Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2020 37 Baltimore Ravens. The 2020 NFL Draft class is histori- cally deep a wide receiver, so it's un- clear how much Claypool was able to move up draft board, but it's undeni- able that the former Fighting Irish standout has first-round talent. 2. Notre Dame Sixth In Terms of Players Invited To Combine Nine former Notre Dame players attended the 2020 NFL Combine, which had the Fighting Irish tied with Auburn and Utah as the schools with the sixth-most invitees. The leader was the national champion LSU Tigers with an impressive 16 players, followed by Michigan and Ohio State each with 11. This was the most players Notre Dame has had at the NFL Combine since 2015, when there were 10 Fight- ing Irish invitees. 3. Khalid Kareem Played Injured During The 2019 Season After he skipped the Senior Bowl, there were rumors heading into the NFL Combine that former Notre Dame defensive end Khalid Kareem would not participate in the workout portion of the scouting event. What was the deal? Was he receiv- ing bad advice from his agent? As it turns out, Kareem did pass on the workout, but it was due to a Jan. 21 surgery he had on a torn la- brum related to an injury he suffered at Duke Nov. 9. Instead of having the operation right away so that he might be ready for the NFL Combine, Kareem chose to play through the pain and finish out his Notre Dame football career on the field. "I know my 60 percent was bet- ter than some guys' 100 percent," he said. "I wanted to finish what I started with my guys. I was a captain of the team, and I knew my guys needed me there. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror knowing that I had something left in the tank and I didn't give it to my team." Former Notre Dame defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, who was taken in the first round by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2019 NFL Draft, suf- fered the same injury in October 2018 against Stanford. Like Kareem, he chose to play through it and his draft stock was not impacted by it (he was the No. 28 overall pick). It's unclear if the same will be true for Kareem, who some analysts have going as high as the third round. While he was not able to work out at the combine, he did get measured. He is just under 6-4, but had the lon- gest wingspan (84 inches) among defensive ends and had the biggest hands (10 7 ⁄8 inches). Assuming his recovery stays on schedule, Kareem will participate in non-contact drills at Notre Dame's pro day April 1. 4. With The Fourth-Fastest 40 Time, Troy Pride Jr. Still Misses Lofty Expectations Every year, one of the fastest posi- tion groups at the NFL Combine is cornerback, but only a handful have run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.3 seconds. In total, 13 players have accom- plished this feat, with five of them playing defensive back. This includes NFL legends such as Champ Bailey in 1999. Leading up to the 2020 NFL Com- bine, many thought former Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride Jr. could join this rarified group of speedsters. Pride actually seemed to be the one setting such lofty expectations. He even posted a video on Twitter of him running a 4.30-second 40-yard dash but hinted that he was capable of faster. Instead, Pride ran the 40 in 4.4 sec- onds, which was fourth among cor- nerbacks in attendance. By all accounts, this is an excellent time that should only help improve his draft stock, which has been on the rise since he thrived at the Senior Bowl. But it wasn't the historic time most were hoping for, which makes it oddly disappointing. 5. Notre Dame Wins Combine "Medal Count" The official Twitter account for NFL Media Research decided to turn NOTRE DAME PLAYERS INVITED TO 2020 COMBINE Offense • Wide receiver Chase Claypool • Wide receiver Chris Finke • Tight end Cole Kmet • Running back Tony Jones Jr. Defense • Defensive end Julian Okwara • Defensive end Khalid Kareem • Safety Jalen Elliott • Safety Alohi Gilman • Cornerback Troy Pride Jr. Troy Pride Jr. was aiming to run the 40-yard dash in the 4.3-second range, but his 4.40 showing was still the fourth best in his position group. PHOTO BY ANDREW MENTOCK