Syracuse football: NFL Combine Saturday recap

Notes on Allen and McCord at workouts

Everything got started later in the day on Saturday with no media availability. NFL Combine workouts began around 1 PM with running backs, followed by the first group of wideouts and quarterbacks. And, my day started watching Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen.

Allen did not run the 40-yard dash, but he did participate in the vertical jump (35”) and broad jump (10’0”). His figures were middle of the pack among running backs — 13 of 24 in the vertical jump and 14 of 24 in the broad jump.

NFL Draft Files said Allen looked ‘arguably the best among all RBs during drills’, and I agree that he looked good, but that was a bit of a stretch. I really liked what I saw from Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten, and Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson. Those three stood out to me.

But, that said, I did like what I saw from LeQuint. He was impressive during the Blast Read and Duce Staley drills, moving right to left. I thought he really showed off his lateral quickness.

LeQuint received a 5.95 prospect grade from the NFL, which, from the league’s perspective, means he should be an average backup or special-teamer.

Allen may not be off the charts athletically, but given his versatility as a runner and pass catcher, I thought he would’ve received a higher score, considering some of the NFL’s best running backs are elite at running the football and are threats in the passing game: Alvin Kamara, Jahmyr Gibbs, Breece Hall, to name a few examples.

Kyle McCord didn’t work out till much later in the day. He was in the second group of quarterbacks throwing the football. But, he was NAILS, short curl routes, longer out routes, deep balls, it was all working for him. I missed his last few throws during the go-routes, but from what I saw in person, he didn’t miss a beat — he consistently got the ball out of his hands quickly, always a tight spiral, and most importantly ON TIME, right as his receivers were breaking out of their routes.

I said on X, that I thought McCord was the best quarterback throwing in the second group, which included Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and Louisville’s Tyler Shough, among others. The first group was headlined by Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.

McCord earned a 6.13 prospect grade from the NFL, which means he should be a good backup with the potential to develop into an NFL starter.

After McCord performed well in the week of practice leading up to the East-West Senior Shrine Bowl game, he created some buzz on social media, and NFL teams were eager to see him throw at the combine. NFL Network showed several NFL head coaches still at Lucas Oil Stadium on the Jumbotron, the three that I caught, Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland), Mike McDaniel (Miami), and Aaron Glenn (New York Jets), plus Oakland’s Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly.

On March 17, Syracuse football will host its own pro day. The five combine invites, plus additional Orange NFL prospects will work out at the event, which unfortunately is closed to the general public. But, there’s good news, I will be in attendance providing live updates for Nunes Magician via social media!