The Very First National Underclassmen Combine
60 pre-registered. 81 walk-ups. 13 coaches. And a top two of Tyrod Taylor and Joe Haden.
Here are a few pictures and rankings I could dig up from the very first National Underclassmen Combine.
I got #1 and #2 right. Tyrod Taylor and Joe Haden were superstars and went on to be pros. Heck, Tyrod still is.
We originally advertised the event to get more athletes some exposure, and thought maybe a few of them would come train at our Schuman's Elite Training Facility. We had 60 pre-registered and 81 walk-ups. When we showed up at the event we could not believe how many people were waiting in line.
We had 13 coaches, which was overkill, but many of those guys are my friends to this day. I spoke on the phone many times with Mr. Taylor and Mr. Haden about their sons, had lunches with Mr. Calabrese, and got to know the Cervinos well over the years. It's amazing how many of these people I got to know running these events.
Who knew it would become a movement in less than four years and change recruiting forever.
Top 25 Outstanding Combine Performers Overall
Chosen by a panel of coaches from the combine staff, Rivals.com representatives and sponsors. "Test rank" is each athlete's overall testing ranking; "Panel" is the panel's rating.
Skill Athletes
| Panel | Test rank | Name | School | Hometown | Pos | Grade | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Joe Haden | Friendly HS | Accokeek, MD | QB / DB | 10 | 5'10" | 168 |
| 2 | 6 | Tyrod Taylor | Hampton HS | Hampton, VA | QB / DB | 10 | 5'11.5" | 183 |
| 3 | 17 | Randy Kellman | — | Berlin, NJ | WR | 10 | 6'5" | 228 |
| 4 | 3 | Lamont Smith | Central Catholic | Pittsburgh, PA | RB / DB | 10 | 5'7.5" | 146 |
| 5 | 1 | Tim Cortazzo | Penn Trafford HS | Irwin, PA | WR / DB | 10 | 5'11.75" | 166 |
| 6 | 19 | Earrick Williams | Gainesville HS | Gainesville, FL | TE / LB | 10 | 5'10" | 212 |
| 7 | 11 | Tony Smith | Paramus Catholic HS | Englewood, NJ | RB | 10 | 5'9" | 205 |
| 8 | 7 | Mike Albert | St. Augustine | Cape May, NJ | RB / DB | 10 | 5'10" | 175 |
| 9 | 2 | Chaz Cervino | DePaul Catholic HS | Wayne, NJ | QB / DB | 10 | 5'7" | 161 |
| 10 | 5 | Josh Haden | Friendly HS | Accokeek, MD | RB / LB | 9 | 5'7.75" | 175 |
| 11 | 23 | John Carter | Stonewall Jackson HS | Bristow, VA | RB / LB | 9 | 5'6.5" | 190 |
| 12 | 8 | Justin Smith | Franklin HS | Franklin, NJ | RB / LB | 10 | 5'5.75" | 161 |
| 13 | 15 | Bayshon Wells | Lawrence | Lawrenceville, NJ | RB | 10 | 5'6" | 155 |
| 14 | 10 | Dean Scaduto | Bergen Catholic HS | Norwood, NJ | RB / LB | 10 | 6'0.5" | 189 |
| 15 | 12 | Anthony Viola | Woodbridge HS | Woodbridge, NJ | QB | 9 | 5'6.5" | 152 |
| 16 | 9 | Brandon Boykin | Don Bosco | Teaneck, NJ | WR / DB | 10 | 5'10.25" | 163 |
| 17 | 18 | Nick Delgado | Windsor HS | Windsor, CT | WR | 10 | 5'10.5" | 171 |
Big Men
| Panel | Test rank | Name | School | Hometown | Pos | Grade | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69 | Wayne Crawford | Chestnut Hill Academy | Philadelphia, PA | OL / DL | 10 | 6'3" | — |
| 2 | 92 | William Grissom | East Orange Campus | East Orange, NJ | OL / DL | 10 | 6'3.25" | — |
| 3 | 81 | Greg Kafaf | DePaul Catholic HS | Morristown, NJ | OL / DL | 10 | 6' | — |
| 4 | 82 | Theron Jenkins | Hudson Catholic HS | Jersey City, NJ | TE / DL/LB | 9 | 5'9.75" | — |
| 5 | 95 | Matt Watson | Hudson Catholic HS | Jersey City, NJ | OL / DL | 10 | 5'9.5" | — |
| 6 | 100 | Chris Farulla | Leonia HS | Leonia, NJ | OL / DL | 10 | 5'7.75" | — |
| 7 | 86 | Nick Ely | Haldane | Yorktown, NY | WR / DL | 9 | 6'1.75" | — |
| 8 | 106 | Maurice Nelson | Windsor HS | Windsor, CT | OL / DL | 10 | 5'9" | — |
See this year's National Underclassmen Combine cities and dates.
View the combine tour