Expectations for Gophers’ Tyler Nubin and Brevyn Spann-Ford at NFL Combine

The NFL’s annual scouting combine has officially begun. Starting as early as today, some of the nation’s top football prospects are in Indianapolis doing physical testing, interviews and preparing for on-field drills. This year, Minnesota will have two of its top players Tyler Nubin and Brevyn Spann-Ford participating in the event as they prepare for the NFL Draft later this spring. It marks the sixth straight year that the Gophers have had at least two players invited to the combine.

#Gophers invited to NFL combine under PJ Fleck:

2018:
– none

2019:
– Blake Cashman, LB
– Donnell Greene, OL

2020:
– Carter Coughlin, LB
– Antoine Winfield Jr., S
– Tyler Johnson, WR
– Kamal Martin, LB

2021:
– Rashod Bateman, WR
– Benjamin St-Juste, CB

2022:
– Daniel… pic.twitter.com/egdjaKad7F

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) February 13, 2024

Schedule:

Beginning on Thursday on-field workouts will be taking place, but Friday is the important day for Gophers’ fans as Tight Ends and Defensive Backs will be working out. It is expected that Nubin and Spann-Ford will both be participating in the on-field events, but there is no telling how many events or for how long and that could all change pretty quickly. Around 2PM (CST) on Friday, the DBs will start with testing on NFL Network and then TEs will follow, for Gophers fans that are interested in watching.

Draft Outlook:

Both Nubin and Spann-Ford were invited to the Senior Bowl earlier this month. It seems as if their consensus position amongst NFL Draft boards left relatively unchanged, but it does only take one team. Nubin has serious round one hype and it seems like a round two floor. BSF on the other hand is rumored to go in the day two/day three fringe as one of the top tight ends in the class.

For anyone who doesn’t follow the Draft intensely, the combine is typically an opportunity for scouts to reaffirm their beliefs on a prospect. There are obviously rare circumstances for freak athletes that stand out, but most the time a normal prospect has an expectation for testing and their results reaffirm the belief of where they could be drafted.

After this week, the next important date will be the Gophers’ Pro Day. This year’s event will take place on March 14th. It will give Nubin, Spann-Ford and the rest of Minnesota’s prospects another opportunity to prepare for the NFL Draft on April 25.