The Wyoming Cowboys may not have that many players at the NFL Combine, but the ones that are there are turning some heads.
Wyoming, realistically, only has three players that could get drafted and those are quarterback Brett Smith, wide-receiver Robert Herron and safety/cornerback Marqueston Huff.
Only two, Herron and Huff, got invited to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. Brett Smith is widely regarded as one of the biggest snubs of this year’s combine.
Even though Herron and Huff are the only two UW Cowboys competing in drills in Indianapolis, they are making headlines with their performances.
For Herron it all started at the Senior Bowl back in January. In the practices leading up to the game he was described as being “uncoverable” from coaches and media members alike.
His draft stock only continued to rise with his performance at the Senior Bowl.
Huff also competed in the Senior Bowl, but he was moved from safety to cornerback for that game, and it was largely agreed that he struggled in coverage. Huff played corner for Wyoming in his first three seasons, but moved back to safety for his senior season – a move he truly enjoyed as it was the position he grew up playing.
Since arriving in Indianapolis, it has been the reverse of the Senior Bowl. Huff has been impressive, whereas Herron, while not being disappointing, has not stood out with his performance at the Combine.
Huff ran a very quick 4.49 40-yard dash which puts him near the top of the list in terms of safeties when it comes to speed. He also very impressively benched 225 pounds 15 times. Other stats for Huff include a 35.5 inch vertical jump, 118 inch ground jump, 7.26 time in the three cone drill and a 4.19 time in the 20-yard shuttle.
Herron also had a very quick 4.48 40-yard sprint but it was a disappointing showing in terms of Herron’s previous showings. He did gain some much needed respect when he benched 225 lbs 18 times.
That put him near the top in terms of wide-outs. Other stats for Herron include 35.5 inch vertical jump, 125 inch ground jump, 6.84 time in the three cone drill and a 4.27 time in the 20-yard shuttle.
Some knocks on Herron are his hand size, unwillingness to catch across the middle and lack of ability to block on the perimeter.
Some knocks on Huff are his inconsistent tackling and struggles in man coverage.
Huff and Herron both look to be drafted come draft time. Herron most likely will go before Huff somewhere in the third to fourth rounds and Huff looks more like a fifth to seventh round guy.
While Brett Smith was not invited to the NFL Combine, he has been working with many former quarterbacks who had successful careers at the NFL level. Brett not being invited to the Combine will most likely hurt his draft stock. Smith is sliding down people’s draft boards rapidly, but going in Brett’s favor will be the fact that NFL quarterbacks are egregiously overdrafted and overvalued. At this point it looks like Smith could go anywhere from the fourth round to even being undrafted.
The Cowboys have not had a player drafted since the 2007 draft when Jon Wendling was drafted in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills. The Huff/Herron/Smith trio will most certainly put an end to this draftless drought.
