Recapping Syracuse football performances at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine

The announcement around spring practice dates was not the only big news for the Syracuse Orange football program this past weekend. Four former Syracuse football players — Kendall Coleman, Sterling Hofrichter, Trishton Jackson and Alton Robinson — were at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis as well, showing off their abilities before this spring’s NFL Draft.

Below is a quick rundown of how each player performed in front of scouts. We’ll have extensive profiles for players as well as the draft (Thursday, April 23 - Saturday, April 25) gets closer.

Kendall Coleman

Coleman has been working out with Robert Mathis in Indianapolis, and that potentially paid some dividends with scouts. He was one of about 25 defensive linemen to run a 40-yard dash in under five seconds, was top 10 in vertical jump (32 inches) and top 15 in broad jump (114 inches). Coleman also had a 7.5-second three-cone drill and a 4.62-second 20-yard shuttle.

He’s currently projected as a pretty good post-draft free agent, which is actually not the worst thing and could result in him landing in a spot that fits him well.

Sterling Hofrichter

Like most special-teamers, Hof didn’t participate in physical drills but did get measurements and evaluations from scouts. He was seen as a player with “below average” size, though also nice strength and ability just the same. Hof’s graded as a practice squad-type player, but only a handful of punters and kickers are selected each year. His abilities to both punt and kick could be an asset.

Trishton Jackson

Jackson ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, which is pretty solid, and his vertical leap was a reasonably good 36 inches as well, while broad jump was 117 inches (came in a little bit behind the pack). NFL scouts seem to be grading him out as a developmental player who has potential as a backup and could later start, which is a decent sign for selection come April — though this is also a pretty deep wide receiver class. His speed’s an asset, which is one of the better situations to be in since it’s tougher to teach. As we know, he can run routes well and cause problems for defenders as well. Don’t think scouts learned anything “new” in Indianapolis, but he’s on radars, for sure.

Alton Robinson

Robinson was one of the big winners of the combine, putting together some impressive numbers in a series of drills. He was third among all defensive linemen with a 4.69-second 40-yard dash, second in the vertical leap (35.5 inches), eighth in broad jump (119 inches) and second in 20-yard shuttle (4.32 seconds). Robinson also had 25 bench press reps and a 7.32-second three-cone drill.

NFL scouts view him as a player who could start within a year or two, which puts him in the second/third round conversation. As we saw throughout his time at Syracuse, Robinson is incredibly quick and disruptive, and that makes him an intriguing edge rusher at the next level. Given the strong performance here and the Senior Bowl, I’m curious to see if he starts rising further on draft boards.