold up in coverage.

Then you have Lane Johnson who everyone expects to come out of this combine as the guy everybody is talking about. His athleticism for a guy that size (6'6" 300+ pounds) is well known at this point but no less ridiculous. The only question with him will be his strength as it's something Oklahoma guys have typically struggled with at the combine and we've seen him get overpowered at times in games. The upside with him is very high and we all know how much NFL personnel guys love upside.